Welcome to 2008. If I had known that I was going to live this long, I would have brushed my teeth more often when I was young...

The IEEE Mentoring Connection is looking for “online” mentors to help guide younger IEEE members in career planning and professional development. Currently, 989 mentees, but only 440 mentors have registered to participate. Mentor participation is open to all IEEE members above the grade of Student Member. The Institute would value your participation. If you have received an invitation to join the program and been thinking about it, now is the time to join. Helping young engineers develop in their careers an important professional responsibility and is very rewarding.

The program enables the mentee to select their mentoring partner online from a list of individuals who have volunteered to serve as mentors. After mentors are identified as a potential match, they are contacted and asked to begin establishing a relationship. Both parties to a mentoring relationship can learn from each other’s strengths and weaknesses.

Interested members can visit www.ieee.org/mentoring for information on the roles and responsibilities of each mentoring partner, including additional program information and an FAQ page. Potential mentors are asked to review the time and effort commitment to the program necessary to ensure a successful mentoring partnership. To enter the program website, please go to www.mentoringconnection.com and use the IEEE Group ID “IEEE2006” to enter for the first time. Once in, you will need to set your own User ID and Password. Should you have any questions, please contact Cathy Downer, Regional Activities, at c.downer@ieee.org.

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Here are some of the things going on in and around the engineering community:

• When managing others it is important to understand that subordinates are not an amorphous group. Today’s workplace is diverse and employees are influenced by a wide range of cultural and technological factors. In “What Every Leader needs to Know about Followers” [Harvard Business Review; 85(12), pp. 84-91, 2007, www.hbr.com], Barbara Kellerman explores the differences among followers. These differences have important implications for the way that “leaders should lead and managers should manage”. The author discusses the characteristics of five types of followers; isolates, bystanders, participants, activists and diehards.

• The Japanese government recently created long-term strategic guidelines for the creation of innovation for growth. This is a long-term plan to be realized by 2025. In “The Vision of “Innovation 25” [Tech Monitor; 24(5), pp. 39-43, 2007, www.apctt.org], Kumi Okuwanda describes the discussions that went into the development of these guidelines that are designed to open up Japan to the world community. The guidelines themselves are also described. Innovation in this context goes beyond technological improvement to include social systems and institutions.

• A step-by-step manual for finding, hiring and retaining the best possible employees is provided in “Smart Hiring Guide” [Alberta Venture, 11(11), pp. 35-44, 2007, www.albertaventure.com]. Sharon Sutherland discusses: the search, the interview, due diligence, making an offer, negotiation, orientation, integration, and retention of employees. In particular, Sutherland provides information on some of the latest and best practices in the hiring process, from search to retention.

• Toyota is a powerhouse in the manufacture of automobiles worldwide. Its goal for 2010 is 10 million cars and a 15 percent share of the world market is ahead of schedule. This interview with Katsuaki Watanabe President of Toyota [“Toyota Motor: Its Source of Strength,” Japan Close-Up, 12(10), pp. 12-18, October 2007, www.export-japan.com/jcu/sample/index.php] discusses Toyota's success and its long-term vision. The interview is accompanied by an interesting timeline of the company's major company milestones since its founding in 1927.

• The Cirque du Soleil began in 1984 as an ad hoc array of street performers that banded together to put on a show. Today, it is a global giant in the entertainment industry with 14 touring and permanent shows, and a workforce of 3,800. In “The Greatest Canadian Company on Earth” [The Globe and Mail: Report on Business, 242(2), pp. 57-64, September 2007, www.globeandmail.com/robmagazine], Konrad Yakabuski describes the reason's behind the company's success. The company is often used in business school as a case study of managing exponential growth, innovation, globalization and error avoidance.

• Information training can be an important employee benefit and enhances the value of the corporate library. In “The Personal Information Trainer” [Information Outlook, 11(11), pp. 11-17, November 2007, www.sla.org/content/Shop/Information/], Stuart Basefsky discusses, from the viewpoint of the library information specialist, the value of the corporate library to an organization and its employees.

 

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