My friend and colleague Peter Honey, who has died aged 87, was a behavioural psychologist and independent consultant working with business managers and their staff.
He designed workshops and courses emphasising behaviour that could be reviewed and dealt with directly. He would share the results of behavioural analysis (who asks questions? Who helps others? Who clarifies problems?) with those with whom he was working.
Peter helped with the Video Arts series of training programmes on management skills in the 1980s, featuring people such as John Cleese. He also wrote regular columns for magazines such as Training Journal, as well as many books.
Born in Oxford, Peter was the son of Margaret (nee Hinton) and John Honey; when he was 13 the family moved to the Isle of Man. His father was bursar at King William’s college in Castletown, where Peter also went to school. He studied psychology at Hull and Oxford, and did his national service in Singapore, where he met Carol Lewis, the daughter of an army chaplain. They married in 1964.
The year before, Peter had joined the Ford Motor Company. From there he moved to BOAC, becoming a freelance behavioural psychologist in 1969. We met in the late 70s when he was consulting at ICL, where I was head of management development.
Later, in another job, we designed the Honey and Mumford Learning Styles Questionnaire, which was accompanied by a book, The Manual of Learning Styles (1982). These are still used around the world, in several languages. Peter oversaw the expansion of a successful wider business from this, Peter Honey Publications, publishing 40 books on workplace and behaviour.
A superb speaker at conferences, Peter never allowed audiences to relax under the spell of his oratory, but jolted them awake by the questions he asked them. As in all his interactions, his humour added to everything.
Peter was a keen artist, and produced many watercolours that he sold for charity. He also wrote short stories and poetry, and became a croquet champion and chair of croquet at Roehampton club, in south-west London. He devoted his time and energy to many charities, including the Prisoners’ Education Trust. He was also an enthusiastic member of U3A, running art and writing groups. All his successes derived from his quick intelligence, and an ability to challenge without egotistical assertiveness. He was great fun to work with.
Carol survives him, as do their children Timothy, Katie, James and David, and eight grandchildren. Another daughter, Susan, died in childhood.
