From time to time, we field questions regarding how matches should be made in today’s approach to enterprise mentoring.  Due to that fact that many traditional hand matching programs leveraged personality-based systems in an effort to ensure good compatibility, there is still a belief among some that compatibility is a key criteria in the matching process.  While compatibility might not ...

“Knowledge workers in today's workforce are individuals who are valued for their ability to act and communicate with knowledge within a specific subject area.”[i]  Most of you reading this entry probably consider yourselves to be knowledge workers.  You probably also work with a bunch of other knowledge workers.  There is a good chance that the organization you work for employs...

In reading the title of a recent article posted on MarketWatch, “Accenture Study Finds U.S. Workers under Pressure to Improve Skills, but Need More Support from Employers,” my initial reaction was, “Well, duh.”  This is in no way meant to be a slam on Accenture’s work.  In fact, I’m glad that someone has done some research to back up this obvious claim...

There are a number of reasons why people offer their time and expertise in mentoring.  Some of the most common include: A desire to help others Wanting to give back Doing one’s part to better the organization If none of the above do it for you, try this: get involved in mentoring because it’s the selfish thing to do.   Wait…what?    Perhaps I should choose...

We’ve solved something!  (at least according to Micahael Rochelle, Chief Consultant and Analyst for the Brandon Hall Group).  We were speaking with Michael a few weeks ago about our solution (i.e., what it has done for organizations, as well as what it will do moving forward with some of our upcoming enhancements).  After taking it in and reflecting, Michael said, “You&r...

There was an interesting piece posted on Business Insider a couple of weeks ago that talks about how organizations need to look at providing the millennial generation with a mentor, instead of a cash bonus, to improve retention (http://www.businessinsider.com/young-workers-mentor-2011-7).  While I agree with the part of the message that focuses on the fact that money is not the most important...

Caveat: I know that my position on this is somewhat biased given what we do at Triple Creek.  But hey, this is a blog and I’m entitled to be opinionated, right?   The above stated and out of the way, even when I do my best to be objective, the stories that I still hear around how much time some organizations put into running mentoring programs continue to amaze me.  Even with ...

In my last blog entry, I wrote about the marriage of people-centric and people-first learning approaches (http://www.3creek.com/index.php?/612-the-marriage-of-people-centric-and-people-first-learning.html).  As I reflected on what I wrote, I can’t help but think about something that one of our shareholders likes to say from time-to-time: “We’re gonna be big!”  The...

Who is in the best position to determine what an individual needs to learn?  I’ll give you a moment to think about it…………….  The correct answer is……………. the individual him or herself.  It’s not the organization or some other type of external entity.  The individual may lean on advice and feedback ...

Few people, if any, like being wrong.  It’s human nature to want to be right, sometimes even in the face of overwhelming evidence to the contrary.  How many times have you seen someone continue to defend a seemingly indefensible position, driven to do so by pure stubbornness?  (I’ve been a guilty party in this type of exercise).  Some people handle it better than ot...