Dan Erwin

No Yoda, But a Collage of Mentors (Part III: Career and Strategic Mentors)

Question any leader or executive about their success and eventually they’ll tell you that their mentor played a big role. Today, however, there is no Jedi-Master Yoda, wise and powerful, taking on people and unlocking the paths to business immortality. The onus is now yours to find numerous mentors, build the relationships, learn from them, weave the skills together, and create your successful identity. No single master, but a collage of mentors. 

Career mentors
You will find these folk both internally and externally, often in consulting or contracting positions. They are the folk you can trust for a sympathetic career ear and advice. They are not limited by the traditional, linear career thinking. The best have a big picture of...

No Yoda, But a College of Mentors (Part II:Skills and Relational Mentors)

Question any leader or executive about their success and eventually they’ll tell you that their mentor played a big role. Today, however, there is no Jedi-Master Yoda, wise and powerful, taking on people and unlocking the paths to business immortality. The onus is now yours to find numerous mentors, build the relationships, learn from them, weave the skills together, and create your successful identity. No single master, but a collage of mentors. 

Skills mentors
These are the mentors you need to do your day-to-day work. They’re usually the first you meet in the organization because they have the responsibility to get you situated. Inside your organization and readily available, they can provide the basic mentoring in those specific disciplines and proprietary skills that your organization needs and holds dear.
 
As you’re beginning in a new organization you’ll find that some mentors really know their stuff and watch out for you. They seem to understand...

Politically Incorrect

My eldest daughter, like me, is "kinda proud of her alma mater. Actually, very proud." Why? Her University of Chicago sent a note to incoming freshmen that they shouldn't expect "safe places" at their school. 

Here's the verbatim from the dean of students at the University of Chicago, pushing back against recent college trends. 

We do not support so-called trigger warnings, we do not cancel invited speakers because their topics might prove controversial and we do not condone the creation of intellectual 'safe spaces' where individuals can retreat from ideas and perspectives at odds with their own.

Think you can guess our political stance? ...