Start Any Time
Certify At The Retreat
Up to two years
20
Founding Seats
Retreat 1
Founding-Price Cutoff
$5K locks in before CTHO IN NATURE
Self-Paced
+ Monthly Live Calls
2 Retreats
Silicon Valley HQ
$5,000
Founding Price
or $1,700 × 3
The Facilitators

The people holding
the standard.

Every CTHO retreat and live session is led personally by two of HumanOp®'s four co-founders. Not course videos. Not delegates. The co-founders of HumanOp® developed this training methodology, and Lisa and Wei are the ones who train you to carry it.

Lisa Nelson, Co-Founder and Master Trainer

Lisa Nelson

Co-Founder · Master Trainer

Lisa is the person in the room who sees what everyone else is still searching for words to describe. A truth revealer, master trainer, and one of the core intellectual forces behind HAi®, HumanOp® Authentic Intelligence, she spent her career turning raw insight into integrated behavioral change. She helped shape HAi® to do that at scale, so the same clarity she delivers in a room can reach anyone, anywhere.

Wei Houng, Co-Founder, Ideation, Innovation & Education

Wei Houng

Co-Founder · Ideation, Innovation & Education

Over 30 years of working with high-potential people who kept underperforming, not from lack of ability but from operating against their own nature, gave Wei a pressure-tested understanding of where the framework works and where it breaks. He's HumanOp®'s most demanding internal test case. Alongside Lisa, he facilitates the live education that translates Nature Map data into behavioral precision.

The Gap

Where the CHRO ends,
the CTHO begins.

The CHRO role was built around compliance, compensation, and legal safeguarding. It was not built around human potential. The CTHO is a new kind of practitioner: one whose sole job is to see human nature clearly and reliably, and to use that clarity in service of organizational performance.

The CHRO

Protects the organization from its people.

Policy, compliance, benefits, legal safeguarding, workforce administration. Necessary. But it was never built to unlock human potential, only to manage human liability.

The CTHO

Optimizes its people for the organization.

Performance, alignment, and potential: read through a reliable, observation-based methodology, not opinion. A CTHO doesn't guess at team dynamics. They read the observable markers directly and work from what is actually there.

"A CTHO doesn't operate from opinion or assumption. They operate from a reliable, observation-based methodology. That is the difference between guessing and knowing."

Who CTHOs Are

Two tracks.
One designation.

CTHOs don't enter the certification from one background. They arrive with different contexts, goals, and levels of clarity about how they'll use what they learn. That's a feature, not a problem, because HumanOp® technology applies across industries, roles, and disciplines.

Track 01

Already Know

You have a specific application in mind. CTHO adds depth, credibility, and language.

You came in knowing exactly where this knowledge fits. The certification is the precision layer on top of work you're already doing, and the credential that makes it recognized.

  • A coach integrating the Nature Map into their practice
  • A consultant building HumanOp® into their framework
  • An HR leader shifting how their company reads people
  • A designer or strategist adding a human performance lens
Your question going inHow do I deploy this most effectively in what I'm already doing?
Track 02

Exploring

You know this is the direction. You need the pathway to follow.

You've experienced the technology firsthand and you know you want a role in it, but not the exact shape yet. The certification gives you the designation, and the post-certification pathway gives you the path.

  • A professional seeking a career upgrade
  • Someone transitioning into coaching or consulting
  • A team leader wanting to apply it inside their own company
  • Someone who resonates deeply and wants to work within HumanOp®
Your question going inI know this is what I want. What do I do now?
The Training

15 modules.
Four phases. A lot of live practice on real Grids.

Self-directed on the LMS, reinforced by monthly live coaching calls with Lisa and Wei and ongoing office hours with the cohort. The curriculum moves from mindset to method to full methodology, and culminates in live practice reading real human Grids. A Grid is the readout of one person's nature: their traits, drivers, alchemy, communication style, perception, and energy, on a single page.

Phase 0 Program Orientation Module 00
  • The CTHO VisionWhy this certification exists, and what the world looks like when a CTHO applies this knowledge.
  • The Path to CertificationThe 12-12-7 standard, knowledge checks, and Grid Narratives that earn you the designation.
  • Your ResourcesThe Circle App, the CTHO Portal, and the HAi Trainer. Three tools from day one.
  • The CTHO DeclarationThe commitment every CTHO makes before beginning the work.
Phase I The Diagnostic Shift Modules 01–02
  • The Technologist MindsetOperating through the Eyes of Nature, choosing observation and data over opinion and assumption, and the 3 C's (Clarity, Commitment, Courage) that make the shift hold.
  • Moving From Opinion to ObservationDr. Zannah Hackett spent over twenty years on this problem. The error of fragmentation, and the distinction between the "Who" and the "What."
Phase II The Mathematics of Performance Module 03
  • The Law of ThreeThe structure behind everything visible, and the three-part pattern it always follows: Origin, Process, Result.
  • The Law of SevenThe rhythm running underneath the structure, and why it governs what you cannot see directly.
Phase III The Methodology Modules 04–15
  • The 6 Elements of the VehicleTraits, Motivational Drivers, Alchemic Boundaries, Communication Style, Perception of Life, Energy Pool.
  • The 7th Element: TimeThe Cycle of Life and its 12 intervals: how timing shapes expression.
  • The 7 TraitsThe make and model of your vehicle: how nature built each human to operate.
  • The 12 Motivational DriversThe fuel source: what actually drives a human being to do what they do.
  • The 3 Alchemic BoundariesInnate tolerance ranges for people, places, and things.
  • The 4 Communication StylesHow each person naturally opens the door to engage, relate, and learn.
  • Perception & EnergyHow you filter reality, and how much bandwidth you have to act on what you see.
  • Grid Crunching & NarrativeLive facilitated practice readings and formal documented Grid Narratives: the final demonstration of mastery.
The Retreats

Three days in the room.
The moment the methodology becomes a muscle.

Two retreats at HumanOp HQ in Silicon Valley bring the methodology to life through direct observation, partner work, and live Grid reading. Both are included in the founding cohort price: food on us, airfare and lodging on you.

Format

  • 3 days per retreat
  • Minimum 12, maximum 24 students
  • HumanOp HQ, Silicon Valley
  • Food provided · airfare & lodging not included
  • Both retreats included in certification cost

Facilitation

  • Wei Houng opens, pre-frames, and bridges every session
  • Lisa Nelson and Wei deliver methodology and element workshops
  • Both facilitators share breakout groups and interactive sessions
  • Two retreat cohorts per year: Spring and Fall
Retreat 1 · Required

CTHO IN NATURE

Bringing the knowledge to life through direct personal experience and live observation.

Prerequisite: Modules 00–12 complete before attending. You leave with: 3 Grid Crunching sessions, 2 Office Hours, your live Grid Narrative delivered in the room, and the Ethics Agreement signed.

  • Traits Workshop: function grouping, silent language, partner work
  • Motivational Drivers: pilot grouping, fuel mapping, partner work
  • The Bonding Framework: bond mapping across the cohort
  • Alchemy Interactive: Periodic Table arrangement, role play
  • Naked Readings in the community: Eyes of Nature live
  • Live Grid Crunching sessions led by Wei
  • Your live Grid Narrative, delivered in the room
  • Interval grouping + the 39 Reflection: facilitated conversation
Retreat 2 · Optional, Strongly Recommended

CTHO IN PRACTICE

Professional application: delivering Grid Narratives, client guidance, organizational consulting.

Prerequisite: Retreat 1 attended. You leave with: 3 additional Grid Crunching sessions, 2 additional Office Hours, advanced Grid Narrative practice with live feedback, and the full scope of how a CTHO serves.

  • Advanced Grid Crunching: complex, multi-layered Grids
  • Live Grid Narrative deliveries with group feedback
  • Client Guidance & Ethics: real scenarios, role play
  • Polarity Inside and Out: internal vs external mapping
  • Advanced Cycle of Life: cross-interval team dynamics
  • Peer Grid Exchange: students deliver narratives to each other
  • The Complete Picture: each student presents their vehicle
The Standard

Earning the designation
isn't about watching videos.

The CTHO designation is earned against a specific performance standard: the 12-12-7 metric. This is what separates a CTHO from someone who simply took a course.

12
Grid Crunching Sessions

Live facilitated practice readings of HumanOp® Grids: building fluency and precision reading real human architecture in real time.

12
Office Hours

Live Q&A sessions that deepen understanding and sharpen how you apply the methodology to your own context.

7
Grid Narratives

Telling the complete story of a Grid, start to finish. Six you record on your own. The seventh you deliver live, in the room, at CTHO IN NATURE.

Technical Mastery

All 15 modules and the final exam completed, with a minimum of 80% on every knowledge check. Not an average across all of them. Every single one.

Before Certification Is Granted

The final exam at 80% or better, the Ethics Agreement, and a final written reflection. All three submitted before the designation is issued.

Two 3-Day Retreats

Theory and application converge in the room. CTHO IN NATURE is required for certification. CTHO IN PRACTICE is optional but strongly recommended. Both at HumanOp HQ in Silicon Valley.

Start Whenever You Are Ready. Certify When You Are Ready.

The 15 modules are yours to work through at your own pace. Six of your seven Grid Narratives are recorded on your own time. The seventh you deliver live, in the room, at CTHO IN NATURE, and that is where your certification is conferred.

You have up to two years to get there. Both retreats are included: CTHO IN NATURE is required, CTHO IN PRACTICE is optional and strongly encouraged.

After Certification

The designation starts,
not ends, with training.

CTHO is built to be an active designation: one you renew, contribute to, and build inside of. The post-certification pathway turns new CTHOs into practicing ones, and practicing CTHOs into the recognized voices of the profession.

01

CTHO Directory Listing + Niche Selection

Every CTHO receives a listing in the official HumanOp® CTHO Directory. Choose your niche: Coach, Consultant, Business Strategist, Organizational Designer, HR Leader, or other.

At Certification
02

Case Studies & Testimonial Submissions

Document your client work through a standardized submission format. Demonstrated practitioners elevate above baseline listings, and build the library of evidence that strengthens the designation for everyone.

Ongoing
03

Referral Pipeline

When organizations contact HumanOp® looking for CTHO practitioners, we point them to the directory. Active CTHOs with documented case studies are prioritized.

Ongoing
04

Keeping Your Designation Active

Your CTHO function subscription keeps your Directory listing, your access to the referral pipeline, and your right to represent the designation publicly. Referral volume is not guaranteed. See what this costs.

Annual
05

HumanOp® Internal Hiring Pool

When HumanOp® needs to grow its team (facilitators, community leads, program directors, enterprise trainers), we look to the CTHO network first.

As HumanOp® Grows
Prerequisites

This is not for anyone
with $5,000.

In the past, anyone who could pay could train. Not anymore. The CTHO designation is reserved for practitioners who have committed to live by the HumanOp® technology, not just learn it. The application process exists to surface that commitment.

Practitioners Speak

This is not a new
technology.

HumanOp®'s methodology has been practiced for years by coaches, clinicians, consultants, and executives. The CTHO designation formalizes what they've already proven in the field: this changes how you read people.

With all humility, I've had a lot of accomplishments in my life: a doctor of chiropractic, a masters in sports health science, a bestselling author, president of one of the largest chiropractic associations in the world, owning multiple wellness centers. But one of the most rewarding accomplishments of my life was becoming a CTHO. It has changed my life, and I've been able to impact thousands of other lives because of understanding what they are and how they show up in this world.
Brian Stenzler, MS, DC · CTHOVP of Operations, KnoWEwell · Best-Selling Author

Practitioners who trained on the methodology

These practitioners trained under earlier HumanOp® programs, not the revamped certification described on this page. Individual results vary. Nothing here is a promise of results.

Within the first few months of this program I began closing deals faster and faster. It's easily saving me an hour per day, almost an entire day each week.
Randall Dobbins CTHO President · Diversity Works
I just did a session with a pediatric surgeon client and she cried by the time we were done. She was so overwhelmed that I could "SEE" her and give her action steps to tap into a healthier state of being.
Jennifer Ramos, CEPA® CTHO Healthcare Business Broker
The insights, techniques and true understanding of human nature have given me the ability to optimize myself in ways I never have before. Being able to objectively understand those I work with has helped me navigate tough moments with greater compassion.
Danette Bothwell CTHO Business Broker · M&A Business Advisors
After years of working with Fortune 500 Executives, I've found this System & Technology to be one of the most comprehensive tools I've used for team building and organization development.
Dr. Charles Richards, PhD CTHO Psychotherapist · Author · International Speaker

Clients who were supported by a CTHO

The freedom to focus on making my visions a reality for both myself AND my teams has been pivotal in helping us grow from being just a local business to positioning us to a global one.
Wendy Bond Client CEO · Global Escrow Partners, Inc.
I use this System & Technology moment to moment, day to day. It has allowed me the freedom to stay agile and relevant in my industry.
Dr. Edward Zimmerman Client Aesthetic Revolution · Las Vegas
What I enjoyed most is that it was precept upon precept, no guesswork. Everything was laid out. You really have to not want to make a change to not do this program and be forever changed by it.
Brenda Warren Client CEO & Founder · The Soulutionist

This is the first formalized certification path for the revamped methodology. Founding cohort members become the reference practitioners for every CTHO who follows.

Investment

Founding Cohort Pricing

The first 20 seats of the revamped CTHO designation receive a founding price. Once, and only once. After that, the full investment applies.

Founding Cohort · 20 Seats Total
$5,000$10,000
50% off the full CTHO investment, offered only for the first 20 founding seats.
Or 3 payments of $1,700.
  • All 15 modules on the LMS, self-directed
  • Monthly live coaching calls with Lisa & Wei
  • 12 live Grid Crunching sessions + 12 office hours
  • Both Silicon Valley retreats included: CTHO IN NATURE required, CTHO IN PRACTICE optional
  • Founding-cohort listing in the CTHO Directory, kept active by your CTHO function subscription
  • Priority consideration in HumanOp®'s practitioner referral pipeline. Referral volume is not guaranteed.
  • First access when internal HumanOp® roles open

Ways to Pay

Pay in full: $5,000. The founding rate, settled once.

Three payments: $1,700 a month for three months. Total $5,100.

Twelve months: $475 a month. Total $5,700.

Course access on Circle opens with your first payment. The CTHO function in the HumanOp® app activates with your third. Your designation and Directory listing are issued when you complete the coursework and your balance is settled.

Start Any TimeCertify at the retreat
(up to two years)
Retreat 1Founding price closes
at the first CTHO IN NATURE
20Seats · founding price ends at seat #20 or the first retreat, whichever comes first

Founding members become the reference cohort for every CTHO who follows. Your case studies, feedback, and standing shape the designation itself.

20 Founding Seats · $5K Until the First Retreat

You don't need permission to see people clearly. You need the method.

Apply for the Founding Cohort →
Before You Apply

Real questions.
Straight answers.

Is this worth $5,000?

We are not going to tell you what you will earn, because we do not know what you charge or who you serve. What we can tell you is what changes in the work. A coach who integrates this reads a client through a structured method instead of guessing at them. A consultant walking into a team has something to build the intervention on from day one. Whether that is worth $5,000 is your math to run, not ours.

Here is what you need in order to run it. It is $5,000, or 3 payments of $1,700. Airfare and lodging for the retreats are on you, food is on us, and after your first year the designation stays active while your CTHO function subscription is current, at $497 a year. You are also listed in the CTHO Directory, and when organizations come to HumanOp looking for practitioners, that directory is where we send them. Nothing on this page is a promise of income.

What CTHOs charge

We do not set your prices and we do not take a percentage of your work. These are suggested starting ranges for practitioners using the methodology, so you have somewhere to begin rather than a blank page.

The Read
One person. Assessment plus a debrief session
$350 to $750
The Arc
One person, four to six sessions over eight to twelve weeks
$2,000 to $3,500
The Team Read
Five to eight people. Individual maps plus a half-day team debrief
$3,500 to $7,500
Embedded
Organisational, quarterly, ongoing
$7,500 to $25,000 per quarter

Suggested ranges, not requirements. What you charge is your decision and your business, and we make no representation about what you will earn.

Your CTHO function subscription is $497 a year, against a starting range of $350 to $750 per client. The arithmetic is yours to run.

Will I actually finish it?

The program is structured to pull you through it. 15 modules are self-paced on the LMS, but they're reinforced by monthly live coaching calls, 12 office hours, and the 12 Grid Crunching sessions: all live, all calendared. You don't drift off alone.

Retreat 1 also requires Modules 00–12 complete before you arrive. That's a hard deadline built into the program, and it's the thing that actually pulls people through.

Is this designation recognized?

Today, CTHO is recognized inside HumanOp®'s ecosystem: Directory listing, active referral pipeline, priority for HumanOp®'s own hiring. That's where the immediate economic value sits.

Our long arc is deliberate. The goal is for "CTHO" to appear in LinkedIn job listings, on résumés, and in academic course catalogs, not because we promoted it, but because the market demanded it. Founding cohort members are the people who build that momentum. Their case studies, their practice, their results are what make this designation carry weight five years from now.

What if I can't attend a retreat?

Retreat 1, CTHO IN NATURE, is required for certification. No exceptions. It's three days at HumanOp HQ in Silicon Valley. Retreats run twice a year, Spring and Fall, so if you can't make the cohort's retreat, you attend the next one.

Retreat 2, CTHO IN PRACTICE, is optional but strongly recommended for anyone planning to build a practice on this methodology. Food is provided at both. Airfare and lodging are your responsibility.

How much time per week should I plan for?

Plan for 4–6 hours per week across modules, office hours, and Grid Crunching sessions, plus the two 3-day retreats. Modules 00–12 must be complete before Retreat 1, so the first months are the densest.

Do I need to already be a coach or consultant?

No. CTHOs arrive on two tracks. Some already know exactly where they'll deploy the methodology: coaches, consultants, HR leaders, team leads. Others are exploring a career upgrade and want the designation to be part of that pivot. Both are welcome. What we screen for is personal experience with the HumanOp® technology and a clear intention for how you'll use it, not an existing practice.

What's actually required to apply?

Four things: an active HumanOp account, personal experience with your own Nature Map, a clear intention for how you'll use this work, and a commitment to the 12-12-7 standard. The application form asks you to speak to each.

Applications are reviewed personally within 7 days. If accepted, you receive a payment link for whichever plan you choose: $5,000 in full, $1,700 × 3, or $475 a month for twelve months.

Apply

Apply for the
founding cohort.

Applications are reviewed personally by Lisa Nelson. We read every answer. Expect to hear back within 7 days.

Refunds and cancellation

You can cancel within 30 days of payment for a full refund minus a $100 administrative fee, as long as you have not been granted access to the course material on Circle and the CTHO function in the app has not been activated for your account.

Once either of those is open to you, the material is yours and sales are final. The coursework is proprietary and cannot be returned.

If we decline your application after you have paid, you get everything back within 10 business days and no administrative fee applies.

If we cancel the program before it finishes, you receive a prorated refund for the portion not yet delivered.

Full terms are in the Enrollment Agreement, which you sign before you begin.

Before you apply: Re-take your Nature Map at app.humanop.com if it's been more than 6 months. We review each applicant's current data as part of the decision. Review our refund and cancellation policy before you apply.

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