Sterling Management is a

management consulting Management consulting is the practice of providing consulting services to organizations to improve their performance or in any way to assist in achieving organizational objectives. Organizations may draw upon the services of management consultan ...

firm led by CEO and Chairman Kevin Wilson. A private corporation owned and operated by the Emery Wilson Corporation, it offers business administration seminars and training based on

L. Ron Hubbard Lafayette Ronald Hubbard (March 13, 1911 – January 24, 1986) was an American author, primarily of science fiction and fantasy stories, who is best known for having founded the Church of Scientology. In 1950, Hubbard authored '' Dianeti ...

's teachings to dentists, accountants,

veterinarian A veterinarian (vet), also known as a veterinary surgeon or veterinary physician, is a medical professional who practices veterinary medicine. They manage a wide range of health conditions and injuries in non-human animals. Along with this, vet ...

s, optometrists and other medical and private practice professionals. Founded in 1983 in the back office of a

dental practice Dentistry, also known as dental medicine and oral medicine, is the branch of medicine focused on the teeth, gums, and mouth. It consists of the study, diagnosis, prevention, management, and treatment of diseases, disorders, and conditions of ...

Vacaville, California Vacaville is a city located in Solano County in Northern California. Sitting approximately from Sacramento and from San Francisco, it is within the Sacramento Valley. As of the 2020 census, Vacaville had a population of 102,386, making it t ...

, it is currently located in a office in

Los Angeles Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the List of municipalities in California, largest city in the U.S. state, state of California and the List of United States cities by population, sec ...

California California is a state in the Western United States, located along the Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the most populous U.S. state and the 3rd largest by area. It is also the m ...

Services

Sterling provides services under a license from WISE, the

World Institute of Scientology Enterprises World Institute of Scientology Enterprises (WISE) is a Church of Scientology organization headquartered in Los Angeles, California. It states that it is an "international membership organization whose members use both L. Ron Hubbard management tec ...

^p. 10, which oversees the use of

's copyrighted materials in applications in the business community at large. For practice owners and key executives Sterling's services involve formal training delivered at their facilities in

Los Angeles, California Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the largest city in the state of California and the second most populous city in the United States after New York City, as well as one of the world' ...

. Staff training is typically delivered at weekend workshops held by the company throughout the year in major cities around the US.

History

According to a deposition by Emery Wilson's Director of Public Affairs, from 1994 to 2015 the company was affected by the economic climate, reducing its staff complement to 25 from nearly 300.^p. 7

Relationship to the Church of Scientology

The company is licensed to train the administration methods of L. Ron Hubbard, but claim that they are not a religious organization. The company's Director of Public Affairs has, however, stated that most of the company's employees are involved in

Scientology Scientology is a set of beliefs and practices invented by American author L. Ron Hubbard, and an associated movement. It has been variously defined as a cult, a Scientology as a business, business, or a new religious movement. The most recent ...

.^p. 25

Criticism

Sterling has been criticized for its "high-pressure sales tactics". According to the LA Times, Sterling offers and teaches the same techniques the Church of Scientology has for years employed including heavy marketing, high productivity and rigid rules of employee conduct. Wilson's ''New Religious Movements'' and Heela's ''The New Age Movement'' describe Sterling as an "''est''-like movement", referring to

Werner Erhard Werner Hans Erhard (born John Paul Rosenberg; September 5, 1935) is an American author and lecturer known for founding est, which operated from 1971 to 1984. He has written, lectured, and taught on self-improvement. In 1977 Erhard, with the s ...

Erhard Seminars Training Erhard Seminars Training (marketed as est, though often encountered as EST or Est) was an organization, founded by Werner Erhard in 1971, that offered a two-weekend (6-day, 60-hour) course known officially as "The est Standard Training". The sem ...

. Glover Rowe and his wife Dee stated in 1990 that they were forcibly held against their will by Scientologists after attending two Sterling seminars: they claimed that their tests indicated that without auditing, their business would fail and Dee would abuse their child.

"They put a telephone in front of me and said I should call every member of my family and tell them I was a member of the Church of Scientology. I refused," said Mrs. Rowe. "At that point, they said, 'but you see Dee, you have to.'....... "For seven hours, a man drilled me, tried to brainwash me," said Mrs. Rowe. " l begged him to let me go, he kept saying, 'but you see Dee, you can't.' He tried to get me to confess to crimes. He started getting me to tell him sex stories. He made me list every overt sin I had committed. They insisted I write down everything I had done wrong. I couldn't list anything bad enough to please them." (" 'Management Seminar' Harrowing Experience", by Terry Dean, ''Cherokee County Herald'', December 12, 1990 pp. 1A, 5A)

Sterling disputes this account, saying that the account is "extremely exaggerated and contains complete untruths," saying that after being published in a small weekly newspaper in Cherokee County, "the story was then picked up and forwarded by a number of web sites whose stated and sole intentions are to slam and cause trouble for the Church of Scientology and anything vaguely related to the works of L. Ron Hubbard." Sterling's blog also reproduces the order revoking Rowe's license to practice dentistry and reports on his criminal record.

References

External links