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02.12
Passing of
Mentors
By Terrance Malkinson
Fortunate are the individuals
who have had mentors guiding them on their
journey through life. Mentoring is an informal
relationship where one person, the mentee, can
discuss their needs and circumstances openly and
in confidence with another older person, the
mentor, who is a source of positive encouraging
guidance to them. The original Mentor was a
character in Homer’s epic poem The Odyssey.
When Odysseus, King of Ithaca went to fight in
the Trojan War, he entrusted the care of his
kingdom to Mentor. Mentor served as the teacher
and overseer of Odysseuss’ son, Telemachus. The
personal name “Mentor” has since been adopted in
English as a term meaning someone who
voluntarily imparts wisdom to and shares
knowledge with a less experienced person.
Mentoring is about one person
helping another person develop his or her
potential. It is about unselfishly giving help
and support in a manner that will empower the
recipient to move forward with confidence to
success. Although most commonly known in the
workplace, the mentor-mentee relationship can
exist at all stages of life, regardless of
circumstances. Most of us have experienced the
benefits of having mentors and perhaps the honor
of being a mentor ourselves; providing the next
generation with “street smarts” information on
our experiences that might benefit them.
Mentoring is important to the IEEE.
Age catches up with all of us,
and our mentors die with the torch being passed
to the next generation. Recently, I had the
experience of two mentors important to me pass ―
it was a moment of epiphany where I realized a
larger essence that illuminated the whole
picture in a new and profound way. Both lived
long and productive lives, leaving a legacy of
value for those who knew them as well as for
those who did not.
The first was John Hasell (1930–2011).
Born and educated in England, he served with
Royal Signals in Germany, Korea, Hong Kong,
Borneo, and Britain. He was Chief Instructor at
the Army Outward Bound School in Wales. He moved
to Canada, where in 1969, he started and became
executive director of the first Canadian Outward
Bound School. He was a visionary leader and
passionate about the importance of a healthy
mental and physical balanced lifestyle. He had a
positive, energetic and practical outlook to
life. His influence was important to me in my
decision to participate in a number of Outward
Bound wilderness experiential personal
development programs which helped me
successfully pass through a difficult time in my
life 14 years ago. Had I not done this, my life
would have been much different, less rewarding,
and likely short.
The second
was Keith Cooper (1922-2011). He also
courageously moved to Canada, leaving a
successful medical career in England to become
one of the founding members of a newly
established Faculty of Medicine. Employing his
knowledge as a physician and innovative
researcher, he was a critical factor in the
establishment of a laboratory and
multidisciplinary research group that achieved
international acclaim as a leader in its field.
Numerous graduate students that now occupy
teaching, administrative and research positions
throughout the world were the beneficiaries of
his skills, derived from hard work and a variety
of interests transcending all fields. It was my
honor and privilege to work with him and learn
from him as his chief technologist for 26 years,
and we co-authored many applied and basic
research project reports.
Mentoring is of fundamental
importance to the mentee, the mentor, family,
business, and society. The IEEE has an
online program known as the
IEEE Mentoring
Connection,
which helps IEEE members establish mentoring
partnerships. Check it out — you will
find the experience rewarding as a mentee or as
a mentor.
Other Bytes
Here are some of the things
going on in and around the community:
·
The 16 January issue of FORTUNE
provides a portrait of what the world might be
like in ten years [“FORTUNE’S Guide to
the Future,” 165(1):pp.44-74, 2012
www.fortune.com]. Based on interviews with
futuristic researchers, forecasters, security
experts and analysts their visions provide a
mostly optimistic view of the future in spite of
current challenges. Nina Easton however does
make the important observation in her
introduction to the series of seven articles
that “the coming changes will be uncomfortable
for some” [pg.46]. Current and even some
traditional management practices will most
certainly change as non-conventional sources and
methods of innovation will be the birthplace of
the important major breakthroughs.
·
Two articles in Educational
Technology [51(6), November-December 2011]
focus on delivery of education. In “Learning and
Schooling in the Age of Mobilism” [pp.3-10]
Cathleen Norris and Elliot Soloway discuss their
belief that by 2015 all students will be using
their own mobile computing device engendering a
most disruptive transformation in education. In
“Distance Education in the United States: Past,
Present and Future” [pp.11-17]. Farhad Saba
discusses historical aspects of distance
education and provides a glimpse of its future
and ramifications for learners and providers of
education.
·
A special section in MIT’S
Technology Review [115(1), February 2012]
focuses on manufacturing. In the editors
introduction “Building the Future” [pg. 12] to
the series of articles Jason Pontin provides an
overview of the role of manufacturing and the
regrettable loss of six million manufacturing
jobs in the United States between 2000 and 2010.
He continues on making the argument that a
healthy manufacturing sector in the United
States is important not only to Americans but to
everyone.
·
William Norton and Dena Hale
introduce and develop teaching protocols to
guide aspiring entrepreneurs behaviors in
searching for and discovering innovative ideas
that may have commercial potential in their
article “Protocols for Teaching Students How to
Search for, Discover, and Evaluate Innovations”.
[Journal of Management Education
[35(6):808-835, December 2011]. A series of six,
structured modular sessions are described to
teach these skills. Additionally, a framework is
introduced that permits a viability assessment
of all discoveries.
-
The January-February issue of
Harvard
Business Review [90(1/2):pp.77-109,
www.hbr.org] spotlights happiness. Five
articles discuss the importance of happiness to
personal, employment, and business success.
Articles include: “The Economics of Well-Being”;
“The Science Behind the Smile”; “Creating
Sustainable Performance”; “Positive
Intelligence”; and the “History of Happiness.”
Terrance Malkinson is a
communications specialist, business analyst and
futurist. He is currently an international
correspondent for IEEE-USA Today's Engineer, an
associate editor for IEEE Canadian Review, and a
member of the editorial advisory board of IEEE
The Institute. He was Vice-Chair of the IEEE-USA
Communications Committee (2004-2010), and
editor-in-chief of IEEE-USA Today's Engineer
Digest (2004-2008). He was an elected Senator of
the University of Calgary and an elected
Governor of the IEEE Engineering Management
Society as well as an elected Administrative
Committee member of the IEEE Professional
Communication Society. He has been the editor of
several IEEE conference proceedings, and past
editor of IEEE Engineering Management. He is the
author of more than 420 publications, and is an
accomplished triathlete. His career path
includes being an accomplished technical
supervisor and medical researcher at the
University of Calgary a business proposal
manager for the General Electric Company, an
associate for Sears Canada Inc. and research
administrator with the School of Health and
Public Safety/Applied Research and Innovation
Services at SAIT Polytechnic in Calgary Canada.
The author is grateful to the
professional support of the Haskayne School of
Business Library at the University of Calgary.
He can be reached at
todaysengineer@ieee.org.
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