THIS, is your INVITATION to Participate ... But let me first ask you a very important question:
IS "MENTORSHIP" A TOPIC THAT’S IMPORTANT TO YOU?
Or, let me put it to you this way:
Is "MENTORSHIP" something that you’ve experienced in the past, or are you involved in a Mentoring relationship right now?
Even if you’ve answered “NO” to these first few questions, there may be something of interest here, so please read just a little further, if you don’t mind ...
IS "MENTORSHIP" A TOPIC THAT’S IMPORTANT TO YOU?
Or, let me put it to you this way:
Is "MENTORSHIP" something that you’ve experienced in the past, or are you involved in a Mentoring relationship right now?
Even if you’ve answered “NO” to these first few questions, there may be something of interest here, so please read just a little further, if you don’t mind ...
On August 28, 2012, we put out a challenge to friends within our circle of contacts and asked for their assistance with our ‘little experiment’ on this topic. We’ve also connected it to the concept of the "SIX Degrees of Separation", which is the idea that anyone on the planet should be able to get in touch with anyone else, through a chain of no more than 6 contacts! (It’s an interesting concept, isn’t it?) We mentioned within one of our posts that various broad-based experiments that tested the theory have shown the average number of links to complete a CONNECTION has in fact been six!
SO ... we are wonder if it might be possible to 'tap into' some of the best thought leaders and experts on the topic of MENTORSHIP for a specific project.
* If "Mentorship" is a topic of interest to you, or to someone you know, please do us a HUGE favour, and participate in this project, or invite your contacts to this POST.
Thank you in advance for your help with this "experiment" in making CONNECTION across the six degrees of separation!
Here’s what we would like you to do:
Here’s what we would like you to do:
1) PICK - Pick one or more ‘Topic Threads’ that are of interest to you (NOTED IN UPPER CASE FONT):
1.1) MY EXPERIENCE: What's been your experience with Mentorship? (things learned, tips, suggestions)
1.2) SPECIFIC HELP: How has having a Mentor or being a Mentor helped you?
1.3) TOP THINGS: What are the top 3 things you feel a Mentor could help someone develop?
1.4) MUTUAL BENEFITS: Share your thoughts on how Mentorship can help the Protégé, as well as the Mentor! (what value is derived by each party?)
1.5) IMPROVING RELATIONSHIPS: To improve the quality and vitality of the Mentorship relationship – what would you suggest or provide as advice to a potential Protégé or Mentor?
1.6) STAGES OF DEVELOPMENT: What would be helpful for the Protégé or Mentor to know at different stages of the Mentorship relationship?
(We’ve used four stages to describe the continuum of the relationship from start to finish, referring to them as: Beginning, Establishing, Strengthening and Transitioning)
1.7) ENCOURAGEMENT: What would you say to encourage those who are considering being involved in a Mentorship relationship.
2) ADD - Add a COMMENT to this POST, starting with the ‘Topic Thread’ mentioned above (IN UPPER CASE FONT) to help us quickly sort through the various responses.
3) SHARE - Share the link for this POST to those within your circle of contacts and invite them to either PARTICIPATE in the topic, and to also ‘SHARE’ the opportunity to those within their circle of contacts!
We welcome your proposed contributions by posting to this BLOG. (Please do not send attachments or photos at this time.) Updates and appropriate acknowledgements will also be posted by us on our various social media platforms, from time to time, in order to highlight samples of content received!
AN IMPORTANT NOTE: If the volume of submissions will allow, selected contributions may be "published" into a book, with full acknowledgement credited to the source. Participation in this project is voluntary, and without compensation, recognizing that the perspectives and input provided may help readers succeed in their growth and development, and participants will receive valuable future exposure as selected contributors to this project.
Thank you in advance for your support. We look forward with great anticipation to what we can create together!
Regards,
- Jim Ewing
Pro-Vision Solutions Inc.
Edmonton, Alberta (Canada)
CONNECT WITH US THROUGH ANY OF THE FOLLOWING:
Business Success BLOG: http://BusinessSuccessBlog.blogspot.com/
Mentorship BLOG: http://ProVision-Mentorship.blogspot.com/
YouTube Channel: http://www.youtube.com/user/ProvisionMentorship
Linkedin Profile: http://www.linkedin.com/in/JimEwingProVision
Facebook: facebook.com/JimEwingPVS
Twitter: JimEwing_PVS
4 comments:
Quick Update ... Specific invites have just been sent to a number of key contacts from with our social media circles. Who's going to be the FIRST to get their comments posted?
When I was building my company, Web Mystery Shoppers Inc., I quickly reached a point where I needed advice on how to grow from a one-person operation to more substantial company.
I applied to the Epcor mentorship program (which, sadly, no longer exists). It took 3 tries to get the right mentor.
The first one was a solo entrepreneur just like me, and I knew more about running a business by that point than she did.
The second one was a great guy, but he had spent his whole career in the sales organizations of massive companies. He had no concept of what it was like not to have a significant budget and tons of support services.
Finally I got matched with Dan Chugg, who had founded a company 20 years earlier, grown it to the point of going public, and ultimately sold it. Perfect! His advice and encouragement were crucial as I grew the company.
As I reached another stage in development two more mentors stepped in: Ken Gordon and Felix Fridman, both of whom had worked with successful tech startups. Again, invaluable advice and support.
My advice to people looking for a mentor:
- Find the right person for you and for the stage you are at in your life and business
- If you are enthusiastic, hard working and willing to listen, great people WILL be happy to mentor you!
1.2) SPECIFIC HELP: How has having a Mentor or being a Mentor helped you?
Throughout my career I have been fortunate to have some very powerful mentors who have contributed considerably to my success. Always they have been several steps ahead of me in my professional career, have always been highly successful and approach business with a sense of collaboration and curiosity....values that I also share.
They have freely shared their wisdom, asked the tough questions, held me accountable for growth, and challenged me in new and exciting ways.
Without each of them, I would not have had the joy in my working career that I experience every day. It was a very sad day when Norbert Loblick passed away as he was my mentor and friend for many years; currently Jeff Clark of Kitchen Partners is my business mentor (although I'm not sure he knows that).
1.1) MY EXPERIENCE: "THE TEACHER MENTOR" My friend IAN HOPE provided some wonderful insights in a detailed story taken from his forthcoming book with Mari-Lyn Harris. "Kindness Ripples" is also a compilation project, and I am pleased to say that we have contributed one of our story to that work. We look forward to its scheduled release in November 2012. Due to the length of this submission from Ian we have placed it on a separate BLOG post on our site and direct readers to go to the link provided here: http://ow.ly/dK4Fo
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