Marketing Organizations Must Take Mentoring Seriously
Mentoring now a critical skill in post-pandemic for the marketing sector. Alan C. Middleton’s new book shows how “Mentorship Matters”
With the global labour market undergoing a dramatic disruption, a new book by Marketing Legend Alan C. Middleton is revealing how mentoring is an increasingly essential skill for executives and managers in the post-pandemic workplace. Mentorship Matters: Now More than Ever delivers a timely look at how mentorship programs are now critical for career and organizational success in Canada and around the world.
Middleton, one of Canada’s most renowned and respected marketing thought leaders, is a former professor of marketing at the Schulich School of Business at York University and a long-time mentor and advisor at the Mentor Exchange in Toronto.
“Alan Middleton has produced an insightful review and guide to the importance of mentorship programs and why mentoring is a key success factor for career development during the post-pandemic era,” says Craig Lund, co-chair Mentor Exchange, American Marketing Association, Toronto.
Mentorship Matters: Now More than Ever! is available in paperback and as a Kindle Book on Amazon.ca.
The release of Mentorship Matters: Now More than Ever! coincides with the reopening of many key industries within the economy that were diminished or shuttered due to the Covid-19 pandemic. This reopening represents an opportunity for sectors that are looking to attract and retain new talent through mentorship programs and other key benefits.
“The publication of Mentorship Matters: Now More than Ever! is extremely timely. Global enterprises are currently responding to the deepest and most sustained disruption of the information age,” says Middleton. “Evolving mentorship programs and practices will become a critical differentiator for organizations looking to develop and retain high-performing talent, who are evaluating employers based on their ability to provide work-life balance, diversity and inclusion, and growth opportunities.”
Detailing the history of mentorship, best practices for developing mentorship/mentee relationships, and case studies, Mentorship Matters: Now More than Ever! provides a comprehensive “how to succeed at mentoring” handbook for professionals at all stages of their career. Middleton addresses the gaps in existing programs and offers practical solutions for organizations to critically assess and modernize mentorship programs to meet the needs of a highly competitive and diversified workforce.
The analyses and stories compiled in the book bring mentorships to life. Using first-hand accounts from key executives, Middleton shows how prominent international organizations such as Bob’s Your Uncle, CIBC, Federal Express Canada, IBM, LEVOLOR Canada, Medcan, Rec Media Inc., Scotiabank and Shopify differentiate themselves with progressive mentoring programs to develop and retain talent.
Mentorship Matters is also a tribute to AMA Toronto’s 12th annual Mentor Exchange, Canada’s largest, most established marketing mentorship program.
About Alan C. Middleton PhD
Alan Middleton is one of Canada’s most renowned and respected marketing thought leaders and is a favourite for journalists covering the marketing industry. He is an independent consultant, author and speaker on marketing and mentorship.
Middleton is the former executive director of the Schulich Executive Education Centre (SEEC) and professor of marketing at the Schulich School of Business at York University. His career as a marketing practitioner spanned 25 years with Esso Petroleum, UOP Inc. and J. Walter Thompson.
A published author, Middleton has co-written Advertising Works II and Ikonica: A Field Guide to Canada’s Brandscape, and has published a variety of whitepapers for marketing industry associations. He was inducted into the Canada’s Marketing Hall of Legends in 2004 in the mentorship category and has been a long-time mentor and advisory committee member at the Mentor Exchange, operated by AMA Toronto.
About AMA Toronto
The Toronto chapter of the American Marketing Association is a volunteer-run, not-for-profit organization that has empowered business growth and leadership within its community for more than 70 years. AMA Toronto provides opportunities to build professional connections, develop leadership, and accelerate professional knowledge and growth. With more than 20,000 members and 70 chapters across North America, the AMA is the largest marketing association in the world.
About Mentor Exchange
Founded in 2008, AMA Toronto’s Mentor Exchange was created to support and inspire future marketing leaders in Canada. The program, run in partnership with the Schulich Executive Education Centre, provides access to some of the most accomplished senior marketing leadership in Canada, high-level executives willing to provide a commitment to individual mentorship for mid-level marketers over a nine-month period.
Additional Quotes
“With the global labour market undergoing a dramatic disruption including the adoption of hybrid work environments, flattened organizational structures and the prioritization of diversity and inclusion initiatives, mentorship is also undergoing a fundamental shift.”
– Alan Middleton, author of Mentorship Matters: Now More than Ever!
“The point about the mentorship process in the contemporary environment, and especially in marketing, is that there is always a need to learn from others and a need for you to help develop others.”
– Alan Middleton, author of Mentorship Matters: Now More than Ever!
“Alan Middleton in Mentorship Matters makes a forceful case for the importance of mentorship today and how it is imperative for marketers and organizations to achieve successful innovation, improved productivity, greater efficiency and improved cost management in order to remain competitive.”
– Tina Portillo, president, AMA Toronto
“As the world emerges from a prolonged period of Covid-related disruption, fear, and apprehension, we face a future that will be vastly different from the past. To make our way fearlessly into this unknown future, we need more than ever to draw from the sustaining relationships between mentors and mentees.”
– David Kincaid, Co-chair, Mentor Exchange, AMA Toronto, and founder & managing partner, Level5 Strategy
“Mentoring is a series of moments and exchanges of gifts that last a lifetime. This book is living proof of the value of this time well spent. ”
– Tony Chapman, Canada’s Marketing Hall of Legends inductee
