How to Use Mentoring to Drive Maximum Competitive Advantage Techniques and lessons from IBMrs"s world-class mentoring programs-for every business and HR leader, strategist, Chief Learning Officer, consultant, trainer, and scholar "A crucial part of my job is to help develop and retain the more than 200,000 members of IBMrs"s global technical community. Over the years, I have found that the true spirit of any organization is its people, and unique, world-class mentoring programs play a crucial role in their success. What I really like aboutIntelligent Mentoringis that it is not an academic treatise on the theory of mentoring, but a series of practical solutions that can be used by virtually any organization to gain productivity, increase retention, and improve bottom-line results." -Nick Donofrio, Executive Vice President, Innovation and Technology, IBM Corporation "We have known about the importance of mentoring in developing people for decades. Yet few organizations have successfully leveraged it as part of their HR strategy. IBM is one of those companies.Intelligent Mentoringis about more than the mentoring initiative successfully implemented at IBM. It is a guide for how companies can leverage mentoring in a way that aligns with company strategy and supports organizational and individual development. It is a must-read for any executive considering a mentoring initiative as part of the firmrs"s HR strategy. IBMrs"s mentoring effort combined the best of what we know from mentoring research, career development theory, and change management to create a highly successful effort. There is much here for practitioners and scholars to learn." -David A. Thomas, Ph.D., Naylor Fitzhugh Professor of Business Administration, Harvard Business School "Performance is the ultimate driver of this company. Even back in our earliest days, one of the keys to IBMrs"s greatness was performance, along with top-notch technology. Since arriving at IBM in 2000, my goal has been to identify, develop, train, reward, and retain high-performing people, and one of the best ways to support these high performers is through mentoring. I believe thatIntelligent Mentoringhas done a phenomenal job of capturing the innovative and varied mentoring initiatives that IBM has used over the years. The authors really take you inside the company and show how mentoring has helped IBM preserve its corporate culture by passing on knowledge, not only between generations, but in all directions throughout our global community. This book is a must-read for anyone who wants to use the powerful tool of mentoring to its best and most productive advantage, and I recommend it highly." -Randy MacDonald, Senior Vice President, Human Resources, IBM Corporation For todayrs"s enterprises, few challenges are as daunting as preparing tomorrowrs"s leaders. Mentoring is one of the most powerful tools at their disposal. But not all mentoring programs are equally effective, and not all companies have learned how to sustain mentoring. One company has: IBM.Intelligent Mentoringreveals how IBM has done itand offers specific guidance and best practices you can use to achieve equally powerful results.Intelligent Mentoringshows how IBM has fully integrated a diverse portfolio of formal mentoring initiatives into both talent development and innovation promotion. Whether yours"re a busin