why be a mentor

There is no doubt mentors can have a huge impact on people, especially younger members of an organization. Being an effective mentor is a skill in and of itself. Rather than solve problems, coach your mentee to find their own answers.

Become the guide on the side.

Mentors need to ask probing questions to challenge the mentee. Be supportive and nurture.

As a mentor, you'll discover that your relationship will benefit you and the mentee. You'll become more energized and learn new things. You'll develop new managerial skills that will help you and your organization's performance.

It's not one-way learning..... it's a great source of ideas.

innovation for success

Collective innovation helps give us a competitive edge. Pulling in fresh ideas is the driving force of
creativity. To distinguish ourselves we've relied on social networks to know our market.

"I believe innovation can come from anywhere."
                                                                                                    - Brian Lillie, CIO, Equinix

 
Innovation programs need processes and incentives to continue creative pursuits. A creative pursuit eventually leads to a project, which needs a plan to proceed. Project plans without adequate resources don't do well. A good management platform is a must to bring a project to a successful finish. Bringing ideas to fruition means a life-cycle is established. Your management platform organizes the specific business issues.

This "organization of issues" needs led by a "small core" that ensures quality. This "small core" entity might use crowdsourcing to reap ideas, however a system to funnel those ideas into an innovative process has to be in place for success.

Project management has a challenging task to undertake. Agility allows projects to be broken down into smaller components. For this to take charge successfully, project teams require good collaboration. Have your components review all their information and data. Good reviews evaluate status to identify current and potential problems. Review to give your project every opportunity to succeed.

Your project components have 3 steps to follow:

1. Innovation Management
2. Technology
3. Incubation

 Innovation groups discuss opportunities and map the strategy. Technologies are then discovered so incubation (start of the life-cycle) begins for a project to start. This is the tactical approach to strategy implementation.

Mapping gives us visualization and the entire process gains support. Each component (project team or individual) enters into the project management process. The innovative initiative is born to present and promote a project.

Innovation like this helps bring ROI into the mix to focus your business forward.

Resources, both internal and external, help define your processes for producing a good, solid management platform. You'll find project life-cycles are established simpler and sooner for successful conclusions.

BOOKS FROM AMAZON ON THE TOPIC OF INNOVATION