"In line with [the] Lean concept of 'empowerment' which I highly value and if not for this [L.E.T.] course, 'empowerment' would remain a 'how' question."

James B., pharmaceutical industry

"I have attended all the training except Lean 102. The L.E.T. I just took with Kevin S. was outstanding. I learned a lot in that class and my life has changed because of it. I have been in manufacturing for over 30 years; the Gordon Model to me is amazing. I wished I had it 30 years ago. I also wished a few of my bosses along the way would have used it as well. I am planning on applying the principles at work and at home. Thank you for offering these classes."

Roger C., Lean Director, Manufacturing Company

"I have a particular employee who comes to me for problem solving often--this course has already helped me active listen to the point where she is coming up with solutions on her own!"

Mary F., Claims Support Supervisor, Hastings Mutual Insurance

"The most important thing I learned was that I can't fix everything. This was the best class I have ever taken. I learned a lot about myself and how I relate to others."

Manager, Gordon Food Service

"I can apply my new knowledge to any difficult situation and I can lessen my own stress by confronting problems early on since I now know how to do this effectively--thanks!"

Sales Assistant, Original Smith Printing

Dear Bud and Dana [L.E.T. Trainers],

Just a short note to express our deep appreciation for the tremendously informative L.E.T. Workshop that we had the pleasure to attend last week. Simply put, our grateful "We-message" to you is this: having attended the L.E.T. Workshop, we are bursting with confidence that we will be able to handle day-to-day scenarios more efficiently and effectively. We are all truly better people for having attended the workshop and had a lot of fun learning and practicing the concepts that were presented. We enjoyed the sessions, because you made the subject matter very interesting and fun!

Michele I., Chicago Mercantile Exchange

"Very positive, hands-on approach and upbeat class. I'm a hard person to keep interested and the three days flew by!"

E. Ball, Project Manager, First National Bank of Omaha

Hi Michelle,

The course was wonderful. Bob Klockars was great and I really got a lot out of the training. The real challenge for me is to take the skills learned and to remember them in my everyday work life. Bridge construction tends to be very fast paced and I deal with a lot of people that, how do I say, are a little rough around the edges. But I've noticed myself listening better since the course and overall I think the training made me a better manager and coach.

If nothing else, it certainly made me more aware of my reactions and how I handle certain situations. It also gave me excellent advice on how to confront unacceptable behavior without always ticking the other person off.

That's my two cents. I would recommend the training to anyone interested in fine tuning their management skills. Thanks for all your help.

Jim S., Project Manager, PCL Civil Constructors, Inc

Hello Suzanne and Happy Friday to you! I recently took the LET training course given 2/7/06 - 2/8/06. I really just wanted to let you know how much I enjoyed the class. Not only was it an amazing experience because of the material, the experience was enriched by Rob who was the instructor. Please allow me to illustrate why.

The first day of the class, Rob introduced himself to everyone personally, which made for a comfortable, friendly, and open environment. I cannot emphasize enough how much fun he made the class. Part teacher, part counselor, and part actor, the class was always kept engaged and in learning mode. At the end of the class (at least for me) it felt like I had spent time with new friends, not just associates I had just met.

It really was a wonderful experience, the topic relevant for both my professional and personal world. I want to thank Gore for giving me the opportunity to take this class, and I can't tell you how excited I am to be incorporating this into my life now, and becoming a better person because of it. I haven't stopped talking about this class since I started taking it. I haven't been this excited about a course in a long time and I think that is a testament to the instructor as well as the subject.

Again, thank you so much for having this as a basic class that is given at Gore. Courses like this as well as the environment here at Gore is what sets our company apart from the rest, and I consider myself lucky to be part of the team.

Thank you so much,

Rosa G, Associate W.L. Gore & Associates

"I feel that carrying these L.E.T. skills around with me makes me feel like I am a superhero with a special "powers" that help me rescue myself when I am facing problems and people.

I have taken many classes in my life and this has been the most interesting and effective classes I have ever taken. I felt that L.E.T. skills have definitely been skills that I have used at some point in my life but never knew I was using them. L.E.T. addressed each of these skills and broke them down into pocket sized tools which allowed me to examine them intimately and understand them completely. I loved that each section of the class revealed to me new concept and then I was able to actually practice that concept several times in role playing.

Although the practice sessions were "only" role playing, I found that myself and others in my class really got into acting the character. I actually felt myself getting upset when I had the problem and when the other person used the active listening skills, I found myself calming down and feeling better! Since the class I have been looking around, both at home and work, and closely examining the way people talk to each other and the way I talk to other people. Even in every day conversations, I find myself being aware of active listening and road blocks and even blogs. I really feel that this class will and has benefited me in both my work and in my personal life. I feel more bold and confident when talking to people."

Dorinda F., Operations Ferguson Enterprises

"I was actually dreading the three-day class, but came out feeling good--knowing that with the skill set learned, I can make a difference."

Employee at First National Bank of Omaha

"This is the most informative workshop I have ever been to! The skills taught here are vital to management, yet not taught elsewhere. All managers should be required to take this course."

Shawn M., Operations Manager Ferguson Enterprises

"The LET skills make a significant difference with my support staff. LET has taught me various communications skills to help me deal successfully with problems or situations when they arise, thus maintaining a productive and satisfying work relationship for me as a leader and my support staff."

Branch Supervisor, bank

"The workshop was fantastic. Bill did a fantastic job as a facilitator and teacher. I cannot recall attending a workshop that provided so much useful data that we got to practice instead of just listening to theory.

This was the feedback from 100% of all the attendees. My colleague and I thought it was the best investment of our dollars over any other meetings we have sent staff to. Thanks."

Tom P., CEO, The Summit Center, Orthopaedic Center of the Rockies

"My girlfriend is in trouble now! She is not going to know what happened to me! Thank you!"

C. DeGeorge, Teller Manager, First National Bank of Omaha

"I have always felt that I had difficulty in facing conflicts. I always put them on the back burner. I am now more confident and comfortable about resolving conflicts with the knowledge I have gained from this LET training."

Sales Supervisor, Republic Bank, Ltd.

"I wish I could have had LET sooner in my career- it could have saved a lot of relationships at work that were lost."

Associate, manufacturing company

"Suzanne, [L.E.T. Trainer] you helped me gain more knowledge and refreshed my skills in human relations. I was a "teams-facilitator" at my former employer. Unfortunately, management receded back into megalomania and our team effort suffered. I am very happy to be at W.L. Gore where a true team-culture exists!"

Associate, W.L. Gore & Associates.

"L.E.T. has helped me to communicate better and solve problems, giving me and my co-workers more time to focus on being productive--very enlightening program--I have confidence AND more importantly, SKILLS to help me at work--and with my husband and two kids, too. Thank you!"

Associate, banking institution

Exactly two weeks after taking the L.E.T. course, an engineer was asked to help solve a rather large health and safety problem at a construction site. This construction site was at the largest dam in the world--there were far too many accidents happening. (There had been millions of dollars of damage done a few years earlier by disaffected workers.)

The engineer flew to the site feeling quite comfortable, as he had just learned the L.E.T. skills. He thought to himself: "I will listen to them!" At the site, the superior of one group of workers had ordered these workers not to go to their normal stations the next day. Instead, they were told to report to the cafeteria for a meeting with the engineer who was flying in to solve their safety problems. There were approximately 80 of these workers assembled in the cafeteria, and the tension was high. When the engineer arrived, he instantly recognized that the situation was a potentially explosive one.

"You're just an engineer from the city. How do you expect to help us here?" some of the workers exclaimed. The engineer simply Active Listened to their concerns and feelings for the next two hours. Although the workers were hostile and defensive at the start, their resistance eventually subsided. After lunch the meeting resumed and he listened some more. Little by little the workers came around to feeling they could be a part of the solution. The engineer explained that had he not learned the listening skills in L.E.T. two weeks prior, he would not have known how to handle such a sensitive and demanding problem." In his words: "This course made the difference for me; I succeeded in a situation where, only a few weeks ago, I would not have known what to do!"

The results of the Active Listening and problem-solving by the L.E.T.-trained engineer were a decrease in the number of conflicts between workers, less hours of work lost, and a decrease in the number of injuries.

J. Lalanne, Canada

I read Leader Effectiveness Training (L.E.T.) in the late 70s when I was at the Urban Institute (a D.C. think tank). I was with a group committed to improving government management by building great management information systems. I liked L.E.T.'s "information processes" approach to interpersonal communication, so we soon began to practice it as we helped our clients work towards organizational change. Simple concepts like "Who owns this problem?" sounded revolutionary then! Often everyone was ready to talk about the problem, but no one was ready to own it.

Ten years ago my wife became interested in Parent Effectiveness Training (P.E.T.) and Teacher Effectiveness Training (T.E.T.), when we began to raise and home-school our children. She recently brought L.E.T. to my attention and I was delighted to see that it is still around after 20 years--and that the content is still so relevant and useful.

Today I am a consultant to executive teams engaged in crisis management and leadership campaigns. In this work the people involved have to come to terms with the skills described in L.E.T. We refer our clients, and include in the events we create people who teach or advocate practices that enable individuals to be effective in leadership campaigns.

For example, I am working with a team running a national campaign to reform community health care systems from the bottom up. It is called the 100%-Access/0-Disparities campaign. To create one of these delivery systems, communities have to form collaboratives. But collaboratives always get stuck, even when they are mostly in agreement as to issues. Having command of the L.E.T. skills will make them self-correcting.

J. Scanlon, Fairfax Station, VA

For more information, please contact us:

Tel:    800.628.1197

Em:   workplace@gordontraining.com.