Blog
Passionate Mentors Remove Spirit Leeches
I was fishing with my granddaddy on a summer afternoon. Like many boys, I was more interested in wading in the water than waiting on a bite. I abandoned my cane pole to go swim. Emerging from the water, I discovered a black leech stuck to my leg. “Don’t pull it off,”...
Leave the Gate Open for Protégés
In 1907, Carnation introduced a new advertising tagline for its condensed milk product: “Milk from Contented Cows.” Growing up on a cattle farm where we produced our own milk, I often heard the ads and wondered what made a cow contented. Cows seemed to already have a...
The Mentor’s Message: Be the Best
When I was a boy my parents encouraged me to “be the very best.” Back then, only the very best got a trophy! Nowadays the Wheaties® cereal box mantra has changed to “just do your very best” and all the teams get a trophy just for playing. It’s been a source of...
The Mentor’s Message: Honesty is not a Policy
The Delta regional jet was packed. As the flight backed away from the gate, the flight attendant began her ritualistic safety spiel about seat belts, sudden turbulence and smoking. She ended by saying, “The flying time to Grand Rapids will be two hours…no, it will be...
The Mentor’s Message: Set Your Protege Free
“Do you give the horse his strength or clothe his neck with a flowing mane? Do you make him leap like a locust, striking terror with his proud snorting? He laughs at fear, afraid of nothing; he does not shy away from the sword. In frenzied excitement he eats up the...
The Mentor’s Message: Turn Castor Oil into Champagne
Castor Oil: “A foul tasting oil used in the 1950’s to cure whatever ailment a kid claimed he had that would keep him from having to get on the early morning school bus.” My mother believed castor oil was a miracle cure. From a stomach ache to sore legs to ringing...
Great Service is Summer Camp
We are just beyond the season of summer camp! My eight year old granddaughter, Kaylee, went to her first overnight camp in July...for two weeks and in another state! Before she went, if she talked with her two sisters about summer camp, you could hear the apprehension...
On the Loss of a Great Mentor
"Brilliant” is the word we use to refer to a special kind of genius--the type that profoundly influences others. It is more than someone who is simply intellectual. A genius might be a person with a super high IQ but keeps it locked inside. A brilliant person shares...
Death as a Mentor
It is not my style to tell personal war stories. The recent Boston terrorist attack was followed by some struggling with the decision regarding how best to honor those who were tragically killed or injured. Some said pause; some advised cease; and some believed...
My Greatest Mentor: Part 5
Great mentors have impeccable ethics. And, my greatest mentor, Ray Bell, taught me the most important lesson of all: teaching is an ethical act! Effective mentors, trainers and change agents must be clean in their learner-dealings, not false, manipulative, or...
My Greatest Mentor: Part 4
Great mentors find humor in most things. My greatest mentor, Ray Bell, was no comedian! In fact, he was a very shy man. But, he enjoyed a great tease and was as quick to laugh at himself as he was to laugh with others. His humor was innocent and authentic, never...
My Greatest Mentor: Part 3
Great mentors show perpetual curiosity. And my greatest mentor, Ray Bell, was all about curiosity. Daddy asked me questions to which he did not know the answer. That always stood in stark contrast with the experiences I witnessed in many of my friends' parents. My...
My Greatest Mentor: Part 2
Great mentors are participative partners. And, Ray Bell, my greatest mentor, was such a partner. The words: “How ‘bout going and getting the tractor and park it in the barn?” were powerful music to my ears when I was a ten-year old growing up on a farm. It was...
My Greatest Mentor: Part 1
Great mentors are judgment-free. And, Ray Bell, my greatest mentor, was such a person. Daddy could be a stern task master and a tough disciplinarian. He was very much a perfectionist when it came to performance. He expected the best, demanded the best and...
Animating Self-Service
The lobby lounge was animated. The Orlando convention hotel’s afternoon “watering hole” was abuzz with people engaged in upbeat conversation and jovial laughter. For a weekday, it seemed the place to be. A grand piano was playing in the corner and the brandy sniffer...