Scanlon August 2006 E-zine

Greetings!

In this E-Zine we are pleased to welcome Auto-Owners Insurance and the Demmer Corporation into membership in the Scanlon Leadership Network. Read more about them and begin networking. We are seeking volunteers who want to develop personally, professionally and organizationally. We have openings on our Best Practices and Annual Conference Planning teams. A group of four Scanlon Leadership Network members will be touring Southwest Airlines this month. We will be learning about how they maintain their unique culture. We will report back what we learn in future E-Zines. LFI has been using the Lean Sim. Machine to help manufacturers in their community learn how to value stream map. Our featured member service is "leadership development." Learn how we develop leaders the Scanlon way and download a free leadership workbook. We hope you are enjoying your summer.


Scanlon Leadership Network Studies Southwest Airlines Learning Group

“When we find people we can learn from, we bring them or their information back to our members,” said Paul Davis, President, Scanlon Leadership Network.

Davis along with Myron Marsh, CEO, Thomson Shore, Chuck Cockburn, CEO, Watermark Credit Union, and Becky Fulgoni, VP for People, Landscape Forms Inc. will be going to Dallas, TX to study Servant Leadership first hand with Southwest Airlines and TDIndustries. Anne McGee-Cooper, the consultant who has helped to develop and maintain the cultures of Southwest and TD Industries is helping to host the Scanlon delegation.

Southwest and TDIndustries are part of a learning group that meets regularly in Dallas. Southwest will be hosting the next meeting. The members of the Scanlon Leadership Network will be attending to gather a wealth of knowledge that can be brought back and applied to creating similar groups.

“Everyone wants to study Southwest because of their success, but few are able. With Ann McGee’s help, and because our long practice of servant leadership we are being given this opportunity,” said Davis.

Scanlon member companies have achieved honors such as being listed among the Best Places To Work. Southwest and TDIndustries are in the Best Places to Work Hall of Fame among only twenty companies who have been on the list every year it has been published. With Southwest, Scanlon Network members will have had the opportunity to study three of the 20 Hall of Fame Companies...Southwest, TDIndustries and Synovus. All work hard to maintain their unique cultures, through training, culture committees, and careful selection of merger or aquisitiion partners.



Volunteers Needed for Scanlon Network Teams

Members of the Scanlon Leadership Network interested in personal, professional and organizational development are needed for the Annual Conference Planning and Best Practices Teams.

The Annual Conference Planning Team is responsible for determining the theme, content, and evaluation of the annual conference. Team members select speakers and workshop facilitators on topics of critical interest to the members. Meetings are limited to three or four times a year with some additional email correspondence. Team members also help during the conference with a wide variety of tasks from introducing speakers to helping with registration.

“This is a great team to be a part of because there is opportunity to meet and work with other Network members from a variety of organizations. There is always an energetic and friendly atmosphere when everyone comes together,” said Majel Maes, Director of Programs and Administration, Scanlon Leadership Network. “Being a part of the Annual Conference Planning team can enhance many skills from leading a team to public speaking."

The Best Practices Team is responsible for evaluating all of the Best Practices and assigning gold, silver and bronze awards. The Best Practice Team also administers the Stewardship Award and the new Frost Award.

“These team members get first hand exposure to the Best Practices, and are able to learn about the details that qualify submissions for awards, giving them insight into the current state of Scanlon thought and practice” said Maes. They also get to know great Scanlon leaders as they evaluate candidates for the Steward and Frost awards.

The time commitment to being on the Best Practices team is fairly small. Team members review all submissions and attend one team meeting for evaluation of the submissions. Team members also attend the Annual Conference awards ceremony.

Members of the Scanlon Leadership Network interested in being part of either Network Team should contact Majel Maes at 517- 332-8927 or email her at majel@scanlonleader.org.


Scanlon Network Develops Leaders
The Scanlon Leadership Network offers a variety of services to members that help develop leadership skills.

Since the Network was founded, Scanlon has offered leadership development that is integrated with the Scanlon Philosophy and Principles.

Each Leadership Development program is customized to fit the specific organization and can be presented in a variety of formats including assessments, training, coaching and experiential "high ropes" challenge courses. Books and workbooks by Scanlon authors like Dr. Carl Frost and Max DePree further enhance learning.

According to John Leitch, Network Board Member and Director of Operating Systems at Wescast. "The Network was able to tailor a program for our Global Manufacturing Team entitled "Servant Leaders Build Bridges". Utilizing the Robert K Greenleaf essay "The Servant as Leader" and the writings of several of our Scanlon Leadership Network advocates ... Joe Scanlon, Carl Frost, D.J., Hugh, and Max Depree and more contemporary contributors like Dwane Baumgardner and Bill Greenwood our group was able to connect Servant Leadership and the ability of Servant Leaders to create and manage change. In an industry that is in a state of an "exponential rate of change" we require a leadership style and skill set that can lead our organization into the future. We learned about the connection of the past, present and future and that leaders must build those bridges. Joe Scanlon was fond of kidding people, sometimes quite seriously, about facing the past and backing into the future. And Max Depree wrote "History can't be left to fend for itself. For when it comes to history and beliefs and values we turn our future on the lathe of the past". As for the present Carl Frost would always ask "What day is it?" So with a good understanding of a company's history and culture, and knowledge of the current business reality, then the leaders obligation is to help people change." Wescast Leaders reexamined their vision and developed a mandate to help reach their vision during their off-site.

The Network has a long track record of success in developing leaders. Scanlon leaders have helped four organizations become in the top 50 Best Places to Work and have helped countless smaller organizations to become leaders in their industries.


Leadership development can often be done as a member benefit with no additional cost to the member. If development efforts are extensive or require the use of the Network's independent consultants, the Network is often able to negotiate beneficial rates and reduced cost for materials. Non-Members are also able to access the Network's leadership development services by paying nonmember fees. Contact the Network office to discuss your leadership development needs.
To download a free Scanlon Leadership Workbook as a pdf file...


LFI Shares Benefits of Lean Sim With Community
Landscape Forms, Incorporated (LFI) located in Kalamazoo, MI has been helping organizations in their community grasp the concept of Lean and Value Stream Mapping using the Lean Sim Machine.

LFI employees Becky Fulgoni, VP for People, and Cal Kalkowski, Manufacturing Engineer along with Paul Davis, President, Scanlon Leadership Network, partnered up with Kalamazoo Valley Community College’s Michigan Technical Education Center (M- TEC) to organize an instructional class. The class consisted of demos of the Lean Sim Machine and informative sessions on how it can be applied.

“The manufacturing community showed interest in Lean, the Sim Machine and how it works. As a response, LFI arranged these classes and demonstrations of the Lean Sim. This enabled the organizations who attended to decide if they wanted to implement the tool at their own organization,” said Becky Fulgoni.

LFI was able to have three full sessions with 12 participants in each. There were approximately four to five organizations represented during the three sessions.

“We had a good response and by observing the participant’s reactions they enjoyed themselves and were able to obtain a good amount of information,” said Fulgoni.

LFI encourages other organizations to use the Lean Sim because of the success they found in using it. LFI employees have been able to learn the principles of Lean as well as have an opportunity to work with a variety of other employees from different levels in the company. The employees who have been introduced to the Lean Sim understand ideas come from everyone and also the importance of working together.


“Companies who are not familiar with the Lean Sim should consider looking into it for their organization. It is very adaptable and well designed for employees to use and understand quickly. It is a great tool!” said Fulgoni.
To download a brochure on the Lean Sim as a pdf file....


Auto Owners Insurance Joins the Scanlon Leadership Network
Auto-Owners insurance is ranked 426th in the Fortune 500. They are headquartered in Lansing, Michigan with offices in 25 states. They have 3,300 associates. Initially the Network will be helping with associate surveys and will be introducing Auto-Owners to lean concepts. Auto-Owners has a progressive culture with ten core values. They value honesty, hard work, prudence, loyalty, the team, relationships, opportunities for associates, the customer, stability and consistency, and profit.


Auto-Owner's has many unique world class leadership practices Network members will be interested in learning more about. There are no budgets, executives meet daily to discuss needs. They do not fly first class, not wanting to create even an image of priviledge. Auto-Owners has been the "no problem" people since 1916.
To learn more about Auto Owners Insurance



Demmer Corporation Joins the Scanlon Leadership Network
Demmer Corporation was founded in 1950 and has expertise in fabricating and machining of metal and composite products for the Automotive, Defense, Commercial, and Aerospace industries. Demmer Corporation currently employs 400 people and has multiple plants with more than one million square feet of available manufacturing floor space. They owe their success to their lean systems, talented work team and excellent strategic planning.


Bill Demmer, CEO of the family owned business, wrote "Scanlon Principles match up with our organization’s principles. We feel the Network can help us continue to carry these visions out by gaining a competitive advantage and creating an organization where people are inspired. We are striving to enhance our personnel management systems and feel the Network can help take us to the next level."
To learn more about Demmer Corporation...