It's Not About Me

• Mentoring Opportunities When I joined Westinghouse Electric Corporation in 1966, they were among the top 20 companies in the Fortune 500. Little did I realize then that the Westinghouse Semiconductor Division that I worked with for 13 years would become the incubator for developing and training future industry leaders: o Doug Danforth – Industrial Products Group V.P >> CEO of Westinghouse Electric Corp. o John Marous – Semiconductor Plant Mgr. >> CEO of Westinghouse Electric Corp. o Paul Lego – Semiconductor Plant Mgr. >> CEO of Westinghouse Electric Corp. o Maurice Sardi – Semiconductor Plant Mgr. >> CEO Knoll Group, CEO Westinghouse Elevator, Executive V.P. Westinghouse Commercial and Corporate Resources o Dan Coulters – Product Marketing Mgr. >> General Mgr. – Westinghouse Micarta Division o Jim Watson – Semiconductor Manufacturing Mgr. >> President of Thermo King o Stan Hunt – Semiconductor Marketing Mgr. >> CEO of Powerex, Inc. o Ron Whigham – Semiconductor Application Mgr. >> CEO of Powerex, Inc. o Dan Del Frate – Semiconductor Marketing Mgr. >> V.P. Marketing of Ranco Controls, Inc. o Keith Sueker – Semiconductor Marketing Mgr. >> V.P. Engineering of Robicon Inc. The hands-on knowledge and experience I gained in working with these men as well as others at Westinghouse Semiconductor (which was then just a $25M division) could never be replicated; it was a once-in-a-lifetime experience. But what I can say with certainty is that many companies across America are failing to take advantage of the knowledge and experience that they have in their senior workforce today. Older employees are remaining in the workforce longer due to health issues, ability to get insurance coverage, limited retirement funds, etc. Often, these older employees are in staff positions or in departments where they could actively mentor younger employees if companies would only reach out and encourage the process. It is amazing that while we often think we know an employee well (because we know his or her current job title and position), we often fail to realize that this employee has a vast knowledge in other areas that we are not even aware of…thus we are fai ling to take full advantage of his or her lifetime experience. These folks are already on the company payroll; most would willingly volunteer to help train and teach younger employees if only they were asked or opportunities to do so were more visible in the company. Forming teams of junior and senior employees on various projects is a good way to create this synergy that will promote mentoring in a company. Try it – it will not cost you much and you might be astonished at the results your company gets via better performance and gains in a more experienced talent pool.

• e-Commerce Mission Statement Every company needs to have an e-Commerce mission statement that transcends departmental boundary lines. Whether your e- Commerce function operates as a “standalone” department or as a “shared function” across department and/or divisional lines, the mission must encompass the entire company’s customer -facing operations:

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