Chip R. Bell's Blog, page 31

The Problem with Drive by Mentoring

I grew up on a farm. One of my chores in junior and senior high was milking a cow early morning and late afternoon. It was our family’s source for milk, butter and cheese. Cow milking today involves machines and computers. Cow milking—the old fashioned way—involved an edgy cow, a three legged stool and a stainless steel milk pale to catch the milk squeezed from an udder.

I was not a very patient teenager. I was always in a big hurry to get the boring chore over with so I could shoot hoops befo...

Serving through the Lens of a Mentor

Kitchen floors in the 1950’s and ‘60’s were largely linoleum. I remembered getting chored with cleaning those floors with a harsh abrasive like Ajax or Comet and then waxing them. My scrubbing days ended, however, when Armstrong came out with the innovative Solarian no-wax floor. My mother had to have the new product. But, there was a back story to this product I learned many years after it was introduced.

The product was initially a dismal failure! People were accustomed to cleaning their kit...

Mentoring as a Texas Rig

“Give me a fish and I eat for a day; teach me to fish and I eat for a lifetime.” It is a line we have heard most of our lives. And, really great fishing lessons…at least in Texas…would always include instruction on the famous Texas rig. Anglers with a hankering for bass find it a must-have for their tackle box.

The logic behind the Texas Rig carries a similar logic of effective mentoring. It starts with a solid grounding. For the mentor, that grounding is an expertise, a desire to foster insig...

Conducting the Learning Symphony

The first violinist-conductor of a Johann Strauss concert literally leapt from his seat as the chamber orchestra performed the Champagne Waltz. It was if the composer himself was present–especially since this concert was occurring in the very hall where Strauss performed as a first-violinist-conductor. I was on holiday in Vienna. It made me think of the power of passion and spirit so important in performing the mentoring symphony.

Protégés are attracted to passionate mentors! Too often learner...

The Mentor as Diversitist

Bet you have not seen that “d” word before. But, think about it. A segregationist supports all vegetables served separately—no tossed salad. An abolitionist negatively argues for doing away with any type of separation—no vegetable section in the grocery store. But, a diversitist (I made that word up) positively supports the power and progress derived from gaining the best from different vegetables, recognizing that great synergy can come from their blending.

In the new movie, 42, actor Harriso...

And the winner is…”And!”

Seventy-five percent of corporate mergers fail because of conflicts in leader relationships. Over 50% of marriages end in divorce, largely due to communications. Corporate and marriage counselors will tell you, “It’s not that the parties in the union were talking and stopped talking—they stopped listening.” Conflicts became an arena for a fight rather than an opportunity to creatively problem solve.

Put a microscope on familiar conflicts—labor vs. management, Democrats vs. Republicans, North K...

The Mentor’s Message: Model Authenticity

“You are Interstate Hotels and Resorts,” said Vice President Jill Kallmeyer at her all-managers conference. “So take personally every encounter with every guest and every associate. Your genuine passion is what attracts guests to our brand.” The words come from a woman renowned for her passion for the associates and customers and her “I’m so excited” spirit

Great mentors look for ways to add value “to every encounter.” Instead of shouting a correction, they inspire with a story. Instead of bei...

Mentoring as Transportation

It all started with a party game…those funny “what if” social games that get sillier with late night exuberance and adult beverages. “What fruit would they be if all pharmacists were a fruit?” asked one guest, a deeply serious pharmacist. “If lawyers were farm animals, which one would they be?” teased another guest, targeting his attorney friend. I popped the obvious question—“If mentoring was a mode of transportation, what would it be?” It yielded a few interesting, yet provocative, answers....

Who’s your favorite mentor?

Throughout your life and career, you’ve undoubtedly had a few mentors, even if they weren’t officially given the title. Your parents, teachers, coaches, bosses, pastors. All mentors. I’ve written about a couple of my best mentors: my dad–Ray Bell, and Oren Harari. I hope, when you read Managers as Mentors, you fondly recall moments with your favorite mentor.

Bill Treasurer recently wrote an article for Human Capital Institute entitled He’s Great, But Enough About Steve Jobs Already! Bill’s poi...

What the Rules of Combat Teach Us About Open-Door Leadership

Hugh L. McColl, Jr. is the retired chairman and CEO of Bank of America. An ex-marine officer in the late fifties, his business leadership style was swashbuckling, colorful and focused. Wall Street analysts characterized him as a no-holds barred tactical genius who led the bank as its thirty-nine year old president with 172 offices and 28,000 employees (called NCNB) to one called Bank of America with over 5,000 offices and almost 200,000 employees when he retired in 2001. In the ‘70’s I had th...