Uncle Ray was my first great mentor.  Over my life I’ve always looked to network with people who knew things that I didn’t.  Abraham Lincoln is one of my mentors.  Lincoln faced incredible odds in his life.  As we all know, he was born in a log cabin, self-educated and elected president of our great nation.  He was not just “a” president, but our best!  He is my role model for determination and perseverance.

Then there was Dan Yomine.  Dan was the senior vice president of one of the largest U.S. manufacturing companies.  He was one of the first to build a manufacturing plant in Japan after WWII.  He lived in Japan for three years.  He knew manufacturing and he understood the Japanese culture.  I called on him as a salesman until he retired.  He then called me and told me he could help me.  We met weekly for years and then every two weeks in his home after his health failed him and until he died.  I once asked Dan if I should go back to school for an MBA.  After a pause — I thought five minutes, but probably ten seconds — he said, “No, I will give you your MBA.”  I grew to dread those weekly meetings.  He always gave assignments and made me accountable for them.  If I missed any homework, he chewed me out.  He had me take certain courses, and made sure I became active in the American Machine Tool Distributors Association (AMTDA).  He was insistent that we establish a newsletter and encouraged me to network our industry internationally.  The newsletter became our media to maintain presence with people I might only meet once.  Dan was a giant in my formation as a businessman.

Then there was dad.  Dad was a hard working disciplinarian. To him, hard work was the formula for security.  I was always required to work.  My sisters and I always had home chores.  At twelve years, I was required to paint the exterior of our home during my summer vacation.  I had a newspaper route and an ushers job for Milwaukee sporting events.  During college I washed walls, painted homes and did accounting book work.

Dad cleaned furnaces during the summer months.  Of course, I was his “assistant.”  I started doing this when I was eleven — until he fired me at thirteen for mouthing back to him.  He eventually rehired me several years later, but it was hard for us to work together.  I learned work ethic and discipline from dad.

There have been many other mentors.  These are just a few examples.

I have found that my best mentors have been at least 15 years older.  Why? I found that my agenda was never in conflict with an older mentor.  We were not in competition, and I never experienced envy.  I have been able to tell them my dreams and have always been encouraged.  When I attempted to use peers as mentors, I found them to be noncommittal, probably because they didn’t know what to tell me, and perhaps they didn’t want me to get ahead of them.  As I get older, this 15 year rule is getting more difficult for me to meet.

I can’t say enough about a mentor concept.  I don’t believe anyone can truly maximize their aspirations without a solid group of mentors throughout their life.  I encourage you to become alert to people (much older than you) who are smarter than you in areas in which you want to be better.  I think it’s also important that you find mentors that have good people skills that are able to empathize and relate to you.  Of course, you always want someone with high values and strong character.

Mentors have been invaluable in forming who I am today.  My final thought — if you don’t already have one, get a mentor!

Sincerely,