导师和Protégé之间的正式或非正式交流可能对专业发展产生重大影响，并产生切实的结果。
在我创立的公司的起始阶段，导师对我产生了巨大的差异，行动仪器。在公司的建议时，该公司刚刚几个月大，我去了当地的美国小企业管理局（SBA）办公室通过他们的退休高管（得分）计划的服务公司报名参加免费建议。我对金融和银行业知之甚少，并在我需要帮助的地方检查了那些。
Within the week, I received a call from a retired senior vice president at a major bank. He fielded my endless questions patiently and prepared me for my first banking “relationship.” He insisted it was not just about banking, but rather an understanding of mutual aims and needs with a banker with whom I could develop good rapport. Through his mentoring over the next months, I signed up for a line of credit and eventually major bank financing at terms that saved my company big bucks over the next several years.
>> More Leadership Advice:Read more on leadership, engineering as a career, workforce issues and innovation in automation from Jim Pinto.访问bit.ly/awjimpinto
The other mentor who made a big difference I also met through the SBA SCORE program. He had retired as Director of Planning at a billion-dollar research organization, and he took me under his wing. He visited often and always asked about our “long-term” business plan; the company was not yet two years old and we had barely scratched out an annual plan. But he kept insisting that we should develop long-term plans covering two, three and five years. As the company grew, this planning process became an invaluable tool and the regular planning discipline made a significant difference to our consistent growth and profitability.
Find a mentor
How does one develop good mentors? Sometimes, it’s simply by having the temerity to ask someone you respect and admire. You’ve got to have the guts, and a good personal approach.
When I was starting out, I remember calling Bill Hewlett, the co-founder of Hewlett Packard, directly. It wasn’t easy to get through, but my persistence and sincerity paid off and I finally got to talk with him on the telephone. I told him that I was an engineer like him, starting my own company and asked if I could meet with him any time at his convenience. He invited me to his office in Palo Alto, California. His friendliness and open responses to my rookie questions were refreshing and served as “guru” advice for the rest of my life.
When we were done, I said, “Your help is worth a million dollars to me. How can I ever repay you?” His candid response has remained with me for the rest of my life, “You can indeed pay, simply by giving advice to any engineer who asks for it sincerely, as you did.” I have tried to live up to that promise ever since.
Many companies sponsor good mentoring programs. At Action, we had a buddy system for new employees, which increased loyalty and improved retention. An effective mentoring relationship develops over time. A good mentor provides expert knowledge, support, empathy, respect and, most important, the wisdom of experience. Mentoring is an essential leadership skill. It’s important to help others learn, grow and become more effective in their jobs. Mentoring is the best thing anyone could do for an improved outlook on life. It’s good for business, and good for the spirit.
>> Jim Pinto是技术未来，国际演讲人和自动化行业评论员。你可以通过电子邮件发送给他jim@jimpinto.comor review his prognostications and predictions on his website:www.jimpinto.com.
