Integrating HIGH TECH with our HIGH TOUCH World
By Bob Maher

The Careerpilot strongly suspects that we mere career management professionals have a need to communicate that can be enhanced and made more efficient with our integration of Internet and other computer-assisted technologies.  We have long utilized computerized scoring of our psychological testing and assessment documents, word processing to leverage our ability to use the written word... and spreadsheets and databases to accumulate and analyze the mounds of data that is available to us.  

High Tech applications seem to come at us in an endless stream, and we are in a state of high pressure "evolution" to ACTUALLY USE what is available to us...let's be realistic in our quest of "leading the way".

Let's start with some basic statistics, that, themselves, seem to grow faster than our ability to measure and research them.  Already, here, we can utilize technology to help keep up with the pace of change by sharing data, best practices, case histories, etc.,  in a professional community of sharing... let's "evolve" past our current guarded state of competitive, guarded information.  After all, we need a bigger, collective edge than THAT!  We can leverage our HIGH TOUCH practices and experience by using the Internet as a tool.

SOURCE STATISTICS | FUN Facts

We have taken the same HIGH TOUCH "first step" as our predecessors in time: We have stepped away from our protective caves and formed a community called the International Association of Career Management Professionals, the IACMP, meeting regularly at various levels to facilitate our evolution...

Developing the Profession by Developing the Professional

However, do we leverage that community in the same way that humankind has "over the years"?  The Careerpilot suggests that we take small, palatable steps to practice what we preach, striving to use the WWWeb-o-lution to leverage the skills, practice and impact of our community.  We must remember that ships are safe and protected in their harbored homeports... but that is not what ships were designed to do.

We need not feel threatened...

Rather, we should be moving forward in great haste to catch up, enhance and build our fine community by embracing and integrating technology to provide a greater good.

 Let's start by fully utilizing our existing strengths:  

We gather annually at our International Conference and remind ourselves of the value in synergy.  Many of our local tribes (sorry...Chapters.  I get carried away at times!...the Careerpilot) meet regularly, and some, in fact, sponsor larger, regional gatherings throughout the year. Therein we reinforce our values of synergy in personal development and networking.  

We seem to be most comfortable when we are developing along with colleagues we already know and respect (like that ship in its harbor)... some colleagues even venture forth, leveraging their development in networking and meeting with colleagues that they come to know and respect (navigating close by, coastal waters). Now, let's leverage THAT with an assist from technology.

• Spontaneous "instant messaging" and email exchange with colleagues we already know and trust;

• Regular exchange, on a less time sensitive basis, with email and bulletin board activity amongst colleagues with similar interests, Special Interest Networks (the S.I.N.s of the IACMP!);

• A scheduled and broader exchange with on-line, INTERACTIVE events scheduled throughout the year in the IACMP WebSite's Discussion Room.  We already have evidence of this in our E Chapter activity and the live, INTERACTIVE EVENT conducted in parallel with the 2000 Conference Debate in Brighton, England!

• As in the case of human evolution, our own WWWeb-o-lution is limited only by our own creativity.  The technology already awaits us to leverage our local, regional and International "tribal" Conferences with the use of simple online discussion groups... to video-conferencing... to ???

Can we put down our competitive spears long enough to take some baby steps together?

 Let the WWWeb-o-lution begin!

The WWWeb-o-lution for the candidates we serve.