Mentorship INSIGHTS from Al Petersen, Petersen Pontiac Buick GMC (Alta) Inc.

What does it take to succeed in the automotive business?   What does it take to succeed in any business?  Our Featured Mentorship Video for this month is with Al Petersen, of Petersen Pontiac Buick GMC (Alta) Inc.   Al has been a great supporter of business and the community for many years.  I was very pleased to have had the opportunity to speak with him in his office in Sherwood Park, Alberta.  

While we talked about many things, it was very clear that this business leader has build his business on a solid foundation of customer service excellence and developing the business skills of their people over the 25 plus years they have celebrated as an automotive dealership. 

Enjoy the discussion as Al Peterson share his insights related to Mentorship!  Alternately, use the direct link at: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JRhML-VwPnw

NEW Business Mentorship Program Announced (Strathcona County, Alberta)

Here’s a quick “Shout Out” ... for my friends with Strathcona County Economic Development and Tourism and the Sherwood Park and District Chamber of Commerce who have recently announced a pilot mentorship program for entrepreneurs in Strathcona County. 

The program is available to all business owners at any level of experience.  The pilot program launched on November 1, 2011 and runs for one year.  Mentees and mentors can sign up any time during the first 6 months in order for completion of partnerships by year end (November 2012).

More information is available at:  
http://www.strathcona.ca/departments/Economic_Development_and_Tourism/Business/Business-Mentorship-Program.aspx

Immigrant Entrepreneur Mentorship Program (Alberta, Canada)

The Business Link and its funding partners Alberta Employment and Immigration (AEI) and Canadian Youth Business Foundation (CYBF) recently announced an Alberta-wide initiative to promote immigrant entrepreneurs in Edmonton, Calgary, Grande Prairie and rural areas – the Immigrant Entrepreneur Mentorship Program!

 
This comprehensive program features mentorship, business education and networking opportunities to support immigrant business owners in meeting their business goals.

The program launch took place on September 30th and the pilot will run until June 2012. More information is available at: http://iemp.ca/

Learning from Others ...

It's amazing to realize how much we can learn simply from watching others. We see what they do, and frequently try to replicate those actions. But the learning process doesn't always result in perfection after the first attempt!  Practice, observation, feedback and improvement all have a role to play in our efforts to master the skills that we wish to acquire.

Mentorship provides us with an opportunity to gather important feedback - feedback that is so critical to our improvement. It's not that the Mentee will do things exactly the way that the Mentor has done it, but rather that the experience of the Mentor can act as an outside source to compare with or contract against the direction, decision and discovery made by the Mentee.

We mentioned on our "Business Success" BLOG, that we recently had opportunity to take in the now world-famous production, STOMP.  I had some preconceived ideas of what the show was going to be like, so I went to it prepared!  I had a set of ear plugs, just in case the volume became too overwhelming, and I also brought a couple of extra sets of ear plugs that I could pass along to others in our little group ... you know, just in case they were needed!  :)

Well ... with respect to the show, let me say that the ear plugs were NOT required. In fact, the entire evening was a very pleasant surprise and totally enjoyable. I found it to be VERY INTERACTIVE with the audience, funny, and in a word, captivating.  I would recommend it as a definite production to take in - and I was really surprised to see so many children in the audience. 

NOW ... coming back to MENTORSHIP ... the point that I wanted to make is simply this ... MENTORS can add great value and perspective to those they would Mentor. It's important to remember that the decisions being made are the responsibility of the person being Mentored - the Mentee/Protege. As was evident in the production of STOMP, we interact with many different people in our lives.  We can always learn from others, and others can learn from us. Some will learn from us and do well - others will learn and do better (than us).  That's okay.

We invite your suggestions in a comment to this POST, on HOW CAN WE BETTER LEARN FROM OTHERS?

REGARDING "STOMP": (from http://www.stomp.co.uk/about/)

STOMP is a group of people, with very strong personalities, who work together using simple building blocks to create something complex , something everyone can identify with: everyone has, at some time, to engage in group activity, whether they like or know the people they are working with or not. It’s the little idiosyncrasies, the differences between people, and the games of one-upmanship that ensue, which define the group dynamic.

STOMP has no words – everyone can understand it. It has little or no melody in the traditional sense, so it doesn’t matter if your taste in music is jazz, classical, dance or pop. STOMP is about rhythm, which is common to all cultures. Everyone knows rhythm, if only from the beating of their own heart – it is the basis of all music.

BTW - there is a very funny sketch on NBC's Website from Saturday Night Live that I recommend you watch. It was referenced on the STOMP Website and comes with their endorsement!

Link to the SNL Digital Short: Stomp

http://www.nbc.com/saturday-night-live/video/snl-digital-short-stomp/1359562

"Stories that Mentor" - a NEW series.

We are very pleased to announce the start of a new series of video clips on our YouTube Channel. "Stories that Mentor" - is focused on gathering a wide variety of stories that convey a deeper level of wisdom and learning to audiences.  In one of the first of several short videos, Dan Jelinski (Wisdom Speaks) shares an "archetypal story" that spans from Aesop in ancient Greece, to North America's First Nations people, and the Six Nations Confederacy. 

Dan is a gifted storyteller, who continues the passing on of wisdom through oral tradition - story telling!  Thank you once again Dan, for sharing your stories with this audience. 

Here is a direct link to this wonderful addition to "Stories that Mentor".

http://youtu.be/iNVVakUv2P4 

Mentorship INSIGHTS from Jared Smith, Principal at "Incite"

September was such a busy month ... but I was really pleased to have been able to get together with Jared Smith, Principal at "Incite" in Edmonton.  Jared and his team have done some amazing things within the business community, and the community at large!  Always interested in helping others to develop, Jared took some time out of his very busy schedule to talk with us, and shared some of his Mentorship experiences. 

Take a moment to to listen to this interview and you'll understand the significance of the relationship-driven approach that this business takes with customer care. It's no surprise that Incite has developed meaningful, long-term client relationships that have resulted in profitable and sustainable marketing strategies for their valued clients.

Here is a direct link to Jared's interview on our YouTube Channel: 

         http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y3Aw-xHLwpI

Investing in Others - the Mentor's ROI

"ROI" - Return on Investment.  What is the investment that a Mentor makes into the life of a Mentee?  Here are a few thoughts.

I recently connected with Elisa Birnbaum, a freelance journalist, producer, and communications consultant living in Toronto.  Ian Hope kindly pointed out Elisa's article that was seen in a July 21, 2011 publication of Charity Village.  (Thanks Ian.) I contacted Elisa and was very pleased to receive her permission to quote from her work, which can be seen in full, as of the date of this Post at:  http://www.charityvillage.com/cv/research/rcar63.html

I love the introduction that Elisa has used in her article. I think that many of us can identify with the dilemma, that inner conflict that we can go through, as we try to balance the many 'good things' that call for the attention of our limited time and resources. What commitments do we accept, what do we retain and which do we release?  These are all questions that course through our minds, right?

* The challenge that I would put to you is simply: "Try to describe the inner conversation that you have when deciding whether or not to continue in a mentoring relationship."

Suggested Video Clips: You may find the Video Clip interviews done with David Abday and Dan Gaynor to be helpful as they both touch on how to work through some of these delicate issues within a Mentorship relationship. View either, or both of these on our YouTube Channel:  http://www.youtube.com/user/ProvisionMentorship

Here is the introduction to Elisa's article. I encourage you to read it in its entirety at the link provided above.

"M is for Mentor" - By Elisa Birnbaum (July 21, 2011)

In the 100th episode of NBC's 30 Rock, the mentor-mentee relationship between Jack Donoghy and Liz Lemon is at a cataclysmic crossroad. Jack, played by Alec Baldwin, is re-evaluating his decision to take Tina Fey's Liz Lemon under his wing. Concluding the relationship is weighing him down, he decides to move on, then imagines the consequences of not stopping Liz from moving in with her deadbeat boyfriend. Guessing they'll get married and move to Jacksonville, Florida, he's aghast. "Jacksonville?!" he cries, "Her hair can't handle that humidity!" With that, he rushes to his mentee's aid, re-affirming his status in her perpetually conflicted life.

Not all mentors are as dedicated to their mentee's intractable tresses, but many stories attest to the impact of these relationships on one's professional — and personal — paths. Far from being one-shot deals, mentees report turning to a variety of mentors over the course of their careers, each offering something new and valuable that helps one to grow and succeed.

Elisa's full article provides a couple of wonderful examples of people sharing their experiences with mentorship and how it has helped to shape both their careers and their lives. She goes further and provides some great suggestions to help people fine the right mentorship match, where to look for potential mentors and addresses the delicate art of managing expectations within the Mentorship relationship. Her article makes for an interesting and informative read, which I fully recommend. 

Thank you Elisha for allowing me to share from your work. Elisa is also president of Elle Communications and can be reached at: info@ellecommunications.ca