Training Industry Quarterly - Spring 2008 - (Page 37)

MY MENTOR LOOKED ME IN THE EYE AND SAID “IF THE JOB WAS EASY, I DON’T NEED YOU.” THAT’S PROBABLY ONE OF THE BEST MENTORING QUOTES I’VE EVER HEARD IN MY LIFE. 10 QUESTIONS WITH JIM MITNICK 1 2 3 4 5 What’s most important to a learning professional — classroom/training experience or business experience? 6 7 What’s the most challenging aspect of your job? On-the-job experience where you can practice what you have learned in a classroom or online. I’m relating it to my business, which is construction. There are no books, no online learning that’s going to teach you in the real world how to put a building together. People, and engagement of senior leadership. What’s the most rewarding aspect of your job? What’s your favorite training methodology? Online, since you can guarantee consistent quality across a large organization and measure knowledge transfer and impact to the organization. But really it’s all of the above. I don’t think you can effectively learn all in one style. Seeing the impact that learning has on the development of younger staff within the organization. You see their eyes open up and they listen and they’re engaged and they’re excited about what they do. They want to come to work every morning. What’s your most memorable training experience, good or bad? 8 9 10 Do you find the time to continue your own professional development? One-on-one mentoring when my mentor (who I had enormous respect for) looked at me eye to eye after I complained about a particular situation and said, “If the job was easy, I don’t need you.” That’s probably one of the best mentoring quotes I’ve ever heard in my life. What are we being paid to do? Solve problems. Every day. I will take one week per year to improve my own skills in any subject related to life and work/life balance. I’m always surfing, reading, talking to peers, constantly learning from others. Any recommendations for folks out there – books, partners, resources, etc.? Who would you consider your most valuable role model? Two of my bosses who I maintained a longtime relationship with and provided an infinite amount of wisdom and knowledge about life, work ethics and values in business, leadership, etc. They understood people and how to communicate and how to listen. Trust is important – it’s all about how to build trust. Read, network with your professional organization, participate with outside learning communities, attend appropriate conferences, meet others in the profession and tell them what you are doing and get their feedback. If someone wants to follow in my professional footsteps, I’d tell them to be sure to… What are the most pressing issues on your professional plate now? Make sure you have an understanding spouse. How to connect islands of knowledge across the company to enable individuals to learn quicker outside of other formal and informal learning environments. It’s huge. Everybody’s dealing with it right now. Some are spending billions of dollars. I thought I was cutting edge two years ago, and I don’t think I am anymore. It’s the difference between us being successful and failing. It’s that critical. We need to understand social/networking aspects of learning. Training Industry Quarterly, Spring 2008 / A Training Industry, Inc. ezine / www.trainingindustry.com/TIQ 37 http://www.trainingindustry.com/TIQ

Table of Contents Feed for the Digital Edition of Training Industry Quarterly - Spring 2008

Training Industry Quarterly - Spring 2008 At the Editor’s Desk Contents Winning Organizations Through People Before You Buy… Learning Technologies Take Your ROI to Level 6 LCMS: A Critical Link to Learning Success Establishing Best Practices for Learning Governance Training’s Role in Continuous Improvement Meet Jim Mitnick Meet Karen Kocher Meet Christina Cernuch The Personal Side of Personnel Training Closing Arguments

Training Industry Quarterly - Spring 2008

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