Before you get to speed do you really need funding – is your business in that league and has those multiples!!
Speed does matter – but right constant speed is what gets you there. Norwegian Roald Amundsen trekked to the South Pole in an extremely disciplined manner. 20-mile march principle – set yourself yoy targets and hit them then miss them. Before we move further lets quickly talk about Mentee traits: – enthusiastic, energetic, organized and focused.
They should embrace feedback while remaining honest and responsive. They should always behave with integrity and recognize that hard work and sacrifice pay dividends down the road.
Effective Mentoring requires following rules
Mentee should look for relevance – A mentee should clearly know what he/she wants to know “Relevance” – Usually mentee gets carried away by mentor success and does not check if the mentor is falling within the sweet spot a mentee is looking for- which to me is “relevance” of the match.
If the mentor realm of understanding is a bit distant from the school of experience the mentee is seeking, the relationship may not be a good fit, and you’re probably better off looking for another mentor elsewhere and/or recognizing that it will involve more of mentor time.
Mentor should look for suitability — the other side of the equation…ask: Do I have the relevant experience and time to make this relationship successful? Estimate the level of experience of your prospective mentee versus your own (gap) & then decide to move forward.
Mentee should keep following in their mind when dealing with mentors, I call them PanchMantra
- Clarify what you need from mentor:
- Guidance
- Sponsor
- Connector
- Choose wisely: Knowing what you need is the first step; finding the right person is the second. Like selecting a partner for marriage, your choice of a mentor affects 95% of your success and happiness. Find a mentor whom you can relate to and who shares your goals and understands your priorities. And remember that someone at the top of their field may not necessarily be ideal. Find mentors U see urself becoming — and make sure they are up to the challenge.
- Under promise and over deliver: Remember that mentors are looking for closers: those that finish what they start.
- Mind your mentor’s time: Good mentors are successful for a reason: They manage their time wisely, often doing multiple things at any given time in order to ensure success. As a mentee, you must learn to respect your mentor’s time.
- Be engaged and energizing: The best mentees are fun to work with. U should be energy donors, not energy recipients. work with enthusiasm, excitement, and eagerness to move projects forward. Mentors are more likely to respond positively to a mentee who presents the upside to their efforts rather than the downside. With this in mind, avoid excessive complaining about other people or a particular situation. If problems arise — and they usually do — it is best to frame your problem as a growth opportunity. Present several solutions, and see if your mentor advises one course of action over the others.
***Beware of pitfalls: Just as in the world of management, mentees must learn to manage up — that is, to help their mentor guide them. When mentors go awry, mentees must be ready. Recognize the warning signs and know what countermeasures to employ. For example, if your mentor becomes a bottleneck, set firm deadlines and clearly state what will happen when they arrive. Conversely, if your mentor begins to hijack your ideas, more drastic measures might be necessary
In nutshell:
- Excellent mentees know what type of help they need
- Select the right people to help them,
- Finish tasks ahead of schedule,
- Mindful of their mentor’s time,
- Are energized and engaging, and credit others liberally.
As a Mentor what my rules are:
- Baseline chemistry between a mentor and a mentee
- Focus on character rather than competency
- Encourage with my optimism, and keep quiet with my cynicism
- Extremely loyal to my mentee
At its highest level, for me mentorship is about being “good people” and having the right “good people” around us — individuals committed to helping others become fuller versions of who they are.
This is CAN small steps towards the direction of “assisting” those “right good people” and we hope the discussion during the entire day today has helped all of you to make some incremental progress – CAN would be happy to continue this dialogue so that this is not just one-off exercise but its a continued endeavour to promote the upcoming entrepreneurial ecosystem of this region. I would like to thank the entire team of CAN who have worked hard and esp our secretariat team under Vineet and all those who have been involved in this wonderful festival of entrepreneurship in the city beautiful.