Abstract: Questions whether the search for excellence should begin in the corporation or in the world of the individual, on which neuro-linguistic programming (NLP) is based. Examines the individual holistically – “we are what we think”, modelled on internal as well as external states, and explores how to incorporate the associated personal effectiveness techniques with orthodox training and development programmes. Looks at the aspects of self-modelling and the whole brain, both left and right, and concludes that a new cognitive approach to management science is necessary for the 1990s.