To Build A Great Career: Seek Inspiration From Mentors

After my post on How I Made it into Senior Management, I received many InMails, Emails, and Tweets. They all suggested one thing: Write more about the importance of having a mentor. In fact, Kaushik Pawar, a LinkedIn connection, asked, “How did you find the mentor whom you credit for helping you in your career?”

So I spent some time thinking about people who have been meaningful in my career. While there are many, two deserve pointing out. While both were critical, one stands head and shoulders above the other. I will explain their position and impact on me as well as the timing as we weave through my story. I will also describe how I found them though there is no secret place to look for a mentor.

When I first started my career in 1984 at Chase Manhattan Bank, I was as green as could be. College didn't prepare me for work, the reason being that I forgot to take advantage of it. I was fortunate to land a job in the recruiting department of the bank. I learned how to interview. I sat in an office where I assessed potential tellers all day, every day. Turnover for tellers in 1984 was high. There were always branches understaffed and requisitions to fill. It was a never-ending cycle of bodies rotating in and out of the local bank on your corner, if you lived in NYC, all year long. Funny, in 2017 they still have the same problem, even with all the technology.

I was a year from having hair down my shoulders. I lived out of a backpack for months, crossing Europe. I needed guidance. Over the next few years, I would meet the first influential person in my career. Smart, black, and super expressive, he worked in a Wall Street bank, which was the last place you would have expected to find this pro. In many ways, a bank was the last place you would have expected to find me too. Determined, I set out to work with him. He was making it in another man's world. Blonde and pale as I was, he took me under his wing.

With his guidance, I learned how to work, how to dress, be on time, prepare, accept failure, and have some success without overdoing it. In short, I became a professional. Not bad for the son of a mechanic. I learned how to build the foundation of my career. He taught me things that years later I would remember. I left the bank to start my own recruiting business and fell flat on my face. I drew on these lessons to keep it together. The guidance from someone who is older and more experienced went a long way in shaping me.

I found my way to technology sales. Here is where I would become a real businessman. Little did I know what was coming next but I was ready, I thought. I bounced around a couple of firms, learning a little about what to do and what not to do. I have always believed it is important to have a persona in business.

I have and will always protect my integrity. Regardless of the consequences.

I landed at a start-up in the summer of 2000. It is here where I would meet the guy who wrote the book on integrity. He would also teach me business disciplines that my education could not. I was 39 years old and no spring chicken. Determined and backed by my wife and a few crazy ideas, we pushed on.

The next eight years proved to be a wild ride. In short, we grew and sold the company for a lot of money in 2008. In those years, I earned an MBA's worth of experience. I learned how to work all over again, this time at a different level. My challenge? The complex enterprise technology sale. How hard these sales are. How long they take. And how there are no shortcuts. I created and delivered business cases. My mentor taught me what value-based selling is and how to ask for millions of dollars for a solution. I learned to say "no." I became an expert on building a staff of professionals. I also became good at firing those who weren't working out, for the good of the team and the company. My business acumen grew during this time. This funneled up and down through one guy, and you know what? It worked.

So, to summarize. Having an advisor can help you by:

• Teaching you how to work.

  
  

• Shaping your identity in business.

  
  

• Showing you right from wrong.

  
  

• Helping you find your course.

• Leaving you with experiences to draw on.

Over time a mentor can bring you to the next level by:

• Enhancing your skills.

  
  

• Teaching you to perform at a higher level.

  
  

• Educating you on what they know that you don't.

  
  

• Pushing you to build a great team of pros who are better than you.

  
  

• Lending an open ear.

Finding influential people is not easy. There is no textbook to show you how. If you put yourself out there and are willing to try new things, you will meet more people. If you find yourself attracted to an executive who can help you, pounce on the opportunity. I have been at two companies since I parted from my mentor, though nothing has changed. We are both seeking our next great opportunity and spend time together each week. We talk about the companies where we would like to work. Where are they on the S-curve? What we want to do. How we can have an impact. It never ends. A successful career is full of learning. l know I have come a long way and believe there are still roads to travel.

My Best,