Book Club

Officer Matt Tomasic didn't believe in "this seeing people as people thing." He only tried it because he'd exhausted every other option. Fifty officers couldn't solve the West End problem through enforcement. Arrests didn't stop the behavior. But when Matt finally got curious—when he partnered with Linda Cowan at the community center and asked what these men actually needed—everything changed. A bathroom. A pot of beans. A place to wait for work with dignity. The criminal element that had been preying on immigrants scattered. And Matt became one of the biggest champions of outward policing, now running a boxing program for underprivileged youth and helping teach kids to drive.

This session features Chip Huth, the senior consultant whose SWAT team stories anchor The Outward Mindset, answering participant questions about implementing mindset change in real organizations. How long does it take? About three months for outside observers to notice, six months for real momentum—but it requires intention, buddy checks, and willingness to make course corrections. What about people who refuse to change? After a year of "rescuing" someone who explicitly rejected the approach, Chip realized he was robbing that person of their agency. Seeing people as people means honoring their choices—even when that means they can no longer be part of the team.

The conversation explores the "leader-led distinction gap"—how organizations perpetuate class divisions between "minds and bodies, brains and backs, knowers and doers"—and what happens when leaders close that gap. Participants discuss how environmental forces (fear, money, political climate) create powerful invitations toward inwardness, while relationships built over time create the capital that makes outward leadership sustainable.