Landmark Education

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Landmark Education
Type	Private LLC
Founded	January 1991
Headquarters	San Francisco, California, USA
Key people	Harry Rosenberg: Director[1]; CEO Mick Leavitt: President; Director[2] Steven Zaffron: Director[2]; CEO, Landmark Education Business Development (LEBD) Art Schreiber: General Counsel; Chairman, BOD; Director[2] Martin Leaf: Counsel[3] [4] Joan Rosenberg: Vice President, Centers Division; Director Nancy Zapolski: Vice President, Course Development Laurel Scheaf: Director[2]; Landmark Forum Leader Sanford Robbins: Director[2] Brian Regnier: Course Designer
Industry	Self-help, self-improvement, large group awareness training
Products	The Landmark Forum, associated coursework
Revenue	8.6% to USD$76 million (2005)[5]
Net income	USD$2.5 million[6] (1997)
Employees	more than 450 employees (2006); 722 volunteer leaders[7]; several employed leaders (2006); 7,500 volunteers in "Assisting Program" (1998)[8]
Subsidiaries	Landmark Education Business Development (LEBD) Landmark Education International, Inc.[9] Tekniko Licensing Corporation[10] LandmarkDating Rancord Company, Ltd.
Website	Landmark Education homepage

Landmark Education LLC (LE) describes itself as a training company, offering training and development programs based on ontology in over 20 different countries. It is an employee-owned, private company, and based in San Francisco, California, and markets its introductory course as "The Landmark Forum".

Landmark Education purchased the intellectual property of Werner Erhard and Associates, a successor to the controversial Est Training, and since its foundation in 1991 has developed other courses.

The company markets its courses primarily to individuals. Its subsidiary Landmark Education Business Development (LEBD) provides training and consulting to organizations. Its subsidiary Tekniko Licensing Corporation licenses Landmark's "technology" to management consulting firms.

Landmark Education has been criticized about whether its courses produce worthwhile benefits to participants, its use of volunteers, and its origins.

Contents 1 Corporation 1.1 Origin and evolution 1.2 Structure and financials 2 Subsidiaries 2.1 Landmark Education Business Development 2.2 Tekniko Licensing Corporation 3 Programs 3.1 Scope and claims 3.2 Course Content of the Landmark Forum 3.3 Structure of the Landmark Forum 3.4 Memberships and accreditations 3.5 Courses 3.6 Other programs 3.6.1 Assisting Program 3.6.2 The Introduction Leader Program (ILP) 3.7 Jargon 4 Evaluations of Landmark Education 4.1 Academic studies 4.1.1 Fisher study 4.1.2 Denison thesis 4.2 Studies commissioned by Landmark Education 4.2.1 DYG study 4.2.2 Harris Interactive 4.3 Other studies 4.3.1 International Society for Performance Improvement 4.3.2 The Talent Foundation 5 Legal disputes 6 Criticism and controversy 6.1 Allegations of cult or cult-like status 6.2 Labor investigations 6.3 Religious implications 6.4 Sales and marketing practices 6.5 Allegations of brainwashing 7 See also 7.1 People associated with Landmark Education, past/present 7.2 Related topics 7.2.1 Media 7.2.2 Other 8 External links 8.1 Landmark Education websites 8.2 Other viewpoints 9 References and footnotes

[edit] Corporation

[edit] Origin and evolution

Name	From	To
The Foundation for the Realization of Man	1973	July 1976
The est Foundation	July 1976	February 1981
Werner Erhard and Associates	February 1981	January 16, 1991
Breakthrough Technologies	January 16, 1991	January 23, 1991
Transnational Education Corp.	January 23, 1991	May 7, 1991
Landmark Education Corporation	May 7, 1991	February 2003
Landmark Education, LLC	February 2003	present

Landmark Education, known from May 7, 1991 ^[11] to February 26, 2003 ^[12] as "Landmark Education Corporation (LEC)", purchased ^[13] certain rights to a presentation known as The Forum from Werner Erhard and Associates (WEA, the corporate successor of Erhard Seminars Training — est or EST). The new owners, including former staff of WEA, renamed the course The Landmark Forum, further developed its content and shortened the four-day, two-weekend WEA "Forum" to three full days. Landmark Education states that it made changes to the course content at that time, and that a major re-design of the Landmark Forum took place in 1999.^{[citation needed]}

The group of people who purchased the rights registered themselves initially as Transnational Education, as The Centers Network, and (in Japan) as Rancord Company, Ltd. ^[14]. Corporation as "Landmark Education Corporation" (LEC) took place later in 1991. In February 2003, Landmark Education LLC succeeded LEC. ^[15]

The coursework and pedagogy of WEA evolved from est/Erhard Seminars Training, founded by Werner Erhard in 1971. est/WEA/Landmark underwent multiple changes of name and curriculum^{[citation needed]} after the founding of est. (For a time-line, see the article on Erhard Seminars Training.)

According to Landmark Education, Werner Erhard consults from time to time with its "Research and Design team". ^[16] (See also an article in Time Magazine. ^[17] ) Erhard's younger brother (Harry Rosenberg) works as Landmark Education's Chief Executive Officer, and their sister (Joan Rosenberg) serves as the Vice President of Landmark Education's Centers Division.

According to statements made by Landmark Education CEO Harry Rosenberg in 2001:

...Erhard [in 1991] kept the Mexican and Japanese branches of the operation...Last year, [2000] Landmark had revenues of $58 million, and ... the company has bought outright Erhard's license and his rights to Japan and Mexico. ^[18]

[edit] Structure and financials

Landmark Education LLC operates as an employee-owned for-profit private company. According to Landmark Education's fact sheet, its employees own all the stock of the corporation, ^[19] with no individual holding more than 3%. The company states that it operates in such a way as to invest its surpluses into making its programs, initiatives and services more widely available. ^[20] The shareholders elect a Board of Directors ^[2] annually. A list of executive officers appears in the box above.

As of 2005, 70,000 to 80,000 people took the Landmark Forum annually, and around 50,000 take other courses offered. ^[21]

As of 2006 Landmark Education maintained 52 offices in 21 countries ^[22] , with more than half of its offices in North America.

Landmark Education reported revenues of $70 million for 2004 ^[23]; $76 million in 2005 ^[24] . In 1997, Landmark had 451 employees, 7,500 volunteers in the United States alone, spent $13 million on employee salaries and bonuses, spent $4 million on travel, and made a profit of $2.5 million which was re-invested in the expansion of the company's operations ^[25].

According to Landmark Education, since 1991, over 880,000 people had participated in the Landmark Forum. ^[26]

[edit] Subsidiaries

Landmark Education's subsidiaries include Landmark Education Business Development (LEBD), and Tekniko Licensing Corporation.

[edit] Landmark Education Business Development

Landmark Education Business Development was founded in 1993, and utilizes the "technology" of Landmark Education in providing consulting services to various companies.

The University of Southern California (USC) Marshall School of Business carried out a case study into the work of Landmark Education Business Development (LEBD) at BHP New Zealand Steel. The report concluded that the set of interventions in the organization produced a 50% improvement in safety, a 15% to 20% reduction in key benchmark costs, a 50% increase in return on capital, and a 20% increase in raw steel production. The USC makes the full report available.

[edit] Tekniko Licensing Corporation

Tekniko Licensing Corporation was originally owned by Werner Erhard, and is the successor organization to his Transformational Technologies. Transformational Technologies was originally incorporated in 1984 by Werner Erhard and a management consultant named James Selman^[27]

According to Landmark Education, Tekniko Licensing Corporation is one of the company's "wholly owned subsidiaries"^[28] However, according to SEC filings, Tekniko Licensing Corporation is actually owned fully by a Terry M. Giles. ^[29] As of March 31, 2006, Mr. Terry M. Giles is also listed in SEC filings as the Chairman of the Board of Landmark Education Corporation. ^[30]

[edit] Programs

[edit] Scope and claims

Landmark Education portrays itself as "a global enterprise whose purpose is to empower and enable people and organizations to generate and fulfill new possibilities. We create and provide programs, services, and paradigms that produce extraordinary results for our customers." ^[31] Landmark Education states that over 880,000 people have taken part in its introductory program, "The Landmark Forum" since 1991. ^[32] It has compiled a text entitled "Independent Research, Case Studies, and Surveys" devoted to its courses on its corporate website, ^[33]and trains its own course instructors intensively in Landmark's pedagogy (also known internally as "technology").

The precise content of Landmark Education courses remains closely guarded by copyright, but a course syllabus appears on-line.

[edit] Course Content of the Landmark Forum

A paper published in the January through April 2001 edition of the "Journal of Contemporary Philosophy" distributed through the Social Sciences Research Network (authored by Professor Steven McCarl, Professor Joyce Nielsen and Landmark Education Business Development CEO Steve Zaffron): "The Promise of Philosophy and the Landmark Forum", gives the following abstract for the Landmark Forum:

Abstract Philosophy promises more than contents of thought. It can cultivate openness to continuously arising new contents of thought. Unconsciously identifying with the contents of thought displaces this openness; the remedy for such unnoticed closed mindedness is self-knowledge. In the Socratic tradition the Landmark Forum — a forty-hour course sponsored by the employee owned Landmark Educational Corporation — provides a model of philosophy as the practical art of uncovering and expanding self-knowledge and thereby generating unforeseen ways of being in everyday life. ^[34]

[edit] Structure of the Landmark Forum

The Landmark Forum takes place over three consecutive days and an evening session (generally Friday, Saturday, Sunday, and Tuesday evening.) Each full day begins at 9:00 a.m. and ends at approximately 10:00 p.m. Breaks occur approximately every 2 to 3 hours, with a 90-minute dinner break. Forum leaders assign homework for participants to carry out during breaks and after the course ends in the evening. The evening session generally runs from 7:00 p.m. to 10:15 p.m. (in certain locations, from 7:30 p.m. to 10:45 p.m.). ^[35]

[edit] Memberships and accreditations

Landmark Education and its subsidiaries hold memberships in the following professional associations and organizations, as per its website ^[36]

• American Society for Training and Development
• International Society for Performance Improvement
• American Management Association
• International Association for Continuing Education and Training (Membership Details) (CEU Qualifications)
• Academy of Management

[edit] Courses

• Curriculum for Living, (at Landmark Education's corporate website)

1. The Landmark Forum, introductory course and pre-requisite for other courses
2. Landmark Forum in Action Seminar, optional seminar included in tuition of the Landmark Forum
3. The Landmark Advanced Course
4. Self Expression and Leadership Program (SELP)

• Note: For further information on other coursework, see Landmark Education's website: About Graduate Programs

[edit] Other programs

[edit] Assisting Program

Chief Executive Officer Harry Rosenberg commented on the Assisting Program in a 1997 Harvard Business School case study (now out of print):

In addition to our 420 staff members around the world, the people in the Assisting Program play a critical role at Landmark. We have a remarkable group of 7500 people participating on a weekly basis. They are both committed to our work, and to getting personal value out of the Assisting Program. They know we are a for-profit businesss and still they commit their time and effort. ^[37]

[edit] The Introduction Leader Program (ILP)

The ILP consists of a six-month intensive leadership-training program that prepares participants to lead Introductions to the Landmark Forum. The course forms the foundation of the training for leaders of all of Landmark Education's other programs. ^{[citation needed]}

[edit] Jargon

Landmark Education utilizes some specific terms in their courses. Articles in Metroactive and Life Positive have provided short lexicons of a few terms.

• Racket(s): Recurring complaint or "way of being" that allows people to justify themselves and their points of view but which can rob them of opportunities for satisfaction and joy; A way of being that allows us to justify ourselves and our point of view; preconceived notions of why we are right and others are wrong.
• Formula for success, or Winning formula : Ways of being that have worked repeatedly in the past but which can obstruct more effective approaches; A way of being that has worked well in the past and that we keep using, which keeps us from perceiving new options.
• Vicious circle: Possibility-limiting concepts that determine experience and shape future experiences; A sphere where our concepts determine our experience.
• Taking a stand: Putting attention on a vision for the future; Putting our attention on our vision of life that gives us self-expression
• Distinguishing ourselves and our world through language: The world consists of language and can be altered through language.
• Breakthrough: Abandoning old habits and embracing a new way of being; Looking at things from a different perspective, getting a new understanding of life.
• Already/always listening: Listening to others with preconceived notions of what they really mean.

Sources: ^[38], ^[39]

Other terms are defined in their literature:

• distinction / distinguish: "[t]o distinguish something means to take something from an undifferentiated background and bring it to the foreground." ^[40]
• Understanding: "In life, understanding is the booby prize."^[41][42]

[edit] Evaluations of Landmark Education

Landmark Education relies heavily on testimonials from customers to portray its effectiveness. Studies, surveys, and opinions vary in their reported outcomes though in general lean from neutral to positive.

[edit] Academic studies

[edit] Fisher study

An academic study commissioned by Werner Erhard and Associates and conducted by a team of psychology professors (mostly associated with the University of Connecticut) concluded that attending a (pre-Landmark) Forum had minimal lasting effects, positive or negative, on participants' self-perception. ^[43] This thoroughly scientific study won a 1989 American Psychological Association award. ^{[citation needed]}

[edit] Denison thesis

Charles Wayne Denison's 1994 Ph.D. research at the University of Denver involved interviewing participants in the Landmark Forum. It reported a "varied impact on participants" ranging from neutral to positive:

The observation and interview data suggest that these curricula have a varied impact on participants; some report a certain distinction as having personal impact, while other participants scarcely recall the concept. ^[44]

[edit] Studies commissioned by Landmark Education

[edit] DYG study

An analysis done for Landmark Education by DYG, Inc. and interpreted by Daniel Yankelovich, chairman of DYG, Inc., ("Analysis of The Landmark Forum and Its Benefits") consisted of a survey conducted of more than 1300 people who completed The Landmark Forum during a three-month period at some undisclosed time. Some details of the study methodology, especially concerning sampling methods and demographics of study participants, remain undefined in what Landmark Education refers to as the "Full Study" ^[45] . It remains unknown whether Yankelovich ever participated in any Landmark Education coursework, or whether he functioned in the role of a detached commentator. However, Landmark Education has presented a summary of the survey results under the heading "Independent Research, Case Studies, and Surveys" ^[46] . On the other hand, Yankelovich himself personally endorses Landmark Education in his book The Magic of Dialog (2001, pages 143 - 144) ^[47].

Yankelovich concluded from the survey that 90% to 95% self-reported "value" in taking the course. ^{[48] [49]}

[edit] Harris Interactive

A survey carried out by Harris Interactive for Landmark Education Corporation concluded that one third of respondents who had "completed the Landmark Forum" self-reported an increase of 25% or more in their incomes, 70% worried less about money and assessed themselves as more effective in managing their finances, and an unspecified percentage reported working fewer hours. Landmark Education's summary of the survey has not made it clear over what time-duration or when Harris Interactive conducted this study. ^[50]

[edit] Other studies

[edit] International Society for Performance Improvement

The International Society for Performance Improvement (ISPI) website contains a 2005 report of Landmark Education Business Development (LEBD)'s involvement with improving safety at Minera Escondida Ltd., which ran the largest copper-mine in the world and employed 5,000 people. The ISPI report notes that when LEBD started working with Minera Escondida, the company had a total injury-frequency rate of 23.7 accidents per million man-hours worked. Five months later, after LEBD had finished its program with Minera Escondida, the injury rate had reduced by over 50% to 11.5 accidents per million man-hours worked. ISPI reported that Landmark "created" this environment of improved safety. The ISPI awarded LEBD a "Got Results" award for its actions. ^[51]

[edit] The Talent Foundation

A study by the Talent Foundation ^[52], chaired by Sir Christopher Ball (Chancellor, University of Derby), and led by Dr. Javier Bajer, used the Landmark Forum for the initial stage of a study ('"A Shortcut to Motivated and Adaptive Workforces"). The study found that:

"Within two years of participating from Landmark's three-day program, individuals showed:

• Significantly higher levels of self-esteem, motivation, and self-confidence.
• More proactive attitudes related to their learning and ability to apply new skills at work.
• More confidence in finding opportunities to apply their skills and make a difference at work." ^[53]

[edit] Legal disputes

For details of litigation involving Landmark Education, see Landmark Education litigation.

For general discussion of legal matters not necessarily resulting in court cases, see Landmark Education and the law.

Landmark has participated in a range of legal disputes, as both defendant and plaintiff. Course participants have sued Landmark, alleging that Landmark's actions have caused them psychological harm. Landmark has sued several individuals or organizations who have published statements Landmark Education alleges to be false and defamatory.

Several individuals and organizations have claimed that Landmark is a cult or is cult-like. Landmark Education regards such statements as factually false and defamatory, and has brought legal action on at least seven occasions. Out of these selected seven cases, in the three cases where mainstream publications explicitly called Landmark a cult, the defendants settled by publishing retractions; in two of the cases, the defendants denied that they ever claimed Landmark was a cult; and in two cases, the courts dismissed Landmark Education's suit.

Since 1991, two course participants have unsuccessfully sued Landmark, alleging that Landmark's actions have caused them psychological harm (one court dismissed a lawsuit in a summary judgment and the other found no evidence of such alleged harm.)

In November 2006, Landmark Education used legal action designed to discover the identities of anonymous internet users who posted material critical of Landmark's activities. In that case, Landmark attempted to use the direct subpoena provisions of the Digital Millennium Copyright Act to discover the identity of the anonymous internet posters – and to suppress the posting – of the critical French documentary Voyage Au Pays Des Nouveaux Gourous in the Internet Archive, YouTube and Google.

[edit] Criticism and controversy

Landmark Education and its methods sometimes evoke intense controversy.

Critics of Landmark Education make accusations which generally fall into one or more of these areas:

• Questioning whether the courses do really produce worthwhile benefits, or produce harmful results
• Suggesting that participating in the programs may have harmful consequences
• Speculating that the Landmark Education system may exploit customers (financially or otherwise)

Several individuals and organizations have claimed that Landmark is a cult or is cult-like, a claim Landmark considers factually false and defamatory; courts in the United States have upheld this, and media and experts have issued retractions, rather than stand trial by jury^{[citation needed]}. Others have criticized, for example, the aggressiveness of Landmark's sales and marketing techniques. The U.S. Department of Labor in 1998 questioned the depth of the organization's reliance on volunteers to market to participants and to staff its events — an unusual situation for a for-profit company. Landmark Education prevailed, citing that the volunteers were choosing to volunteer^{[citation needed]}.

[edit] Allegations of cult or cult-like status

Prior to the establishment that the word "cult" is factually false and defamatory, an Australian psychologist, Dr. Louise Samways, included material on Landmark Education in her book on personal development courses and cults: Dangerous Persuaders: An expose of gurus, personal development courses and cults, and how they operate. She had not conducted empirical observation of Landmark Education's programs, but rather relied on testimony from separate sources, stating that her opinion:

evolved ... from thousands of personal stories told to me over many years by my patients and people attending my seminars and lectures. I have mentioned the names of groups and courses only where I have heard similar and consistent stories from many separate sources... [I]t should not be assumed that the groups, courses or individuals mentioned in this book are necessarily the worst or biggest. I have only mentioned those that are well known and where my own patients have shared their personal experiences with me. ^[54]

Dr. Samways went on to mention Landmark Education's psychological techniques:

The courses I worry about particularly are those attempting dramatic change in short periods of time, such as Landmark Education, EST, Forum, Money & You and Hoffman Process, for they are misusing the psychological techniques allied to hypnosis in order to make the behavioural changes. ^[55]

Dr. Norbert Nedopil, head of the department of forensic psychiatry at the University of Munich, in a 2002 study ^[56] commissioned by the German state of Bavaria, excluded the possibility of classifying Landmark Education as a cult, or as cult-like in any way. In the study he reported that: "On the basis of empirical investigation, it can be said that to the largest extent, Landmark Education does not present risks to the health, free will and legal integrity of its participants. Nor is there any evidence that the Landmark Forum is harmful." ^[57]

An article in The Observer, a London Sunday newspaper, (December 2003):

Landmark has faced accusations of being a cult, but I saw nothing of that. Far from working to separate us from our families and friends, we were told there was no relationship too dead to be revived, no love too cold to be warmed. ^[58]

In 1994, a report of the Senate Committee of the State of Berlin in Germany placed Landmark Education on a list entitled "entities espousing a world view and new religions." Landmark Education sued for correction and, on May 14, 1997, the Berlin court (Volksgericht 27A) endorsed a new classification scheme within the Senate report on cults and new religious movements: "provider of life guidance" (Anbieter von Lebenshilfe. The December 1997 issue of the Berlin Senate Report on "Cults - Risks and Side-effects: Information on selected new religious movements, secular movements and psycho-offerings" lists Landmark Education alomgside Scientology, The Natale Institute, and others. ^[59]

In 1995 a committee of the French National Assembly included Landmark Education on a list of cults: see Parliamentary Commission on Cults in France ^[60] The then Prime Minister of France Jean-Pierre Raffarin issued a circulaire in May 2005 stressing the ongoing fight against cults in France. He indicated that due to the way in which cultic organizations had changed their form and tactics, the list of cults published on the parliamentary report had become less pertinent, and that in certain cases officials should apply bands of criteria, possibly in conjunction with the Interministerial Mission for Monitoring and Combating Cultic Deviances MIVILUDES. ^[61]

On June 6, 2004 Landmark Education ceased operating in Sweden. As in France, the causes of the closure included a diminishing public interest in participating, evinced in connection with very critical articles in the press and on television ^[62] . The airing of two documentaries on national Swedish television by the broadcasting corporation TV4 on October 28, 2003 and on March 15, 2004 called "Lycka till salu" (Happiness for sale) in the program series "Kalla Fakta" contributed to the termination of the organization there. ^{[63] [citation needed]}

In Austria, a brochure published by the Austrian Federal Ministry for Social Security and the Generations (Bundesministerium für soziale Sicherheit und Generationen) in 1999: "Sekten - Wissen schützt" [Cults: knowledge can protect] ^[64] lists Landmark Education under the sub-category of Psychogruppen and briefly comments on its alleged effects.

According to the International Religious Freedom Report 2005, the government of Austria had labeled Landmark Education as a "sect":

The vast majority of groups termed "sects" by the Government are small organizations with fewer than 100 members. Among the larger groups is the Church of Scientology, with between 5,000 and 6,000 members, and the Unification Church, with approximately 700 adherents throughout the country. Other groups found in the country include Divine Light Mission, Eckankar, Hare Krishna, the Holosophic community, the Osho movement, Sahaja Yoga, Sai Baba, Sri Chinmoy, Transcendental Meditation, Landmark Education, the Center for Experimental Society Formation, Fiat Lux, Universal Life, and The Family.^[65]

This information was not included in the Bureau of Democracy, Human Rights, and Labor's International Religious Freedom Report 2006.

[edit] Labor investigations

In 1998, the United States Department of Labor investigated Landmark Education, according to an article in Metroactive Features:

A case study by Harvard Business School reports that nationwide, 7,500 volunteers lend their time and services to Landmark. The corporation only pays 451 people, and only a tenth of them are Forum leaders. But here at the Forum, we are told, anything is possible. So devotees keep enrolling in courses, keep volunteering to prove their "commitment." I wonder what kind of racket the Department of Labor was running when it investigated Landmark and determined its volunteers were employees subject to the provisions of the Fair Labor Standards Act. Who's heard of volunteers for a for-profit? In the end the Department of Labor dropped the issue, leaving Landmark trumpeting about its volunteers' choice in the matter. ^[66]

On May 24, 2004, the France 3 television network show Pièces à conviction broadcast the investigative report ("Voyage to the land of the new gurus"), highlighting (amongst other issues) the matter of volunteer labor. In June 2004, the French labor agency (L’Inspection du Travail) investigated labor practices regarding "volunteer workers". Shortly thereafter, Landmark Education officially ended its operations in France. It remains unclear what role the investigation played in the official ending of Landmark Education operations. ^[67]

[edit] Religious implications

Some commentators regard parts of Landmark's philosophy as religious in nature, or as in conflict with the doctrines of established religions. For example, Paul Derengowski, formerly of the Christian cult-watch group Watchman.org, states that Landmark "has theological implications". ^[68] The Apologetics Index (an online Christian ministry providing research resources on what it considers cults, sects, other religious movements, doctrines, and practices) maintains a page on Landmark Education. ^[69]

On the other hand, an article "A Very Nineties Weekend" in the international Roman-Catholic weekly The Tablet states that:

Several Catholic priests and religious sisters have endorsed Landmark. The Trappist monk Basil Pennington has praised the Forum for bringing about a "full human enlivenment" which make people "more lively" in the practice of whatever faith they have. ^[70]

Some further examples of opinions from clergy appear on the Landmark Education Website.

[edit] Sales and marketing practices

In an article "The Best of Est?" published in Time Magazine on March 16, 1998, Charlotte Faltermayer wrote:

Critics say Landmark is an elaborate marketing game that relies heavily on volunteers. Says Tom Johnson, an "exit counselor" often summoned by concerned parents to tend to alumni: "They tire your brain; they make you vulnerable." Says critic Liz Sumerlin: "The participants end up becoming recruiters. That's the whole purpose." Psychiatrists who speak on Landmark's behalf dispute these claims. But Sumerlin says a 1993 Forum turned her fiance (now her ex) into a robot. She organized an anti-Landmark hot line and publications clearinghouse. Landmark officials made sounds to sue her.

In 1996, Jill P. Capuzzo from The Philadelphia Inquirer, Weekend took the Landmark Forum and reported:

I made some eye-opening discoveries about myself and how I function in the world. [...] One of the most irritating aspects of The Forum is the hard sell to sign up future participants. ^[71]

[edit] Allegations of brainwashing

Three court cases involving Landmark have centered around the claim of brainwashing; each with a different outcome:

1. In Ney vs. Landmark Education et al. (1992), Stephanie Ney sued Landmark claiming she suffered a mental breakdown following participation in the Landmark Forum; the court ruled that while her participation may have played a part in her breakdown, Virginia law did not allow her to claim damages since she suffered no physical harm.
2. In Been vs. Weed and Landmark Education (2002), Jason Weed claimed that the Landmark Advanced Course had caused him to experience a psychotic episode in which he killed a postal service employee; the court ruled that Landmark did not precipitate his psychosis.
3. In Landmark Education vs. Lell, Landmark sued Martin Lell for using the word "Brainwashing" in the title of his book on Landmark Education (Das Forum: Protokoll einer Gehirnwäsche: Der Psycho-Konzern Landmark Education [The Forum: Account of a Brainwashing: The Psycho-Outfit Landmark Education], Deutscher Taschenbuch Verlag, Munich, 1997, ISBN 3-423-36021-6). The court ruled the description "brainwashing" a matter of opinion, and let the title of the book stand.

In 1999 Landmark Education asked Dr. Raymond Fowler, a psychologist and past President of the American Psychological Association,to evaluate the effectiveness, safety, and appropriateness of the procedures in the Landmark Forum. Speaking on his own behalf, Fowler reported:

I saw nothing in the Landmark Forum I attended to suggest that it would be harmful to any participant. ... the Landmark Forum is nothing like psychotherapy ... has none of the characteristics typical of a cult ...does not place individuals at risk of any form of "mind control" "brainwashing" or "thought control."

The Fowler letter is an official document of the company, and is referred to by Landmark Education as ""L-014E" .^[72].

[edit] See also

[edit] People associated with Landmark Education, past/present

• Harry Rosenberg - current CEO of Landmark Education and brother of Werner Erhard (John Paul Rosenberg)
• Joan Rosenberg - Vice President of Centers Division (Landmark Education) and sister of Werner Erhard (John Paul Rosenberg)
• Art Schreiber - Erhard's personal attorney; General Counsel and Chairman, Board of Directors, Landmark Education
• Steven Zaffron - current CEO, Landmark Education Business Development, LEBD
• Nancy Zapolski - Vice President in charge of course development, Landmark Education; Forum leader
• Brian Regnier - founding member, Landmark Education; Forum leader, prominent course designer
• Laurel Scheaf - Forum leader, Landmark Education
• Werner Erhard/John Paul Rosenberg

[edit] Related topics

[edit] Media

• Voyage to the Land of the New Gurus, Documentary (2004)
• The Century of the Self, British documentary by Adam Curtis, episode part 3 of 4
• Transformation: The Life and Legacy of Werner Erhard, Documentary, (2006)
• Semi-Tough, 1977 film with Burt Reynolds

[edit] Other

• Erhard Seminars Training
• The Hunger Project
• Werner Erhard and Associates
• Fernando Flores
• Human Potential Movement (Maslow & Rogers and Esalen Institute)
• Large Group Awareness Training
• Martin Heidegger
• Self-help and Personal development
• Zen (Alan Watts)

[edit] External links

[edit] Landmark Education websites

• Landmark Education official website
• Landmark Education Business Development
• Landmark Graduate Seminars
• Landmark Forum Syllabus
• Landmark Forum Methodology
• News Articles on Landmark Education - archive of published articles or excerpts thereof on Landmark Education (maintained by Landmark Education)
• "The Promise of Philosophy and the Landmark Forum" - University of Colorado (Philosophy Professor Steven McCarl and Steve Zaffron, CEO of Landmark Education Corporation Business Development et al.)

[edit] Other viewpoints

• The Best of Est (Time Magazine article from March 16th, 1998)
• The Scoop on Landmark
• A website independent from Landmark Education written by members of the Landmark Team Management and Leadership Program
• I Love Possibility: Landmark Forum graduates describe their experiences. (graduates' opinion(s))
• "I thought I'd be brainwashed. But how wrong could I be...", by Amelia Hill, The Observer
• Transformation Reformers - discussion group for dissidents
• excerpt of “Unconventional programs in Germany dealing with personal growth and life coping skills”, by Professors Heinrich Kufner, Norbert Nedopil and Heinz Schoch, University of Munich
• Rick Ross – archive of published articles, opinion, and moderated forum, sponsored Rick Ross Institute (opinion and archived published material)
• Steven Hassan's Freedom of Mind Center – collection of links about Est and Landmark Education maintained by Hassan, a licensed counselor and published author on cult awareness
• Landmark Forum, Just a Bowl of Cherries? – archive of published articles and links to other websites (mirror site)
• Skeptic's Dictionary – skeptical information on non-traditional views
• Apologetics Index - a website characteristic of the Christian countercult movement
• Est, The Forum, Landmark Education, Cult Awareness and Information Centre

[edit] References and footnotes