Replies to This Discussion

Permalink Reply by Craig Lockerd on September 23, 2010 at 8:17am

Being held accountable by your Mentor is no doubt a key component to that relationship.My very first Mangers job as a "Closer" ,first day, first hour in that position, took a T.O. from older salesperson, he was like 140.Spent 5 hours in the deal, car had been in inventory 2 years a new car....closed it, client liked me so much he gave me tickets to the Browns game [1980] I walk into the GM's office,my Mentor ,and he lost his mind over me selling his "Ad Car"....I didn't pick him to be my Mentor ,he gave me no choice I had to page him before I went to the mens room so I didn't "screw that up too"......lol..I learned a lot from that man and 3 years later was awarded his job!

Permalink Reply by Mike Phillips on September 23, 2010 at 12:35pm

There you go with your Browns stories again! You have been a fan for a while then ;P. That's a whole new level of accountability, screwing up the mens room.

Craig Lockerd said:

Being held accountable by your Mentor is no doubt a key component to that relationship.My very first Mangers job as a "Closer" ,first day, first hour in that position, took a T.O. from older salesperson, he was like 140.Spent 5 hours in the deal, car had been in inventory 2 years a new car....closed it, client liked me so much he gave me tickets to the Browns game [1980] I walk into the GM's office,my Mentor ,and he lost his mind over me selling his "Ad Car"....I didn't pick him to be my Mentor ,he gave me no choice I had to page him before I went to the mens room so I didn't "screw that up too"......lol..I learned a lot from that man and 3 years later was awarded his job!

Permalink Reply by Craig Lockerd on September 23, 2010 at 1:02pm

Thought I would put that in there before you went "Elway" on me.....Dude I'm so old I watched the 64 Championship game Browns 27 Colts 0 on Black and White TV....

Mike Phillips said:

There you go with your Browns stories again! You have been a fan for a while then ;P. That's a whole new level of accountability, screwing up the mens room.

Craig Lockerd said:

Being held accountable by your Mentor is no doubt a key component to that relationship.My very first Mangers job as a "Closer" ,first day, first hour in that position, took a T.O. from older salesperson, he was like 140.Spent 5 hours in the deal, car had been in inventory 2 years a new car....closed it, client liked me so much he gave me tickets to the Browns game [1980] I walk into the GM's office,my Mentor ,and he lost his mind over me selling his "Ad Car"....I didn't pick him to be my Mentor ,he gave me no choice I had to page him before I went to the mens room so I didn't "screw that up too"......lol..I learned a lot from that man and 3 years later was awarded his job!

Permalink Reply by NANCY SIMMONS on September 23, 2010 at 5:05pm

How do you know your when your mentor is your mentor? Should the mentor be chosen by the menotor or the mentee? (is that a word?) Should your mentor ever be appointed to you? (Like a pre-arranged marriage)... Recently I chose someone to be my mentor and now I am not sure if that was the proper thing to do.... Help!!!!

Permalink Reply by Tobias Sedillos on September 23, 2010 at 10:21pm

Great subject Mike, the value of a good mentor is often overlooked: I have many in my life that didn't even know they were mentoring me – as professionals, it's a good idea for us to develop the habit of picking up lessons from everybody we come in contact with. My dad said it best this weekend when he was teaching a lesson that was shared with him by his grandmother, my great-grandmother; she said "You can learn something from everybody, some will teach you what to do; and some will teach you what not to do. Sometimes, you can learn more from those that are teaching you what not to do... And always remember this: you can always make money doing what others aren't willing to do." I have found that there are some people who rarely read. I have a habit of having multiple books being read at once. For those who try to give the excuse, "nobody will be my mentor". I encouraged them to pick up a good book. Jim Rohn says it best, "Leaders Are Readers" and "The book you didn't read, won't help!"

My best to all.

Permalink Reply by Craig Lockerd on September 24, 2010 at 8:56am

Outstanding point about having multiple mentors that are authors...love it!

Tobias Sedillos said:

Great subject Mike, the value of a good mentor is often overlooked: I have many in my life that didn't even know they were mentoring me – as professionals, it's a good idea for us to develop the habit of picking up lessons from everybody we come in contact with. My dad said it best this weekend when he was teaching a lesson that was shared with him by his grandmother, my great-grandmother; she said "You can learn something from everybody, some will teach you what to do; and some will teach you what not to do. Sometimes, you can learn more from those that are teaching you what not to do... And always remember this: you can always make money doing what others aren't willing to do." I have found that there are some people who rarely read. I have a habit of having multiple books being read at once. For those who try to give the excuse, "nobody will be my mentor". I encouraged them to pick up a good book. Jim Rohn says it best, "Leaders Are Readers" and "The book you didn't read, won't help!"

My best to all.

Permalink Reply by Craig Lockerd on September 24, 2010 at 9:24am

By definition....This is the source of the modern use of the word mentor: a trusted friend, counselor or teacher, usually a more experienced person. Some professions have "mentoring programs" in which newcomers are paired with more experienced people, who advise them and serve as examples as they advance. Schools sometimes offer mentoring programs to new students, or students having difficulties.

Today mentors provide expertise to less experienced individuals to help them advance their careers, enhance their education, and build their networks. In many different arenas people have benefited from being part of a mentoring relationship


Jim Washam said:

NancI, I will back off from being your mentor lol. Mentorship kind of just happens. I am under the belief that the mentor is chosen by the mentee or demented....it could go either way. I have several mentors, some know about it and some don't. Like a stalker only without the restraining order. My first mentor called me a few times a week to talk about what I was doing, where it was going, was I working the plan. He got a copy of the financial statement so he knew if I was BSing or not. Its a great thing...mentorship.

NANCY SIMMONS said:

How do you know your when your mentor is your mentor? Should the mentor be chosen by the menotor or the mentee? (is that a word?) Should your mentor ever be appointed to you? (Like a pre-arranged marriage)... Recently I chose someone to be my mentor and now I am not sure if that was the proper thing to do.... Help!!!!

Permalink Reply by NANCY SIMMONS on September 24, 2010 at 10:21am

Great answers, but I guess I am asking about Mentorship Etiquette....Craig, you know what I am talking about here... Is it proper to just choose a mentor, or should you really have a discussion with someone you respect and look up to, and ask them if they would mind being a mentor to you, because they should have the opportunity to say they do not feel it is a good fit for them right now?

Craig Lockerd said:

By definition....This is the source of the modern use of the word mentor: a trusted friend, counselor or teacher, usually a more experienced person. Some professions have "mentoring programs" in which newcomers are paired with more experienced people, who advise them and serve as examples as they advance. Schools sometimes offer mentoring programs to new students, or students having difficulties.

Today mentors provide expertise to less experienced individuals to help them advance their careers, enhance their education, and build their networks. In many different arenas people have benefited from being part of a mentoring relationship


Jim Washam said:

NancI, I will back off from being your mentor lol. Mentorship kind of just happens. I am under the belief that the mentor is chosen by the mentee or demented....it could go either way. I have several mentors, some know about it and some don't. Like a stalker only without the restraining order. My first mentor called me a few times a week to talk about what I was doing, where it was going, was I working the plan. He got a copy of the financial statement so he knew if I was BSing or not. Its a great thing...mentorship.

NANCY SIMMONS said:

How do you know your when your mentor is your mentor? Should the mentor be chosen by the menotor or the mentee? (is that a word?) Should your mentor ever be appointed to you? (Like a pre-arranged marriage)... Recently I chose someone to be my mentor and now I am not sure if that was the proper thing to do.... Help!!!!

Permalink Reply by Craig Lockerd on September 24, 2010 at 10:50am

I can only relate this from past experience with looking for a Mentor [Sponsor] in another "club" I belong to and in that club I was told to pick somebody with vast experience that had been doing I wanted to do for a very long time successfully and then ask and perhaps even "sell" myself to that person on why I could and would be a good canidate for him to take on.....provided, he had the time to do so.I looked around, listened,watched and approached several before 1 agreed.Had it not been for him I very litterally would not be where I am today.Down side to picking people with vast experiences, meant they were typically much older and so I have been through 5 in 17 years.....lol
Hope that answers it for you?

NANCY SIMMONS said:

Great answers, but I guess I am asking about Mentorship Etiquette....Craig, you know what I am talking about here... Is it proper to just choose a mentor, or should you really have a discussion with someone you respect and look up to, and ask them if they would mind being a mentor to you, because they should have the opportunity to say they do not feel it is a good fit for them right now?

Craig Lockerd said:

By definition....This is the source of the modern use of the word mentor: a trusted friend, counselor or teacher, usually a more experienced person. Some professions have "mentoring programs" in which newcomers are paired with more experienced people, who advise them and serve as examples as they advance. Schools sometimes offer mentoring programs to new students, or students having difficulties.

Today mentors provide expertise to less experienced individuals to help them advance their careers, enhance their education, and build their networks. In many different arenas people have benefited from being part of a mentoring relationship


Jim Washam said:

NancI, I will back off from being your mentor lol. Mentorship kind of just happens. I am under the belief that the mentor is chosen by the mentee or demented....it could go either way. I have several mentors, some know about it and some don't. Like a stalker only without the restraining order. My first mentor called me a few times a week to talk about what I was doing, where it was going, was I working the plan. He got a copy of the financial statement so he knew if I was BSing or not. Its a great thing...mentorship.

NANCY SIMMONS said:

How do you know your when your mentor is your mentor? Should the mentor be chosen by the menotor or the mentee? (is that a word?) Should your mentor ever be appointed to you? (Like a pre-arranged marriage)... Recently I chose someone to be my mentor and now I am not sure if that was the proper thing to do.... Help!!!!

Permalink Reply by Mike Phillips on September 24, 2010 at 2:55pm

Wow! All great responses! Specifically in response to Nancy, "How do you know your when your mentor is your mentor? Should the mentor be chosen by the menotor or the mentee?" From past mentor/student relationships (I don't know if mentee is a word either... lol), I think either party can "choose" one another.

In cases where a mentor is choosing a student, one great way is to bring it to the forefront that the mentor sees potential for growth in the student. A simple statement over a cup of coffee such as, "Nancy, you are doing a really great job on _____, I really see you having a huge opportunity for growth there and I would like to help you get to the next level." Then, "Here are some ideas..." In a direction like this, the mentor must have a pre-determined outline and plan for the direction of the relationship. Actually spend time ahead of time to create an outline for that person, the future student growth.

In cases where the student is making the choice and approaching someone that they see has some value to add to their personal growth, I would say have a similar conversation. "Nancy, I know that you are always very strong in the areas of _____, _____, and _____. If it's not asking too much, with so much talent in those areas, would you mind spending some time coaching with me to improve there. Maybe once or twice a week?"

In either of those instances the people involved approach one another with definition of purpose, and a desire to grow someone else, or learn for themselves. I wouldn't assume however that in those two examples, is the only time that mentorship takes place. Often, like Jim said, it just happens and as Tobias said, take something from everyone that you come in contact with. Always try to give something to everyone in return. The growth will be unbelievable!!

Craig Lockerd said:

I can only relate this from past experience with looking for a Mentor [Sponsor] in another "club" I belong to and in that club I was told to pick somebody with vast experience that had been doing I wanted to do for a very long time successfully and then ask and perhaps even "sell" myself to that person on why I could and would be a good canidate for him to take on.....provided, he had the time to do so.I looked around, listened,watched and approached several before 1 agreed.Had it not been for him I very litterally would not be where I am today.Down side to picking people with vast experiences, meant they were typically much older and so I have been through 5 in 17 years.....lol
Hope that answers it for you?

NANCY SIMMONS said:

Great answers, but I guess I am asking about Mentorship Etiquette....Craig, you know what I am talking about here... Is it proper to just choose a mentor, or should you really have a discussion with someone you respect and look up to, and ask them if they would mind being a mentor to you, because they should have the opportunity to say they do not feel it is a good fit for them right now?

Craig Lockerd said:

By definition....This is the source of the modern use of the word mentor: a trusted friend, counselor or teacher, usually a more experienced person. Some professions have "mentoring programs" in which newcomers are paired with more experienced people, who advise them and serve as examples as they advance. Schools sometimes offer mentoring programs to new students, or students having difficulties.

Today mentors provide expertise to less experienced individuals to help them advance their careers, enhance their education, and build their networks. In many different arenas people have benefited from being part of a mentoring relationship


Jim Washam said:

NancI, I will back off from being your mentor lol. Mentorship kind of just happens. I am under the belief that the mentor is chosen by the mentee or demented....it could go either way. I have several mentors, some know about it and some don't. Like a stalker only without the restraining order. My first mentor called me a few times a week to talk about what I was doing, where it was going, was I working the plan. He got a copy of the financial statement so he knew if I was BSing or not. Its a great thing...mentorship.

NANCY SIMMONS said:

How do you know your when your mentor is your mentor? Should the mentor be chosen by the menotor or the mentee? (is that a word?) Should your mentor ever be appointed to you? (Like a pre-arranged marriage)... Recently I chose someone to be my mentor and now I am not sure if that was the proper thing to do.... Help!!!!

Permalink Reply by Joe Brunner on September 29, 2010 at 3:54pm

My basketball Coach Clyde Adams; may he rest in peace, was the first person who ever told me that I could be better than I was. He told me what to do, showed me how, and checked on me everyday to make sure I was doing it. I will never forget him for that. It has been thirty years and I still think about him first when this type of a question comes up. Thanks for jogging my memory Mike.

Permalink Reply by Ernie Kasprowicz on December 12, 2012 at 1:24pm

This is an excellent topic and one which confounds me in regard to the automotive industry.  In most every other profession their is an apprentice program, an internship, a mentoring of the up and coming.  Shouldn't this type of program be available for career minded people to take advantage of in the automotive industry?  Who should provide it, the individual dealership, local dealer associations or through N.A.D.A.?