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FAQs

• What is The Arbinger Institute and what services does it offer?
• What makes Arbinger's work unique?
• How can Arbinger help me individually?
• What can Arbinger do for my organization?
• Does Arbinger work with small businesses as well as large ones?
• Does Arbinger offer courses for the general public?
• Can I get one-on-one help applying Arbinger's work?
• How can I explain Arbinger's work to others?
• Where can I purchase copies of Leadership and Self-Deception and The Anatomy of Peace?
• Does Arbinger have other publications I can read?
• Why doesn't Arbinger list author names on its publications?
• What does "Arbinger" mean?
• How can I get involved with Arbinger?

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What is The Arbinger Institute and what services does it offer?
Arbinger is a worldwide consulting company and think-tank comprised of people who have been trained in business, law, economics, philosophy, the family, education, coaching, and psychology. The members of Arbinger come from diverse cultural backgrounds, and from all religious and non-religious traditions and belief systems. What they share is a deep understanding and passion for the ideas underlying Arbinger's work - a compelling model of human understanding and motivation that explains the ubiquitous problem of self-deception and how to solve it. This understanding offers people a common language with which to talk about and settle their differences, whatever their cultures, races, classes, religions, and beliefs.

The members of Arbinger are mobilized in three directions - to help (1) organizations, (2) individuals and families, and (3) those in the helping professions. In support of these groups, Arbinger offers public courses, consulting and coaching services, and tailored organizational interventions (including train-the-trainer options). Arbinger's clients range from individuals who are seeking help in their lives to many of the largest companies and governmental institutions in the world.

Arbinger is led internationally by managing directors Jim Ferrell, Duane Boyce, and Paul Smith. Local managing directors guide Arbinger's work in territories around the world.

What makes Arbinger's work unique?
Arbinger is the world's pioneer and leader in the area of "self-deception," which, simply put, is the problem of not knowing (and resisting the possibility) that one has a problem. Self-deception is the problem Freud was trying to figure out when he invented modern psychology. Ultimately, Freud was unable to unravel what became known as the "self-deception paradox," and scholars have been wrestling the same issue for over a century.

The Arbinger Institute was founded by the philosopher who finally figured out the self-deception paradox. Arbinger's purpose is to educate the world about this most important of issues and to equip individuals and organizations with the ability to get out of the self-deceptions that have held them bound. Arbinger's international bestseller, Leadership and Self-Deception (published in 2000), introduced the world to this issue of self-deception. Our newest book, The Anatomy of Peace (published in August 2006), deepens the understanding of this issue, and shows not only how to overcome self-deception in oneself but how to help others to overcome it as well.

This is not a narrow work, as it turns out that the problem of self-deception is the problem that lies at the heart of most every "people problem" and every conflict between individuals and groups. Arbinger's work shows, for example, that when we become self-deceived, we end up provoking the very conflicts we are trying to solve. (This is true of both individuals and groups.) It also demonstrates that problems in communication, teamwork, motivation, commitment, leadership, and so on, are nearly always symptomatic of the deeper problem of self-deception. This means that lasting solutions to conflicts and lasting improvement in teamwork and cooperation depend on the eradication of the central problem of self-deception. This understanding is unique to Arbinger, and it means that Arbinger is uniquely equipped to take on problems that have seemed to defy solution.

How can Arbinger help me individually?
Click here for the help Arbinger can provide to individuals.

What can Arbinger do for my organization?
Click here for the help Arbinger can provide for organizations.

Does Arbinger work with small businesses as well as large ones?
Yes, Arbinger works with organizations of all types and sizes. We can provide training and coaching ourselves, or we can prepare you and your people to do it within your organization. Or both.

Does Arbinger offer courses for the general public?
Yes, Arbinger offers open-enrollment courses for the general public in many countries around the world.

Courses include courses applying Arbinger's ideas to work life, home life, educational life, and personal life. In addition, Arbinger offers open enrollment telecourses for helping professional such as personal coaches,therapists, and counselors.

For a list of upcoming open-enrollment seminars, click here.

Can I get one-on-one help applying Arbinger's work?
Yes, Arbinger has a personal coaching division, comprised of outstanding coaching professionals who have been trained to help individuals apply Arbinger's work in their day-to-day lives. Click here for more information about Arbinger's coaching services.

How can I explain Arbinger's work to others?
If you would like to interest someone in Arbinger's work, we would recommend that you have them read either Leadership and Self-Deception or The Anatomy of Peace.

Where can I purchase copies of Leadership and Self-Deception and The Anatomy of Peace?
Leadership and Self-Deception and The Anatomy of Peace are available at most major book stores as well as from on-line booksellers like Amazon.com and BN.com. In addition, you can purchase the books directly from Arbinger.

Does Arbinger have other publications I can read?
In addition to Arbinger's international bestseller, Leadership and Self-Deception, and its newest book, The Anatomy of Peace, Arbinger has a full list of very interesting materials to read, from materials applying Arbinger's work to teaching, to care giving, to treatment. Click here for a list of additional materials available from Arbinger.

Why doesn't Arbinger list author names on its publications?
We publish everything in the name of the company for three main reasons. First, we want to keep the focus on Arbinger's ideas and not on personalities. Second, writing is but one of many important tasks that are performed at Arbinger and we feel that those who write are no more important than those who contribute in other ways. And finally, writing anonymously helps us - individually and as an organization - to avoid the traps and pitfalls of ego.

We don't want to undermine the power of the ideas in any way, so we won't allow ourselves to get in their way. If authors are not careful they begin to enjoy the attention they receive. And when that happens everything changes. What once was promotion of an idea becomes promotion of self. What once was a desire to shed light becomes a desire to attract it. This is all insidious and grimy - not to mention the exact opposite of Arbinger's message. But it happens to good people. So in a way, you could say that we are desperately trying to avoid fame! We want to avoid both the effects of ego within the organization and the potentially corrupting effect it could have in our delivery of Arbinger's material.

What does "Arbinger" mean?
The word "arbinger" is the ancient French spelling of the word "harbinger." It means "one that indicates or foreshadows what is to come; a forerunner." The Arbinger Institute is a forerunner or "harbinger" of change.

How can I get involved with Arbinger?
There are many ways to become involved with Arbinger. On one end of the scale, you can make yourself a member of the Arbinger community by participating on our message boards. Or you can enroll in a public seminar.

If you are inquiring as part of an organization, you can attend facilitator training and become licensed to facilitate Arbinger's work within your organization.

If you would like one-on-one help applying Arbinger's ideas in your home or work life, you can engage an Arbinger coach.

If you are yourself a coach or therapist and would like to be trained and licensed to use Arbinger's work in your one-on-one work with clients, you can enroll in our coaching course or counseling and therapy course. Some of the graduates of these courses eventually become full-fledged Arbinger coaches that Arbinger then uses in its client work.

If you are interested in exploring the possibility of becoming a facilitator for Arbinger, as a first step in that process, you must first attend a public two day course. At that point, you should contact the Arbinger office nearest you for more information about the prospect of becoming a facilitator.

If you are from a country in which Arbinger does not yet have a presence and are interested in representing Arbinger in that territory, please contact Arbinger's worldwide headquarters.