One definition of the word mentor is "A wise and trusted counselor or teacher." For me that person tends to be a business person who has tremendous years of experience and is a little older. If you stop and think of all of your mentors: your parents, your professors, your boss perhaps, they tend to be a little older.
Do you want to know about:
- The latest fashion?
- The latest cool piece of technology?
- The new up and coming website?
- The best social networking site?
I am not sure any of my mentors could answer those questions. Well if they can’t, who can? You could possibly Google for some of this stuff. I think an easier way is to have a reverse mentor. This person is typically up in their early twenties and into technology, outgoing and is up-to-date on the new social networking sites. This person will be a valuable resource for you.
I have had one for about four months and it has helped me tremendously. In addition to the things listed, they can help you motivate the younger generation. For my reverse mentor I will try and speak with them a few times a month and get together every other month.
- Do you have a reverse mentor?
- If so, how long have you had one and has it helped?
- If not, do you think it is a good idea?
I look forward to reading your comments.
Scott Baker says:
You mentioned this at the CEO Summit and I think it’s a great idea! I do not have reverse mentor YET, but plan to in the future. Thanks for the reminder.
Merrill Dubrow says:
Scott,
Glad to hear it – they can be very effective. The key is to really get yourself in a state of mind where someone alot younger than you will teach you a bunch of new things.
It is really important to be up to date with things changing so quickly this days.
Merrill
Jacki Spear says:
In our business is is so important to keep up with social networking and all of the constant Internet innovations.
Thanks for the great idea Merrill!
I am just now becoming comfortable with Facebook and I have been using Linked In for quite a while, but the Twitter application has completely escaped my attention. I have kids in their teens who are far more tech savvy than I am, but they do not have patience for their dear old mom. I now consider myself in hot pursuit of a twenty something year old mentor…This does not make me a cougar, right?
Jeremy Bromberg says:
This is a great thought – hardly surprising given the source.
I actually do have a rather savvy 14 year-old – he’s even started a real business with friends – and he’s been good at telling me about the advantages of new technology and networking sites. He’s less likely to teach me about motivating the younger set, in fact, I’m still educating him on what it means to be responsibly aggressive and quality-focused. I just hadn’t made the leap to thinking about this more broadly. Thanks, Merrill.
Paul Kirch says:
I have been helping mentor some college students trying to break into our industry. Though the plan wasn’t to create a reverse mentor, that’s exactly what’s happened. I’ve learned a great deal from them about how they’re leveraging tools out there and have picked up a few tricks here and there. I never formalized the concept until seeing your blog, but I like the concept. After all, being a mentor is often more rewarding than being on the receiving end, so it’s only fitting that I should walk away learning something.
Melissa Pepper says:
This happened organically for me about 2 years ago when I started using Twitter. I followed Mario Sundar from LinkedIn who spoke at our Vegas conference, checked out the folks he was following, and all of a sudden, I had 30 reverse mentors. I could see what they were reading, visit sites they found useful, watch what they were doing, and ask them questions.
Merrill Dubrow says:
Melissa,
That is a great idea. Thanks I am going to try and follow him right away.
Merrill
John Heakin says:
I helped start a mentoring program and junior board for new graduates in the Marketing Department at Southern Illinois University-Carbondale. To improve the result we are getting so far, I would like to see members of the junior board being teamed with senior members to give a more well rounded perspective on what is needed. I’m also pushing for mixed teams so the mentees get advice from both men and women, and or minorities.
Paul Valdez says:
Hi Merrill- I certainly have a ‘Reverse Mentor’, my assistant. Thank you for mentioning this because it has been helpful to have him around. I have been in the industry for 24 years and I think that is how old he is! We definitely exchange knowledge and so forth throughout our daily interaction together.
Merrill Dubrow says:
Paul,
That is really great to hear – you are very lucky. I am sure he has helped in so many ways.
Merrill