Objective Thinker

Denver, CO USA

Voicemail:  303.362.8425

www.geocities.com/gpdenp

Contact information available on website

My Desire: What I wanted to accomplish

Present workplace Facilitated Mentoring benchmark information to the USDA Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS) Arizona Leadership Team as requested by the State Conservationist (equivalent of a corporation regional CEO or director).  Benchmark information to include testimonies of successes and/or failures of how mentoring programs were implemented in other organizations, what objectives were used, and what critical issues needed to be addressed.  Organizations could include commercial or private companies, training vendors, other NRCS state organizations, and governmental agencies outside the NRCS.

Some kind of obstacle or restraint I faced

Lack of leads or network of individuals and resources from which information can be gathered.

What I did step-by-step

Searched the subjects of mentor, mentoring, mentoring at work or in the workplace, and facilitated mentoring in the Internet using search engines.

Asked my personal facilitator and mentor for any leads.  The facilitator referred me to Texas Instruments Corporation.

Searched Texas Instruments on the Internet and retrieved the lead of Menttium Incorporated, an organizational facilitated mentoring training vendor.

Purchased a book entitled As Iron Sharpens Iron at a Saturday seminar.  Skimmed the book and noted an example of Rooney, Ida, Nolt and Ahern, an Oakland, California, accounting firm that reported a successful mentoring program.  Also noted a reference entitled Beyond the Myths and Magic of Mentoring: How to Facilitate an Effective Mentoring Program written by Margo Murray, founder of MMHA-The Managers’ Mentors, Inc.

Telephoned and conversed with Rich Laveroni, Personnel Director of Rooney, Ida, Nolt and Ahern, and noted their successful volunteer facilitated mentoring program and how it has been valuable to all parties involved for the last six years (as of September 1996).  Mr. Laveroni referred me to Margo Murray and her firm who helped developed their mentoring program.

Telephoned and conversed with Margo Murray of MMHA about my employer’s desire to benchmark and possibly implement a mentoring program.  We also discussed mentoring benefits, program development pitfalls, and possible NRCS Arizona scope and objectives.  She sent me by mail a copy of her book entitled Beyond the Myths and Magic of Mentoring.

Reviewed Ms. Murray’s book, gave feedback to Ms. Murray, and received a MMHA Facilitated Mentoring Proposal for my employer to consider.

Developed a memorandum and sent copies of the proposal and other pertinent information to the NRCS Arizona Civil Rights Council Mentoring Program Committee members.

Orally presented benchmark information during a committee and Civil Rights Council meetings.

Telephoned and conversed with Phoenix and Arizona State University librarians to gather book titles dealing with mentoring at work.

Telephoned and conversed with NRCS mentoring information gathering contact (located in Guam) and she agreed to send me information that she thinks are pertinent.

Telephoned and conversed with the NRCS Idaho Assistant State Conservationist to hear about their mentoring program testimony.  Their programmatic problems and failures (program was disbanded) were noted.

Description of the result

Developed a memorandum addressed to committee members reporting investigation progress.  This document was completed using Microsoft Word computer software.

Distributed printed resource information to Civil Rights Council members.

Communicated findings....

Developed and sent a memorandum to the State Conservationist outlining concerns, recommendations, and possible options regarding in-house mentoring program development.  Included in the recommendation discussion were lists of individuals and printed resources that can be solicited for benchmark information.