GRLittle cv 2016

Graham Little PhD
Mobile 006421909310 email graham@grahamlittle.co.nz
LinkedIn www.linkedin.com/in/grahamrlittle
Business www.opdcoach.com Philosophy www.grlphilosophy.co.nz
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Curriculum vitae Graham Richard Little
1. Significant achievements
o High school: School prefect. Vice-captain of the school first fifteen and school athletic
team. Runner up dux.
o Canterbury University, PhD.
o Visited Shell Australia to select the training programs most applicable to Shell Oil New
Zealand, implementing the programs on return to NZ.
o Technical advisor during Oil Industry negotiations with the New Zealand Drivers Union.
o Planned and implemented a ‘planning for your retirement’ program for Shell Oil New
Zealand.
o Successfully introduced an American franchised meal delivery system (Temprite) into
NZ Hospitals.
o Commercial Director with L J Fisher private entrepreneurial vehicle.
Turned around a kitchen cabinet factory.
Due diligence on several companies then purchased by the group.
o Founder and CEO of:
The counseling company Institute of Theoretical and Applied Social Science
Limited.
The short course training company The New Zealand Business School.
Oversaw operation of the business, especially marketing, staff performance, and
retained overview and managed creation of the materials and approach for
developing people in both businesses.
o Conducted the first short supervisor training course in Auckland.
o Wrote the letter to the then Post Office to create the section in the Yellow Pages
‘Psychologist’.
o Seven years with monthly column in Management Magazine.
o Four years with weekly talk back show on 1ZB.
o Six years with article in the automotive newsletter Quarterly Report.
o Nine books published on leadership and management, four in New Zealand five in
London.
o Regular contributor to the letters in the NZ Herald.
o Extensive successful contract completion in strategy development, restructuring, and
improving human performance.
o Researched epistemology, ontology, social philosophy, and psychology. Adopted the
cybernetics methodology of W. Ross Ashby, and redeveloped it for the creation of theory
in social science. Applied the methodology to build a general theory of psychology.
Interpreted the theory, consolidated the method, theory and interpretations in a book,
The Origin of Consciousness.
o Arising from the intellectual position in ‘Origin’, developed new approach to strategic
human resources, designed, tested and commercialized the OPD-SHRM system
consisting of consulting process and web based management system. System described
in detail at www.opdcoach.com.
o Lecture on the OPD system of organizational design at Unitec, including creation of
suitable examination questions and answers for student assessment.

Graham Little PhD
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o Associated with Dr Pieter Nel, Professor of HR at Unitec as global academic
spokesperson for the OPD theory.
o Three management books accepted for evaluation in the UK 2013 Management Book of
the Year Competition.
o Taught graduate ‘Organizational change’, 2015, UUNZ, University of Southern
Queensland paper, 12 students, who achieved 2A, 4B, 6C.
o Testimonial by Professor Nel on the OPD theory:
The OPD model, based on the research of Dr. Graham Little, is a solution to the HR
questions being raised and is probably of the most logical and thorough intellectual
development currently available in the HR field. The OPD approach is probably 10 years
ahead of current thinking in this field. ... The OPD-SHRM system is an idea whose time
has come in the challenging times currently facing businesses globally.
o Building market traction for the new OPD theory into the design and operation of
organizations.
2. Skill summary
o Student motivation and assessment: Experience at design and application of
examination systems to assess student progress.
o Tutoring and lecturing: Experience at gaining interest and maintaining student
engagement.
o Research: Broad experience base enables balanced research design of projects.
o Design of learning & development: Expert in training and development program
design.
o Policy: Experience in drafting policy guidelines and design of associated business
processes that enable performance and efficiency.
o Policy and governance: Excellent general strategic and business management skills.
o Business process design: Clear and systematic approach resulting in simple, cost
effective policy and procedures.
o Financial responsibility: Employed in several roles with full P&L accountability.
o Business planning: Expert in integrating HR strategic plans into general business
strategic planning.
o Business projects: Able to research a business and design, develop, and guide
implementation of projects to improve performance, staff satisfaction and profits.
o Facilitation: Over 10,000 hours of successful group training experience in New Zealand
largely at level of middle management, Executive development and senior sales person.
o Performance management: Expert at enabling performance improvement in teams and
individually.
o Talent development, succession planning: Insightful of talent, and skilled at drawing
it forth.
o OSH, recruitment, remuneration and payroll: Experience at policy on payroll
systems, pay for performance systems, recruitment policy and OSH.
o IT: Skilled in use of Office.
o Mergers and acquisitions: Experienced in cultural blending and IT integration.

Graham Little PhD
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3. Personal qualities
o Deep, clear thinker. Drawn to challenging problems. Sees big picture, but strong on
managing the detail. Persistent and determined. Works well in a team. Excellence verbal
and written English. Patient. Determined. Assertive. High emotional intelligence. Gets
things done.
o Educated Canterbury University, B.Sc. (Hons), PhD (1971, Organic Chemistry)
o Health, excellent. Regular attendance at the gym.
o Hobbies writing, gym, fly fishing both fresh and salt water. Holds two salt water fly
fishing world records.
o Associate Fellow of the New Zealand Institute of Management.
o A member of the Society for Theoretical and Philosophical Psychology, a division of the
American Psychological Association (APA).
4. Employment history
o PhD Canterbury University.
o Two years Shell Oil chemical sales representative and two years training and recruitment
officer in Head Office Personnel.
o Two years contract general manager in Command Services.
o Two years Commercial Director Fisher International, Commercial Support to the late
Lou Fisher.
o Six years CEO of psychological counseling company, ITASS. Institute of Theoretical
and Applied Social Sciences Limited.
o Twelve years CEO of the corporate short course training company, The New Zealand
Business School Limited.
o Eighteen years as self-employed independent consultant, contracts focused on staff
performance, general strategic consulting, senior team development, HR advisor and
strategic HR.
o Since 2006, founder and CEO of the human capital development business OPD
International Limited (www.opdcoach.com).
5. Depth of background and experience
The research base: ITASS and the New Zealand Business School
Around 1983-4 I formed the New Zealand Business School (NZBS) out of the psychological
counselling organization, Institute of Theoretical and Applied Social Science Limited (ITASS,
formed about 1980). I was founder and CEO of ITASS holding 25% of shares, the balance held by
three psychologists.
ITASS was the first fully developed counselling organization in Auckland and I wrote to the then
Telecom precursor to request the section ‘Psychologists’ be established in the yellow pages. ITASS
had five full time psychologists, delivering counselling services to some 6 people per day.
The technology of ITASS was based on my initial psychological theory. We were globally unique, in
that we offered set and specified contracts for our services. In terms of current conventional
specification of psychology, ITASS technology was cognitive/behavioral self-management blended
back into in-depth psychiatric process, that today I define in my theories as ‘spiritual’ modification.
Our processes were very successful and typically achieved the specified outcome in the contracted
period. One of the keys to the success was the up-front contract negotiated with the client in the first
two 50 minute sessions.

Graham Little PhD
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ITASS also conducted evening group courses on stopping smoking, assertiveness, male and female
sexuality, stress management, and self-management to build personal satisfaction (what later, after
Goleman, became known as emotional intelligence, ITASS technology predated Goleman by at least a
five years).
As CEO I supervised ITASS technology, chaired the individual case reviews, and retained oversight
on group programs.
ITASS was so successful at recruiting general practitioners to our seminars the Auckland Medical
School sought our advice on gaining GP attention since they could not achieve the same level of
success with their professional development seminars. I conducted the evening marketing seminars for
GPs. ITASS is today my personal holding company when I recently reverted to that name.
In addition, ITASS conducted supervisor training and in fact delivered the first supervisor short course
conducted in Auckland, designed and delivered by me, based on the psychology of behavior change
embedded in ITASS behavior change technology, but blended with understanding of supervision
drawn from corporate/management literature.
ITASS broke up and I formed NZBS from the organization training base already existing in ITASS. I
was in partnership with one of the psychologists who was in the NZBS role of course designer and
Product Development Director, responsible for product design and the research to support all design
modifications.
For some five-seven years, NZBS was the dominant training organization in NZ. We were training
over 15,000 people/year on business short courses. NZBS was in fact a significant part of my research
and application of my ideas on how to do it. During this period, I had a monthly column in
Management Magazine, authored the bestselling 101 Ways management books published by Reeds,
and had a weekly leadership program on 1ZB. Unfortunately, NZBS was too new, and neither I nor
the business had the capital to survive the recession (1991-93) after the 1987 crash, and as you will
likely know, I have been bankrupt (1993-1996).
The NZBS training was dominant due the single fact that the focus was on behavior change at work.
NZBS adopted a fully psychological system to achieve that, applying researched and agreed behavior
change technology (derived from ITASS and the base of psychological counselling and psychiatric
international literature). In the process of applying it to large groups from organizations, we learned
about the efficacy of that technology in organizations. In fact, the psychological structure adopted in
NZBS is still not adopted by the market with the depth or intensity delivered by NZBS, hence modern
corporate training has not yet reached the standards set in the NZBS over 25 years ago.
You may like to examine some of the detail in my CV on LinkedIn to understand the research
methodology I supervised and applied in NZBS, and then extrapolate that scientific approach to judge
the depth of data and insight I gained, given I had an intellectual orientation quite different from the
rest of the world. Note, research is now coming through that science research is not ‘empirical’, it is
always driven by the intellectual orientation of the researchers. What one finds all depends on the pre-
existing ‘question’ one is seeking to answer (with ‘question’ meaning how one sees the circumstance
and hence the reason one is doing the research). I have fully understood that for 40 years and well
understood how and why my ‘question’ was quite different from anyone else I could research.
Several times I was approached to go back into training, but declined since first, I was not willing to
do it again without capital backing, and second I was by then deeply into the second research phase
building my general theory of psychology and linking that back through to organizations and linking
people to the organization.
NZBS was unfortunately financially and emotionally very costly. Had NZBS survived, I am not sure I
would have reached the intellectual conclusions I have or with the depth. I reflect on that and find

Graham Little PhD
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such a thought interesting, but then serious research is like that, it is called ‘serendipity’,
opportunistically studying the sludge at the bottom of the test tube and finding it is full of a new
compound… (I actually had that experience in my PhD in 1969).
The depth of the intellectual structure
Over the past 40 years I have developed improved intellectual methodology in social science, applied
it to develop a general theory of psychology, and then applied that to build a theory of organizations
from which I have derived a technology of team leadership that increases the financial or KPI output
from the team while enhancing the satisfaction of team members.
My fundamental intellectual position is in the book The Origin of Consciousness (written 2012-2014)
with the summary paper Through the glass darkly (written May 2016).
It was not until around 2000 that I realized my philosophical interest and my experience in NZBS
came together to form an organizational design and operation product/system quite different from
what is still current conventional wisdom.
The organization human capital development system (OPD-HCD™) derived from the general theory
of psychology is fully developed, with complete material and tools to implement it in any sized
organization in any industry. It includes the learning acquired during my time leading the NZ
Business School, such as the training transfer, gaining full buy-in to the essential self-development
psychological processes, the building of attitudes toward personal performance, expectations of what
can be achieved in a session of behavior change versus information, how to build the application
between sessions to enable greatest behavior change, etc.
OPD system is also extensively written up from various organization points of view in papers and
books available free in PDF at my LinkedIn profile (www.linkedIn.com/in/grahamrlittle).
The intellectual position and the OPD-HCD™ reinforce each other in the market. As the OPD-HCD™
proves itself and is adopted, so the intellectual position is proved and reinforced. As the intellectual
position grows in credibility, it feeds back and reinforces OPD theory. The market credibility flowing
from recognition of my intellectual position is where I expect to make my major personal contribution
to (global) sales of the OPD system of organization design (after initial training of distributor staff to
coach and deliver the necessary sales and client systems to enable commercial success).
The focus of my life’s work
By now it should be clear that this is my life’s work, ITASS and NZBS stepping stones toward what I
have today, namely full solutions to crucial questions that dominate existence of modern humans:
Who am it, where did I come from, why am I here, how do I understand me, and how do I manage me
to ensure a rewarding life experience?
I am a scientist. Therefore, solutions to the questions had to be grounded on an irrefutable intellectual
base. Achieving that was significantly harder than I thought it would be when I stepped onto my life
path in 1974.
I will offer scientific solutions superior to those offered by such people as Plato, Marx, Freud, Jung,
Eckhart Tolle, Adam Smith, Deepak Chopra, John Searle, Rhonda Byrne, Daniel Dennett, or Richard
Dawkins, etc. I offer ideas proven scientifically, that combine and resolve mystical versus scientific
philosophies, and when applied intrinsically enable the desired end of improved life experience
grounded on reason.

Graham Little PhD
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6. References available on request.
7. Research and publications
Research:
o Research experience in organic chemistry from completing my PhD.
o CEO and founder of the Institute of Theoretical and Applied Social Science (ITASS)
Limited developing more effective, and more cost effective for the client, counselling
interventions for typical psychological issues of stress, depression, substance abuse,
stopping smoking, anxiety, and relationship difficulties.
o As CEO and founder of The New Zealand Business School, developed out of ITASS,
research into training room interventions to achieve greatest behavior change in
delegates that translated into the greatest performance gains back on the job for the client
company. (PS: the NZBS trained 15000 people/year, 1985-1993).
o Research into the training and skills needed by tutors to enable changes in delegates in
business training courses that lead to positive returns in results for the client company.
o In depth social science research in developing a general theory of psychology, written
up and published in the book, The Origin of Consciousness.
o In depth HR research developed from within the general theory of psychology on the
link between a person and the organization, how to manage that link to gain greatest
commercial payback, and build greatest satisfaction for the person. See the books below.
o Research into sociology, applying cybernetic tools to establish a clear theoretical link
between OPD strategic human resource management (OPD-SHRM) and community
health. This research available in the book Building community wealth and health.
o Methodological insight and experience.
Practical experience in physical science methodology from the PhD.
Quantitative links between counselling interventions, time, hours, costs, and
assessed cognitive, emotional, and behavior changes (Quantified by use of
questions requiring 1-10 response, from client and validated by family implicated
in the desired behavioral, emotional and cognitive changes).
Quantitative links between training room interventions and company profit gains.
Quantitative links between OPD human resource management and profit gains.
Quantitative links between OPD strategic human resource management
investment and the company profit and loss and balance sheet.
In depth understanding of research design, both empirical and theoretical design.
Developed unique social science methodology based on W Ross Ashby
cybernetics in order to develop the general theory of psychology, which in turn
lead to the OPD theory of organizational design. (See book ‘Origin’, first 3
chapters)
Publications:
o Little, G.R. PhD thesis, Studies in Carbonium Ion chemistry, 1971, Canterbury
University, Christchurch, New Zealand.
o Journal papers arising from the PhD.

Graham Little PhD
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Blackett, B.N., Coxon, J.M., Hartshorn, M.P., Lewis, A.J., Little, G.R. and
Wright, G.J. The mechanism of 1,3-dioxolane formation from the BF3-catalysed
reaction of epoxides with carbonyl compounds. Tetrahedron, 1970, 26: 1311.
Coxon, J.M., Hartshorn, M.P., Little, G.R. and Maister, S.G. The directing effect
of the S-O configuration on the pyrolysis of cyclic sulphites. J. Chem. Soc.,
Chem. Commun., 1971, 271.
Cole, R.F.J., Coxon, J.M., Hartshorn, M.P. and Little, G.R. Mass spectrometric
studies of some substituted cyclohexane-1,2-diols. Aust. J. Chem., 1973, 26:
1277.
o First papers in social science that chartered the research path.
Little G. R. Social Models: Blueprints or Processes. Impact of Science on
Society, 1981, vol. 31, No.4, pp 439.
Little G. R. Creativity and conflict in psychological science. Impact of Science
on Society, 1984, 134/135, pp 203.
o Management books.
Little, G. R. 101 Ways to be a Better Manager. Reed Publishing, Auckland, 1988,
second edition 1990.
Little, G. R. 101 Ways to be a Better Production Manager, Reed Publishing,
Auckland, 1990.
Little, G. R. 101 Ways to be a Better Retail Manager, Reed Publishing, Auckland,
1990.
Little, G. R. 101 Ways to be a Better Sales Manager, Reed Publishing, Auckland,
1990.
Little G. R. 5 Steps to Successful Business Leadership, MB2000, London, 2000.
Little G. R. Operations Team Leadership, MB2000, London, 2000.
Little G. R. Management Team Leadership, MB2000, London, 2000.
Little G. R. Retail Team Leadership, MB2000, London, 2000.
Little G. R. Sales Team Leadership, MB2000, London, 2000.
o OPD journal papers.
Nel P.S. & Little G.R. An Integrated Strategic Human Resource Theory to
Achieve Organization Objectives , The International Journal of Organizational
Behavior pp. 4-13 (http://www.usq.edu.au/~/media/USQ/Business-
Law/Journals/NelLittle%20Paper%201.ashx)
Nel P.S. & Little G.R. Sustainable leadership: The fundamental solution to
lasting superior staff performance, Asia Pacific Journal of Business and
Management, 2010, Volume 1 (1), pp. 43-54.
(http://www.uunz.ac.nz/pdf/journal/edition1/Journal_part4.pdf)
Nel and Little The Future of Organizational Design, World Review of Business
Research, Vol. 5. No. 2. April 2015.
http://www.wrbrpapers.com/static/documents/April/2015/5.%20Pieter.pdf
o OPD books.
Little G. R. The Last Leadership book you ever need read, Self Help Guides
Limited, Auckland, 2011.
Little G. R. Time budgeting; Getting the best result from the time available. Self
Help Guides Limited, Auckland, 2011.

Graham Little PhD
Page 8 of 10
Little G. R. Modern Team Leadership, Self Help Guides Limited, Auckland,
2011.
Little G. R. The Role of Human Resources Management in the Modern
Organization: Making human resources the driver of success. Self Help Guides
Little G. R. Rollout: Improving Rollout of Business Strategy. Self Help Guides
Little G. R. Human Capital, Self Help Guides Limited, Auckland, 2012.
Little G. R. Executive Pocket Guidebook: Summary of making organizations
more successful. Self Help Guides Limited, Auckland, 2012.
Little G. R. Building Community Wealth and Health: Achieving a wealthier and
fairer society. Self Help Guides Limited, Auckland, 2012
Little G. R. Introduction to Redesigning the Organization Book Series, Self Help
Guides Limited, Auckland, 2012.
Little G. R. The Mind of the CEO: Thinking habits of the successful CEO. Self
Help Guides Limited, Auckland, 2014
o Consolidation of research into social science methodology and it application to a build
and then interpret a general theory of psychology.
Little, G. R. The Origin of Consciousness, Self Help Guides Limited, Auckland
2013.
o Personal notes/papers on intellectual on resolution of the key research questions.
Web site www.grlphilosophy.co.nz . These papers formed the basis of the book
The Origin of Consciousness.
o Business coaching manuals.
Eighteen corporate training/coaching workbooks published on web at
www.SelfHelpGuides.com.
Creating high performing teams.
Customer handling skills.
Achieving more sales through your sales team.
Introduction to selling.
Senior sales refresher.
Making training pay.
Negotiating.
Poise and personal power in business.
Improving profits.
Retail selling.
Retail store management.
Telephone skills.
Fundamentals of coaching.
o Poetry, at www.grlphilosophy.co.nz.
1981 to 1991: Cogito revised
Some Wet Sunday
Dianne

Graham Little PhD
Page 9 of 10
Tomorrow today
The I of I
Power of Images
It does not get better than this
Friend's 60th
Years that separate
Birthdays
Complex!
Structure of Relationship
To a Woman Drawn
o Essays on social science, www.grahamlittle.blogspot.com, 2014.
Into me see: The beginning (on method).
Why we do what we do.
Mind over matter.
The structure of truth.
Hope for stroke.
The explanation of everything human.
How do we know the truer theory?
o Essays on social science and psychology, LinkedIn posts,
www.linkedin.com/in/grahamrlittle, 2015.
How do we build a general theory of psychology?
Why we do what we do.
Mind over matter.
The structure of truth.
The correct theory of psychology must explain all human output.
Ideas truth and integrity.
Understanding and managing depression.
The psychology of freedom.
How do I think and can I do better.
Do our genes determine who we are?
Defining consciousness.
The intellectual structure of social science.
o Essays on leadership and organization development, LinkedIn posts,
www.linkedin.com/in/grahamrlittle, 2015.
Achieving the perfect game to double profits.
Making HR the proactive driver of strategic success.
Management is more important than leadership.
Leadership making work fun.
Making your work day more fulfilling for you.
Okay strategy is agreed. Now what?
Understanding and managing motivation.
An integrated motivation policy.

Graham Little PhD
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Goal setting is old hat, why do we need KPIs?
Management versus leadership. Let’s settle the debate once and for all.
Change and continuous improvement in business.
Governance, senior leadership and organizational design.
New approach to HR to get better results.
Understanding and managing financial reports.
Desirable preconditions for unlimited leave.
Work, flow and job satisfaction.
Building a high performing culture.
Redefining engagement.
The OPD analysis of training and coaching.
Would you like to double profits.
o General essays. www.grahamlittle.blogspot.com. 2012.
Toward new social thinking.
Who am I and where did I come from?
Understanding culture.
o General essays. www.grahamlittle.blogspot.com. 2011.
Where passion meets purpose.
Selecting economic policy on science not ideological preferences.
Only we can do that.
A society needs rules.
Why did that happen?
The cycle of birth and death (of the universe).
The abuse of science.
Toward a fair society.
When science isn’t.
Understanding what it is like to be...you, me, he, she or thee.
Building a fair society.
Who are we?
Bringing heart to our legislation.
Giving democracy a soul.
Understanding culture (initial thoughts)
Searching for me.
Pike river mine and Horizon disaster: Why?
Refinement on Goldberg thesis and why men rule.
The right to leave...
What came before the big bang?
Business ethics, spirituality and the righteous man.

GRLittle cv 2016

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