In the last two posts we examined ratios you need for appraising your business; the Pareto principle and
efficiency ratio. This week, we’ll be taking a short break from ratios to
examine an important relationship every entrepreneur must have to succeed in
business. Thereafter we would return to our business ratios.
The world’s most expensive lunch is served once a year. Some
years it’s a table for two, other years it’s for more; but one of the customers
is a constant. His name is Warren Buffett, the second richest man in the USA. “No
wonder”, you’d say until you find out that he doesn’t even pay for the meal;
that honour falls on the other customer(s). Then you’ll begin wondering why on
God’s green earth someone will shell out so much ($3.5million in 2013) to eat
with a money-bag who won’t pick the tab.
I assure you that they don’t pay that much to have their
pick of a buffet; it’s the brains of Buffett himself they are out to pick. His
vast investment experience, particularly in picking winning stocks, is their
sole aim and the delicacies are merely icing on the cake. They recognize that to
sit, for an hour, with one so astute is worth decades of personal study and equivalent
to years of hands-on experience. (It must be noted that Mr. Buffett auctions
the lunch to the highest bidder and gives the proceeds to charity).
That brings us to this focus of my post….. How much are you willing
to part with for mentoring? What will you give to stand on the shoulders of
those who've gone ahead? How far would you go to get sound judgment? Think about
it!
To start with, who is a mentor? A mentor is not an adviser,
although we seek their advice; neither is a mentor a friend, although we love
to have them on speed dial. A mentor doesn't micro-manage you, hold you by the
hand when times are hard or give you the occasional pat on the head when you do
it right. What a mentor does is to point you in the right direction. Period.
A mentor separates the chaff from the wheat but leaves you
to mill it and bake the bread. Having a mentor is like reading a text with
bookmarks on the pages containing the exam questions. You still gotta read it! Reminds
me of my university days when I joined other students in chorusing “AOC! AOC!!”
after the revision classes. AOC stands for Area of Concentration and it was our
way of telling our lecturers to give us a hint of the chapters to focus on in
preparation for the upcoming examinations. That’s what mentors do. They give
you the AOC, nevertheless you must be prepared to read it. That’s why you don’t
need more than the occasional lunch with these busy people.
We all need mentors for the important things we do in life.
But not all of us have the money to pay for large ticket meals with a Mr.
Buffett. Some entrepreneurs are even still struggling to raise the capital for
their dreams and have none to spare for a business lunch. But I will show you
two simple ways to get quality time with the mentor you have in mind, with
little or no dent to your wallet.
a. Offer to do something for them, for free of course! Do
something for their kid in school or their family. I have done this many times and
it’s always worked. The world is full of ‘Gimmes’ that being a giver is one way
to make yourself unique and prove to a mentor that you are worth his time. But
ensure that it doesn't seem like you’re stalking them.
In secondary school, a friend wanted
to take a picture with a big shot invited for their Founder’s Day celebration.
Being a good artist, he made a lovely pencil-work of the guest and handed it to
the school principal. When the man was leaving, he was given the artwork and he
asked to meet with the artist. My friend was sent for and, sure enough, he got
his picture. If mentoring was what he needed, he would have also gotten it.
b. I've seen this second method work ten out of ten times.
It’s simple but very effective. Ask a mentor about his work; don’t ask about
the issues bogging your mind.
Have you ever seen the grumpiest of persons talking about
the things they are passionate about? They do with a sparkle in their eyes! A
mentor can give you connections, he can make necessary referrals for you and
his complimentary card can even open many doors for you. But asking for any of
these will never do the magic of getting him hooked like one who sits at his
feet and is all ears. Stroke the ego of your desired mentor by showing interest
in his passion and then you can easily get all the mentoring you need from him
(and of course the connections and referrals too).
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