A childhood friend of mine owns and operates a plant nursery in the beautiful resort area of Minnesota where I was raised. Some years ago he presented me with an interesting question. We were driving toward the lake where his business is located when he asked, "What would be your impression of this area if you were a visitor driving into the community?" I was taken aback by the question. It gave me "new eyes" to look again at sites I had seen on nearly a daily basis all of my life. I saw the beauty I had taken for granted; the deep-blue lake; the wonderful tunnel of shade formed by huge oak, elm, and maple trees; the fields of corn and oats; and old Judge Field's nearly antique sailboat anchored off the shore.

As a first-time guest at your Scanlon conference in Grand Rapids in May, I had the wonderful opportunity to view your association with "new eyes," the eyes of an outsider. Let me now act as a mirror and reflect back to you my view from the outside.

The experience started at registration. I saw and met people at all levels of your organizations, from front-line workers to CEO's. The experience was powerful for me because it was equally comfortable talking to the CEO's as to front-line employees. The CEO's had a lack of ego, and the front-line employees had obvious self-confidence and positive self-esteem. I heard a line employee knowledgeably discuss strategic research and decisions. I found the characteristics of these people to be extraordinary in comparison to people in non-Scanlon organizations.

Richard (Dick) LeVan, CEO of Wescast Industries, Inc., delivered an amazing keynote address from my perspective as an outsider. Never before have I heard a CEO so honestly and openly discuss mistakes of the organization in a public forum. And he didn't stop there! He also shared his personal failures and weaknesses, followed by his transformation process in implementing the Scanlon Plan and Wescast's H.E.A.R.T. program. Can you imagine Bill Gates delivering a similar address?

Mr. LeVan was the first of many people during the confernce to raise listening skills as an important topic. He at one point said, "We need to not only listen, but hear." Larry Ward, a supervisor at National Manufacturing Co. (and one of the "Blues Brothers" in the program), made a statement to the effect that listening is a key to success with a Scanlon Plan. Listening came up in both breakout sessions I attended as well as the Donnelly rally, which I was privileged to attend. Dwane Baumgardner, CEO of Donnelly, cited listening as a key skill in their organization. He suggested disciplining oneself to paraphrase back what someone says as a strategy to improve these skills. Even the unexpected appearance of President Bill Clinton (Paul Davis in disguise) brought forth a listening lesson, in a contrary sort of way. Although he more than once used the familiar line, "I feel your pain," he was obviously not "hearing" what people said.

This lesson on listening moved me to perform a self-inventory related to listening. Here are some of the questions I asked myself. Might these be useful in your organization?

• Are my listening skills adding value to my organization?
• If so, how?
• If not, what can I do to change?
• How well are listening skills practiced in my work group?
• How well are listening skills practiced in my department?
• What can I do as a manager to assist my employees to develop their listening skills?
• What can I do to assist my coworkers to develop their listening skills?
• How well are listening skills practiced in my organization?
• Would a focus on listening skills in my organization positively affect the balance of equity?

I would like to share yet another "view from the outside." I sense this one is an everyday occurrence in Scanlon companies, but yet a very unusual occurrence in other organizations. As I observed the Donnelly rally, I was amazed at the level of comfort and ease of the employees in the same room with their CEO and COO. The absence of fear in the room is something I have not observed in other organizations. Another way of stating this is that I observed an absence of DISease. In other words, I was in the presence of a healthy organization. It was incredibly refreshing.

A woman at the Donnelly rally made the statement, "We too often take the Scanlon Plan for granted." She went on to say she feels grateful to be a part of such an organization, when she thinks about it. My "view from the outside" is one of absolute agreement with her perception. You are truly blessed to be able to be a part of such an organization. At the same time, I can certainly understand how it could be taken for granted, just as I failed to see the beauty in the lakes, trees, and fields in my childhood community.

I feel grateful that my path in life has introduced me to the Scanlon Plan/Process. I have a nearly insatiable desire to learn more and associate more with people involved in the plan. One aspect of my learning process led me to spend a few hours with Dr. Carl Frost, an incredible opportunity. At one point in our discussion, I commented on the benefits and accomplishments that can be realized when the diverse strengths of individuals are channeled in the same direction. He agreed, but went on to say that was not good enough. Not only can we take advantage of the strengths of individuals, but we have a RESPONSIBILITY to assist these individual, unique human beings to realize THEIR human potential.

My "view from the outside" at your conference is that you are absolutely on the path of assisting each individual in each of your organizations to realize their human potential. I would encourage each of you to take a look at your organization and position in life with "new eyes" or the "view from the outside." You have a wonderful opportunity, and a great responsibility, to carry forth this manner of organization life.

As for me, I will continue to learn how you do the amazing and humane things you do. As I stated to several people at the conference, there is no turning back for me now that I have a taste of Scanlon life. I thank all of you for keeping it alive in your organization. If you hadn't done your part, I wouldn't have been privileged to learn about it. In addition, on a larger scale, future Scanlon organizations would never materialize to "keep the Scanlon fire burning."