John Scherer TOPICS: Leadership Team Building FEE CATEGORY:* 5.0k to 10.0k TRAVELS FROM: Washington Profile Program Outlines Testimonials/Client List Books & Videos Request This Speaker

John Scherer: Profile

John attended Roanoke College, Salem, VA, graduating with honors in History and Philosophy. He was Captain of the Varsity Swim Team, Vice President of the Student Government, President of the Honor Council and selected for membership in the Blue Key Honor Society, winning the Granville P. Meade Scholarship Award to "the graduate with the greatest service-to-the-world potential."

John then finished high in his class at US Navy Officer Candidate School and served as Combat Officer aboard the USS EATON (DD-510) in the Atlantic, Mediterranean and Caribbean, winning commendations for his work in Intelligence and Anti-Submarine Air Control. When he finished his tour of duty he enrolled in the Lutheran Theological Seminary in Columbia, SC, where he again graduated with honors, including the Lutheran Brotherhood Graduate Fellowship Award. He carried out his Intern Year in Norfolk, VA, conducting the nation's first Street Ministry working with "people of the night," in addition to his other parish responsibilities. In his first pastoral assignment as Chaplain at Cornell University, he began programs linking the business, educational and spiritual worlds.

It was during this period that John began his work in organizational and community development, creating--at the request of the Mayor and University Officials--The Collegetown Community Council, a group dedicated to the resolution of campus/community conflict. His reputation as a facilitator of positive change spread, and he began to receive invitations to conduct leadership seminars and conflict-resolution projects in other organizations regionally and nationally.

At the invitation of Whitworth College John left Ithaca, NY, for Spokane, WA, to become Associate Director of the Leadership Institute of Spokane (LIOS) where he and his colleagues developed the nation's first competency-based graduate program in the Applied Behavioral Sciences. This innovative program trained thousands of mid-career professionals to serve as therapists, consultants and organization leaders. In 1983 he founded his own leadership and organization development firm.

Since then John's clients have included ACE Hardware, AEtna, Babcock & Wilcox, the Basalt Nuclear Waste Isolation Project, Boeing, GTE, Nissan, Ford, Northern Telecom, Marriott, Polaroid, U.S. Army, U.S. Naval Weapons Center, van Melle Company in Holland, and other large and small organizations in both the public and private sectors. He specializes in executive and leadership development, conflict resolution and personal and organizational transformation through the unleashing of the human spirit.

In 1987, at the invitation of a Dutch client CEO, John created the EXECUTIVE DEVELOPMENT INTENSIVE, perhaps the nation's first holistic, solo experiences helping senior leaders "stretch the body, expand the mind and deepen the spirit." In 1994 the LEADERSHIP DEVELOPMENT INTENSIVE, a group version of the EDI, followed, making this powerful experience available to mid-level managers. Hundreds of men and women from 12 nations have completed these challenging and life-altering programs.

Recently the name of his company was changed to The Center for Work and the Human Spirit, reflecting his mission of equipping leaders to transform their lives and their organizations. The Center provides developmental experiences of life-long value which integrate body, mind and spirit. He is the author of the 1994 pioneering book, WORK AND THE HUMAN SPIRIT, over a hundred articles and numerous audio and video programs. He was also creator of The Breakthrough Series, a new use of video technology for training leaders and their organizations to cope with change and conflict during regular staff meetings. John lives in Spokane, WA, and has four children. He plays the guitar, performs the occasional magic show, runs, practices yoga daily and loves to read a good spy novel.

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