Performance support could be used to complement, supplement or replace traditional approaches to mentoring. It can take help that is provided to a few and make it available to large numbers of people, wherever they might be, and whenever assistance is required. Individual users can benefit from the advice of not just one experienced person, but many - if not a galaxy - of superstars.

As more people work flexibly and more enterprises operate internationally new demands are made upon supporting systems, processes and practices. For many years, even natives in the Amazon jungle have been using the internet to promote and sell their craft products to customers worldwide. Voice and electronic messages can be received and transmitted, and business transacted, at any time and while we are on the move today. The nature of the help we may require can vary with each communication.

The support provided when something new or difficult is encountered can, in some situations, be a matter of life or death. Imagine a doctor on call out discovering an unfamiliar condition at a remote location, or an injured patient arriving at an accident and emergency unit in the early hours of Saturday morning, when all the relevant specialists are at home in bed. These are the occasions that can uncover the soft underbelly of a health system. Events don't always wait for opening hours.

Situations that arise at inconvenient places and times can range from the traumatic to merely inconvenient, from food poisoning on holiday to a help-line being closed after 6.00 pm, or from equipment failure on a weekend to a member of the sales team without technical back-up facing a potential opportunity. Support may be available when least required or not relevant, yet lacking when it is most needed.

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