YOU ARE THE COMPANY YOU KEEP…

You are the company you keep. This old adage still holds truth today; the people you surround yourself with, including your mentors, colleagues, and business partners, significantly influence your professional and personal growth, reputation, and overall trajectory.

The 2025 ISPI Annual Conference in Jacksonville demonstrated that ISPI members are definitely in good company! From our distinguished speakers, members, and students, the 2025 conference once again highlighted the heart and soul of our society and our endless passion to just make things better. This year’s theme Human-AI Collaboration: Redefining Performance Excellence focused on the Future of Performance Improvement and brought together the best and the brightest in the multidisciplinary field of performance improvement to share the latest research, innovations, tools, and technologies. In addition, at the conference we were introduced to our new ISPI president Yvon Dalat, and the new ISPI Board of Directors ushering in new leadership and vision for the society. 2025 is shaping up to be a truly innovative year for ISPI!

At this year’s conference, the ISPI Academic Committee relaunched the ISPI Student Case Study competition, allowing our future practitioners to demonstrate their knowledge and skills. The Academic Committee gratefully acknowledges Matt Donovan, Chief Learning and Innovation Officer at GP Strategies, for his visionary role in designing the ISPI Case Study Competition. His work has had a lasting impact, providing students with meaningful, real-world learning experiences that bridge academic theory and professional practice. Three student teams demonstrated evidence-based performance improvement research and practices to effect sustainable, measurable results and add value to stakeholders with the organizational challenge they were tasked with; highlighting their impact on the future of Performance Improvement creating bigger impact, making greater contributions, and, ultimately, making our world a better place to be.

This issue of PIJ includes an article from our 2025 Thomas F. Gilbert Distinguished Professional Achievement Awardee, Dr. William Rothwell. Dr. Rothwell’s remarkable career encompasses authorship of foundational texts, creation of globally recognized competency models, and mentorship of emerging leaders, making him a distinguished candidate for this prestigious award. Drs. Rothwell, Zaballero and Sadique’s article “Adventures in Performance Technology: Corrective Action as a Performance Intervention” describes a real human performance technology intervention that tells Dr. Rothwell’s personal story about how he “backed into” performance technology as a field of practice.

Dr. Zachary Wong presents his exploratory study on “Job Satisfaction Disparities Among United States, Malaysia, and Singapore Information Technology Professionals”. He highlights the numerous challenges that the U.S. information technology (IT) industry encounters in their efforts to acquire qualified professionals to work for them. Despite high prospects and above-average pay associated with IT careers, he discusses the two-decade slump in the number of students pursuing careers in IT within the United States contrasting how countries including China, Taiwan, Singapore, and Malaysia, where the IT industry has grown substantially due to the availability of skilled human resources and high-quality education systems. The article demonstrates this dichotomy and unveils whether job satisfaction disparities exist and, if disparity does exist, to what extent, among IT professionals in the United States, Malaysia, and Singapore.

Dr. Deri Draper-Amason and Dr. Mia Joe present the first article in a three-part series on AI in Maturity Model Development. This paper explores the impacts of AI on the creation and evolution of maturity models. Their analysis identifies two foundational models and the implications for software development and manufacturing industries to focus on how AI technologies can help organizations assess their current maturity and predict the steps needed to reach higher levels of performance. Their work serves to address human-centric AI in the development of maturity models.

Lastly, this issue’s “Know Your Colleague” interviews Rachel Walter, Chief Innovation Officer for ansrsource. As a member of the Performance Improvement Initiatives for Community Outreach Committee and AI4PI initiatives, Rachel exemplifies what it means to lead strategic transformation through innovative learning strategies. Her commitment to learner-centric innovation and strategic transformation is helping to shape the future of ISPI.

CALL FOR VOLUNTEERS

Are you interested in helping to shape and propel the future of ISPI? We welcome you to engage with ISPI volunteer opportunities! ISPI has many development opportunities to work closely with the Society and gain new professional and personal experiences. Volunteers can expand their network of contacts as they interact with other Performance Improvement professionals. The purpose of the ISPI Volunteer Network is to link ISPI members with development opportunities within the Society. ISPI volunteers have the opportunity to: use and expand their professional skills and knowledge, build relationships within their professional community, and strengthen the field by strengthening the organization that best represents the field. Check out our volunteer opportunities here: https://www.ispi.international/volunteer-opportunities.

CALL FOR PAPERS

Do you have an idea for a paper? Have you seen a great presentation that should become an article? PIJ is actively seeking articles that cross the boundaries of domains and introduce Human Performance Technology (HPT) related innovations or a new approach to utilizing/teaching HPT. Your article can provide readers an opportunity to see performance improvement in action!

Please send questions to pij@ispi.org. We look forward to seeing your contributions, comments, and questions.

CALL FOR REVIEWERS

PIJ is always looking for reviewers to help evaluate and review manuscripts. Your feedback matters! The comments and feedback that reviewers supply are an invaluable contribution in our research network. Participating in the review process is an excellent way to gain first-hand experience with the publishing process. Please contact pij@ispi.org to express your interest.