February 2008 Scanlon Ezine

	As we gear up for our May Annual Conference, you'll be seeing a great deal about what's in store for this event and about innovation in general. Up first read an in-depth story about Charlie and Maria Girsch of Creativity Central, our opening keynoters. Also, In this Ezine, you'll find links to download articles on how you can make your accountants innovative change agents. There's a link to an in-depth article on SGS and their innovative high participation lean culture, and also find an article on Scanlon and the greatest motivator for performance. These articles recently appeared in Target Magazine's innovation at work. Keep reading for information on the Frost Center at Hope College and their new, dynamic Director. (The Scanlon Network helped to create the Frost Center as an undergraduate interdisciplinary social science research organization). Finally, get the latest on the State of Your Network and the exciting work that we are doing for you in 2008!

Creativity Central: 2008 Annual Conference Keynote
	In a capstone event that you won't want to miss, the Scanlon Leadership Network 2008 Annual Conference will focus on innovation. Here, the keynote address will literally be Creativity Central. Charlie and Marie Girsch, founders of Creativity Central based in Denver, CO, will share experiences, ideas, and stories from their more than 25 years as independent toy designers with more than 200 patents. As the Girschs' reputation grew as consistent producers of creative ideas, people began to ask them how they did it. They hadn't really thought about the "how"; they just consistently did it. This question intrigued them, so they began to study creativity, and spent significant time analyzing how they do what they do. This all led to them beginning to share their secrets through seminars, keynotes, training, and brainstorming. Why is creativity so important? As Charlie puts it, "Creativity is what makes continuous improvement possible." In other words, creativity is not only practical, it is imperative to the long-term survival of all organizations. Creativity can help answer questions like the following: How can we differentiate ourselves from our competitors? What can Marketing do to communicate our new line to Sales? How can we continue to serve our clients in light of budget cuts? What are some affordable ways to get publicity? It's hard to imagine what gems are likely to come out of the Girschs' keynote. In Charlie's interview, he talked about having people "reinvent" something in seminars they deliver. In the process, they often ask the audience to come up with what the inventions COULDN'T be. Invariably, someone comes up with reasons why they COULD be. Another interesting insight Charlie shared was related to how the toy industry survives. It survives in large part because there is a cadre of inventors OUTSIDE of the industry itself. In Charlie's words, "Fresh thinking comes from outside." It seems that there needs to be a significant separation of the creative functions from the business/financial functions of an organization. With the toy industry, most of the inventions come from outsiders. He says it is possible to have the creative functions within an organization, as long as there is a significant separation. These are often called "skunkworks." Charlie and Marie published a book in 1998 titled "Fanning the Creative Spirit: Two Toy Inventors Simplify Creativity". All conference participants will receive a copy of the book. Just one more reason you won't want to miss this event. Check the Scanlon Leadership Network website for more information on the Girsch's keynote and the 2008 Annual Conference.
	Go visit Creativity Central!

Fresh Ideas: Accountants as Change Agents
	Scanlon Leadership Network's focus on innovation and measurement this past year has led to some interesting relationships and "fortuitous encounters." An exciting result of the Scanlon Leadership Network's presence at the Lean Accounting Summit, was establishing connections with a number of thought leaders related to measurement and accounting, including Robert (Doc) Hall of the Association for Manufacturing Excellence (AME) and Dwayne Butcher and Jim Huntziger of Lean Accounting Summit. These organizations have benefits to offer to Scanlon members, and Scanlon has much to offer to the Lean Accounting movement. Network President Paul Davis was asked to write and article titled "Be a Change Agent" for the Lean Accounting News. (Linked below.) Accountants as change agents and Lean Accounting has evolved over time and one of the pioneers in that movement is Jim Huntziger. Huntiziger agreed to share some of his insights with Scanlon members and followers. Huntziger has both an educational and career background as an engineer. Coming out of school, he went to work for the NUMMI plant in California, where he was exposed to the Toyota Production System (TPS). He learned TPS as the way of life, or as it has come to be known, the Toyota Way. All of the practices that make up TPS seemed totally natural to him. However, when he later went to work at Briggs and Stratton in Milwaukee he discovered that all organizations do NOT operate in that "natural" manner. Huntzinger concluded that the way accounting information was used in traditional companies was ineffectual. His Briggs and Strattton experiences led him to a deep curiosity about why the accounting data, from which we derive so many decisions, was in reality very poor information. He researched the concept in depth, from where our accounting system came from to, how it is used, and its affects on organizations today. Huntziger's broad range of experiences and research has led to some interesting and valuable conclusions related to accountants as change agents. One of these is that, in his words, "It isn't about accounting. It IS about designing the system for continuous improvement." He stresses that progress and improvement isn't a movement to "get rid of the accountants." Rather, it is to better understand and evolve the role they play. In other words, accountants are experts in understanding financial data and numbers, and can therefore be significant contributors to meaningful measurement, which in turn drives change. When asked why a Scanlon relationship was of interest to him and Lean Accounting Summit, he said that the right kind of leadership is crucial to organizational success in these matters. He sees a clear linkage between lean accounting and what following the Scanlon Principles does for an organization. He says, "Accounting and leadership are so intertwined that you can't separate them. If the right leadership is not present [in these change practices], you are grounded before you start." The development of a relationship between Scanlon Leadership Network and Lean Accounting Summit is clearly a "fortuitous encounter." For more on accountants as change agents, click on the link below.
	To the article "Be a Change Agent"...

Your Scanlon Community is Going Strong
	2007 was an exciting year in the Scanlon Community. Transitional in many ways, it served as a foundation for even more change that will be occurring in 2008, as President Paul Davis retires and we move to a new association leadership model. Most important in the Network's strategy is operationalizing what we call our "3 Circle Strategy", where the Network, the Scanlon Foundation, and the Scanlon Consultancy work in concert to provide services to the Members and outreach to the world. The Network has collaborated with a number of other groups and associations to provide benefits to our members. The Association of Manufacturing Excellence (AME), through founder Doc Hall, has become a Network supporter. SGS Tool Company and the Network were recently featured their magazine "Target". (See article below) According to Network President Paul Davis, "The SGS article is one of the best documents on a Scanlon Network Member since Harvard wrote about Beth Israel." Download these articles and see what others are saying about Scanlon, our members and the Network. In addition, the Network is cultivating relationships with the Lean Accounting Summit, which is driven by national thought leaders in Measurements, and the Training Within Industry group. These organizations represent excellent ideas that are a great fit with the Scanlon Principles. The 3M Grass Roots Innovation Team continues to actively collaborate on programs for the Annual Conference. The Network was proud to include 2 new members in 2007 - Fraser, a non-profit in Minneapolis, and Mistequay Group, a job-shop based in Saginaw, MI. We are looking forward to many more opportunities to welcome new members and collaborate with like-minded organizations in 2008. The Scanlon Foundation is thrilled to be publishing the first Scanlon anthology in over fifty years. "EPIC Leadership: Where the Best Ideas Come Together" features hard to find classic articles by Scanlon, McGregor, Lesieur and Frost as well as new chapters by leadership authors like Gupta, Schuster, Pennington, and Spears. The Forword has been written by noted leadership scholar Warren Bennis, and the Afterword by best selling leadership author Max DePree. The book brings together in one place the history, thought and practices of the Scanlon movement. The book will debut at the Annual Conference. Work has already begun on the Foundation's second book, a compilation of the writings of Scanlon Leadership great John Donnelly made possible by a $10,000 donation from the Donnelly family. The Foundation is also funding Adam DeVries, an intern from the Michigan State MLIR program, who is helping the Network develop an "Innovation Simulation." The Consultancy is becoming more active and visible through formal association with the Network. Certified and Approved Consultants are championing both the Network and the Foundation. We are working with Rob Ptacek as he develops an Advanced Lean Sim program for his work in China. In addition, the Network has been engaged by Lansing Community College to work with the President and her staff to help implement a Hoshin Kanri program for the college. These are just a few of the dynamic happenings within your Scanlon Community. We will be sending updates throughout 2008 as more exciting events occur!

Frost Center Gets New Director, and More
	The Frost Center at Hope College in Holland, MI recently hired a new Director. Megan Mullins, PhD, took over the reins of the center, hitting the ground running. Her level of enthusiasm is contagious. Megan, an Applied Community Researcher, came to the Frost Center from for Group Dimensions International, and wasn't looking for a different job. However, a number of her friends noticed the job posting, and contacted her to ask if she was going to apply. She took the hint and sent in a resume. She was a great match for the position and was hired, starting in September. One of the first orders of business was to learn more about Carl Frost. And what better way to do that than by going to visit him. Megan had a lot of questions for Frost, and as any of you who have spent time with Carl will already know, he had questions for her. When asked to characterize the questions he asked of her, Megan said he mostly wanted to make sure that the job would be challenging and rewarding for her - that it would move her in directions she had never before gone. So far, the position certainly has been both challenging and rewarding. Megan clearly has so much to bring to the position, and she says she also has a lot to learn. This learning process was greatly enhanced by her time with Carl Frost, and many of the stories he told. In addition, Megan asked that I express gratitude to Paul Davis and the Scanlon Leadership Network for all of his help in getting started in the position. In a conversation about the mission/purpose of the Frost Center, Megan said it attempts to achieve a balance between service to the community and service to the college. One physical manifestation of that was the recent relocation to a higher profile site two blocks off the campus. This is consistent with the vision of becoming more accessible and user-friendly to the community with such projects as telephone and email surveys. You can help! One aspect of service to Hope College is the Frost Center's placement of undergraduate students into internships. Megan said she is looking for companies interested in taking on interns. There is no better way for the next generation entering the workforce to learn the ethical and rewarding ways of "Scanlon" companies. She'll be consulting with the Network on where to look first, and would love to hear from you if you have positions available.
	Want to learn more about the Frost Center?

SGS Outperforms the Competiton through People Power
	SGS Tool Company's Participative Culture was recently featured in Target Magazine. This excellent article documents how SGS developed their participative lean culture. We thank the Association for Manufacturing Excellence (AME) for letting us share this article with the Scanlon Community.
	Read Associates Participate in Making SGS Tool Company Globally Competitive....

Scanlon Principles Lay the Groundwork for Lean
	How do you motivate adult human beings? The Scanlon Network gets many requests from authors, researchers and practitioners on this question. One of the most recent inquires came from Target Magazine. We thank Target and the AME for allowing us to share this article with the Scanlon Community. How do you design incentive systems? What incentive systems are the most effective? Is gainsharing, goalsharing or profitsharing more effective? Most of these questions show that the inquirer is not aware of the great insights on motivation that Scanlon, McGregor and Frost discovered. Read this article to discover for yourself how to motivate adults.
	Scanlon Principles Lay the Groundwork for Lean...