Are you Brexit or Bremain?

And how this can help you empathise more with your customers.

The vote is going to be very close, closer than our current political leaders dare to admit. The British reject the continual political control that membership of the EU gives us; we love the trade and the wealth but deride the directives coming out of Brussels and the drive towards ever closer political union.

We have these views because we’re being selfish in part; we’re only looking at the situation in our own “shoes”. Let me explain further.

NLP gives us the 3 perceptual positions. Position one is where we only see things from our point of view, position two is where we can climb into the customer’s shoes and see things from their point of view, associate with them deeply. Position three is where we disassociate ourselves from both our shoes and the customer’s, and see both points of view.

Back to the issue of Europe and membership. Let’s try and see things from our European partner’s point of view. Every single member except the UK, has in the last couple of hundred years, been invaded and controlled by another state. Think about it, they all have at some point, except us. So after the second world war, the two largest states – France and West Germany – got together to try to prevent future wars and came up with the EU in the 1950’s.

Originally a trade body brought them together but they yearn for complete political joint control to ensure a war never ever happens again in Europe.

Fine intentions. Political union gives them security and stability and this is driving them forward towards that goal.

But it’s not our goal. We haven’t been invaded since 1066 and have no understanding of being occupied and told what to do by another state.

I wish someone would see it from perceptual position three – both sides – and come up with an agreement we can both live with. I believe our Prime Minister is aiming to do that and I’ll be voting Bremain. What about you?