Watching television was often the impetus for backyard play when we were kids. Watch a baseball game and you were looking for your bat and glove by the end of the ninth inning. If it was cowboys and Indians on the tube, we donned bows and arrows or cap pistols as we headed out back to mimic what we had watched. As adults, we still do. Movies and TV influence our work life.
How many times at work have you heard lines like: “Make you an offer you can’t refuse” (from The Godfather), “Show me the money,” (from Jerry McGuire), “If you build it they will come,” (from Field of Dreams) or “Houston, we have a problem,” (from Apollo 13). You can think of many more.
What if mentoring was a movie title? Which movie title would your protégé select to characterize your relationship? I asked one group of protégés that question and got answers ranging from The Good, The Bad and The Ugly to The Ten Commandments to Gone with the Wind. One clever response was The Accidental Tourist. What would your protégé’s choice of movie title suggest about the quality of your relationship?
P.S. You might be interested in Seven Do’s and Don’ts for Mentors by Jessica Brondo, Forbes.com, 6/18/13.