Opinion

New Years Resolutions.

If you are still looking for that elusive New Year's resolution, why not spend more time you your mentor?

We all have mentors, even if we do not realise it. For people in school, it might be a teacher who is willing to spend a little extra time with you. It could be a family friend who always has good advice and contacts. For those of you still in the corporate world, dreaming of starting your own business, it is the person who might actually be able to make that happen.

I was discussing this with René Carayol, who you will know from his recent television programme about Lord John Browne and his series 'Pay Off Your Mortgage in 2 Years'. His business career has mostly been in large companies, and he still speaks fondly about his first break at Marks and Spencer, where his mentor was the group IT director. Many years later, his mentor is now retired, but René still meets with him once a quarter; they have known each other long enough so there is little preamble; his mentor "pulls no punches" and is direct and to the point, even if it can be "tough and explicit".

However successful we are, this is exactly the input we need, especially when thinking about a new opportunity. The ground rules for mentoring are very simple: you must like then and they must like you. If this is the case, they will spare you some of their valuable time, always the most precious currency. You should make it fun and easy for them. It will be 'fun' if you do your preparation and later take action on their advice; it will be 'easy' if you pick a time and place that suits them.

I have worked in numerous start-ups and in one I received some fundamental mentoring for our chairman, Sir Campbell Fraser. He had had previously been Chairman of Dunlop and Director-General of the CBI and used this experience to help me simplify our complex software solution into a simple description of what it did and who might be interested. He then picked up the phone to someone in the senior management at British Telecom and was instrumental in our getting our first order.

He used his skills to identify the potential flaws in the unique selling points of our product, and once having done so, felt he would not damage his reputation by at least setting up an initial exploratory meeting. Mentors are understandably protective of their personal networks, and you should always take this into consideration before randomly asking to be connected.

In the corporate world a good boss is also one that welcomes the idea that you might be looking at pastures new. They will suggest that if it does not work out, you can always come back, better for the experience of failure. They might even suggest that the company you are leaving might even be the first customer for your products or services, a win for both parties that has bootstrapped many an early stage entrepreneur.

But most of all they will give you the advantage of their experience and hopefully stop you making any simple, avoidable mistakes. They will have contacts, which may be worth more than their weight in gold, plus they will have insights into the inevitable flaws in your character that you will be able to address by putting together the right team.

René Carayol scales up his mentoring by running the Inspired Leaders Network, where business leaders pass on the benefits of their experience. Business speakers come in all shaped and sizes, but very few in my experience are purely into it just for 'the smell of the greasepaint and the roar of the crowd'. Mostly it is to pass on bite-sized chunks of mentoring, to give something back for the success they have had in life.

As time goes on, your own experiences will kick in, and if you are successful, you will find that people start asking you for your business advice. This is the way of things, and you should start preparing for it early. When you start, it is all about 'elevator pitches', being able to express your idea in a simple format. This should be no longer than a short elevator ride, perhaps thirty seconds; some entrepreneurs I meet assume the elevator gets stuck for several hours!

Later, you will use the benefit of your own hindsight to prevent people making obvious mistakes. It is odds-on you will find yourself saying "keep it simple" and "get the best advice wherever you can". If there is a common failing of the aspiring entrepreneur, it is not seeing the woods from the trees. But if people do take your advice and have success, then you will have really made a difference, which is a great feeling.

I recently heard actor Kevin Spacey speak in his capacity as Artistic Director of the Old Vic, and he put it very nicely. "When you have success, then it's great to be able send the elevator down for someone else".

You can listen to my podcast interview with René Carayol here:
http://www.beermat.biz/all-podcasts.php

By Mike Southon

This article is © Mike Southon 2008. All rights reserved.
The article originally published in the Financial Times www.ft.com/mikesouthon
Mike Southon can be contacted at mike@beermat.biz www.beermat.biz