Scanlon May 2007 E-zine

Greetings!
In this E-Zine we cover highlights of the 2007 Conference, including the 2007 Stewardship Award, look at workplace democracy, and announce two new podcasts featuring Tim Tindall and John Chipman. Network member-Watermark Credit Union's Scanlon plan is now a chapter in a new book on incentive systems. Lean practitioners are beginning to realize tools don't replace creating positive cultures. Network member Thomson-Shore showed them how to develop team leaders at a recent Productivity conference. Innovation is becoming critical for business success. The Network will sponsor three innovation tours in 2007-2008. The 2008 conference theme will be innovation. In this E-Zine we announce our plans.

How to Change From Within

By Pete Hovde

Leadership is all about change and Scanlon Leadership is all about changing from within. So how is that done? This year's conference went a long way in answering that question with its theme of "The Leadership Roadmap."

Dwane Baumgardner, (pictured) the first keynote speaker and coauthor of a soon to be published book titled "The Leadership Roadmap," described leadership's task as helping team members, leaders, and organizations to be successful. In other words, the task of the leader is to facilitate change from within the organization, personally, professionally, and organizationally, resulting in growth to become successful.

Baumgardner and his coauthor (and the second keynote speaker), Russ Scaffede, assert that the only three processes that really matter in an organization are People, Lean, and Innovation.

Baumgardner concentrated on the People Processes by raising the question, "What makes a winning organization?" The answer . . . . People do! That statement is the first of three key beliefs that need to be present in leadership. Second is the belief that everyone has a deep desire to realize their potential. And third, leadership is all about people.

The People Processes were presented as foundational to effective Lean and Innovation Processes. Many people processes and philosophies exist in our society, but Baumgardner stated that the Scanlon Principles are the most powerful of all. The conference again provided the opportunity for members and guests to network, share, and learn more about those principles via workshops, keynotes, and informal networking.

Russ Scaffede, focusing on Lean Processes, stated that integration of People, Lean, and Innovation Processes must be viewed by ALL team members as a growth strategy. Too often, Lean is perceived as something that is happening only out on the front lines. Scaffede asserts that it needs to be a total company commitment to a lean and innovative system. It needs to be moved up higher in the organization.

Praveen Gupta gave the third keynote of the day on Innovation Processes. He clearly states that to achieve growth, an organization must have innovation. And to have innovation, an organization needs to intentionally focus on facilitating that happening. In his breakout session, he presented more specific ways an organization can do this.

Gupta states that the fundamental purpose of a business is not to make money. Rather, it is to achieve sustained, profitable growth. To achieve growth, we must have innovation; we need to do things differently. Also, just as Joe Scanlon said that the person doing a job knows that job best. Gupta said innovation is a bottom up process. The most valuable ideas most often come from the people closest to the work.

Another tradition of Scanlon Leadership Network's conference is celebrating successes and contributions by presenting awards. That tradition was continued this year through awarding 16 Best Practices Awards. These awards are given to member companies submitting their best ideas; ideas that have worked for them.

New this year was the initiation of the Frost Beacon Award. This is an award given to more front line people who demonstrate exceptional contributions and leadership related to the Scanlon Principles. Two awards were given this year-to Rick Verkow of Landscape Forms and to Elaine Lloyd of SGS Tool Company. The award is named for Dr. Carl Frost, the man who was a beacon- a light- to many in the Scanlon Community.

The third category of awards is the Scanlon Stewardship Award. In a surprise described by Majel Maes as "the greatest ruse in Scanlon history," the award was presented to Paul Davis. An elaborate "conspiracy" was successful in keeping the cat in the bag, even with Davis being a member of the awards committee. Several speakers elaborated on many of the selfless contributions of stewardship provided by Davis over his 14 years as President of the association. For example, Dwane Baumgarner described Davis as exhibiting "impeccable integrity." The award is extremely well deserved.

There is so much more that could be said of this year's jam packed conference. Suffice it to say that it went a long way to inspiring, encouraging, and facilitating "change from within" individuals and organizations.

Powerpoint slides and notes from the three keynotes and from the conference workshops will be available for members soon. They will be posted in the member area of the web site or if requested will be put on a CD and mailed to you.

New Steward-Overwhelmed and Thankful-Paul Davis

Imagine having the people you love and admire most in life, appearing by surprise at work-your wife, your dad, your mentor. Imagine that your work stops and suddenly you find yourself in a spotlight of attention. Imagine trying not to break down in front of over two hundred people, while a parade of friends say nice things about you. You can now imagine what my first few moments as a Scanlon Steward were like. The picture from left to right, Dr. John Davis-my father, Bonnie Davis-my wife, myself and Dr. Carl Frost.

Andy Warhol said that everyone has 15 minutes of fame so I have now used up four lifetimes worth. The Scanlon community has given me the opportunity to "become something I never was before." I hope that I can become as good a Steward as Dr. Frost and the others who have received this special recognition.

The greatest thing we can do for someone is to help them find purpose in life--a calling. Serving this Network has done that for me. Before finding Scanlon I spent many years looking for a place where I could come to work and know that the organization I worked for was worthy to be part of my calling. In my heart I believe that we all carry the spark of the divine within us. Yet we often are not appreciated, or allowed to use our talents where we spend most of our lives--at work. Helping to make work better is part of my purpose in life.

I have spent a lifetime collecting ideas about how to make work better. I've learned the best ideas are simple. Complexity is often used to hide poor thinking and to mask basic truths. Great ideas help us to become our better selves-individually and collectively-some ideas degrade and limit us and separate us from others. Great ideas provide multiple layers of meaning. Like the multiple layers of an onion they continue to reveal truth layer after layer to those who seek core knowledge. Great ideas can stand the test of time-they are not limited to one place or one epoch. You can test the power of an idea by watching those who embrace the idea. What has the idea(s) done for them? Are they more kind? Are they more tolerant? Are they more able to help others grow and develop? Have the ideas made them better or worse human beings? For me, the ideas we call "Scanlon" and the Scanlon community have passed every test.

It is a common experience to hear after every Scanlon Conference how the experience for some seekers is "like coming home." It was like that for me and it is like that for many others.

Max DePree has written we "should be the guardians of our most prized assets. We all are, for instance, the custodians of ideas. We are required to both propose and respect ideas, which often begin as something fragile, and to imagine their consequences." Stewardship is about taking care of what we have been given in trust so it can be passed on to others. That's a job I am looking forward to doing for a long time. My family and I thank the Network for the Stewardship recognition given to me.

Organizational Democracy A Necessity For Success

"Scanlon definitely supports the mindset you need to build a democratic workplace," said Traci Fenton, CEO, WorldBlu Inc. and a leading spokesperson on democracy in the work place (pictured).

More than four decades ago Scanlon was described by Katz and Kahn as "the boldest attempt at employee participation in the United States. Its leadership model approaches the democratic values held by non-industrial institutions."

WorldBlu, Inc., is a Washington, DC-based leadership and business design studio specializing in organizational democracy and freedom-centered leadership.

Beginning this year WorldBlu presented the first annual worldwide award for the most democratic workplaces. Among the 34 winners this year were Great Harvest Bread Company and GE Aviation's Durham Engine Facility.

Fenton defines workplace democracy as an organizing system that can be applied and adapted to a business context. She believes democratic systems create freedom not fear, which allow people to work to their fullest potential.

The WorldBlu Principles of Organizational Democracy mirror the Scanlon Principles/Processes quite closely.

PURPOSE AND VISION
TRANSPARENCY
DIALOGUE + LISTENING
FAIRNESS + DIGNITY
ACCOUNTABILITY
AN INDIVIDUAL + COLLECTIVE FOCUS
CHOICE
INTEGRITY
DECENTRALIZATION
REFLECTION + EVALUATION

The three reasons organizations should have work place democracy according to Fenton are: to attract and retain talent, the ability to develop a higher quality product or service, and to boost the bottom line.

The Scanlon Community supports Traci and World Blu's efforts to promote democracy in the workplace and to recognize organizations that are making a difference. The Scanlon Network encourages its members to submit an application to be considered one of the most democratic workplaces. The application process is outlined on the WorldBlu website.
To learn more about WorldBlu and Democracy in the workplace....

Watermark Credit Union Featured In Book

Watermark Credit Union is featured in the book Incentive Pay: Creating a Competitive Advantage by Dow Scott, PhD, Professor of Human Resources, Loyola University Chicago and President, Performance Development International, Inc.

The book describes the underlying principles necessary for creating effective incentive pay programs and provides in-depth explanations of incentive plans that are frequently used in the industry.

"Watermark is featured because they represent a classic incentive plan using Scanlon Principles and Processes. As a result, the Watermark article was published both in WorldatWork Journal and included in my book," said Dr. Scott.

The book is based on 30 years of Scott's involvement with the Scanlon Leadership Network and installing Scanlon Plans and other incentive programs. It helps managers answer questions as to why they have chosen to use or not use other types of incentive programs.

The book features important elements of incentive plans that should be carefully considered by Scanlon Companies. One particular chapter provides excellent information on how to communicate information about pay and another on how to install software for administering incentive pay plans," said Dr. Scott.

The book is currently available and can be purchased www.worldatwork.org.
To purchase the incentive pay book.....

John Chipman and Tim Tindall Podcasts On-line

The Scanlon Foundation has completed two more podcasts of Scanlon Stewards and placed them on-line. These professionally recorded interviews provide great insight into the minds and methods of accomplished business leaders and entrepreneurs. Neither were trained in buiness. John Chipman was trained as a landscape architect. Tim Tindall was a teacher, yet they both developed highly successful businesses. You do not need an ipod to listen to the interviews, they will also play on your computer.

John Chipman founder of Landscape Forms shares the values that led him to build Landscape Forms into the premiere manufacturer of public space furniture. Not wanting to lay off his work force during the cold Michigan winters John developed a furniture business to compliment his landscape business. He grew the business using his landscaping knowledge by carefully taking care of and developing his employees.

Tim Tindall took over a family manufacturing business and grew it to become one of the twenty-five best places to work in the greater Detroit area. In this interview you'll learn how Tim used the Scanlon Principles to guide the growth and development of his company.
To download a podcast click on podcast logo at www.scanlonleader.org

Thomson-Shore shows how to develop Team Leaders

Productivity Inc. recently sponsored a conference on "Building a Culture of Continuous Improvement" and the Scanlon Network was well represented. President Paul Davis conducted a workshop on "Gainsharing Systems that Support Lean Cultures" and member Thomson-Shore (pictured) presented a workshop on "Developing Team Leaders."

Many in the lean community are beginning to realize that Toyota's production system, the basis for lean, is not just about tools, but about creating a culture of continuous improvement---something Scanlon practitioners have been doing for over 60 years!