When it comes to understand public opinion, the name Daniel Yankelovich represents the gold standard. Witness the vast number of pundits and publications that confidently cite data from the companies he founded, Yankelovich, Skelly and White and DYG, Inc.—as well as the non-profit public Agenda Foundation, co-founded by Cyrus Vance. What makes him so good? Certainly, he’s a master of polling technologies, but more than that he is a gifted listener, graced with (and practiced in) the ability to suspend judgment long enough to genuinely hear what people are saying. Lately, he’s focused his prodigious energy on teaching others that vital skill. His mission: to help our culture learn to extract signal from noise through the practice of genuine dialogue. He’s a passionate crusader, convinced by firsthand experience that, if we can learn to listen with open hearts, the world will change. —S&H Editors, Fall 1999 issue