To most of us, mentors are people of experience and knowledge who help the less experienced advance their careers and/or their education. There are plenty of well-known examples throughout the course of history; Aristotle mentored Alexander the Great, Laurence Olivier mentored Anthony Hopkins and Freddy Laker mentored Richard Branson.
In the early days of my 40 year business career, I was lucky to work under two gentlemen who instilled several critical success factors that guided me from Brand Manager to CEO. One of my mentors was brilliantly creative, the other skillfully strategic. But when I finally reached the corner office, I was alone, and rather than join a Presidents’ forum such as YPO, I turned to the periodicals of America's best business schools. At the risk of this blog appearing as an advertorial for Harvard, I'll gladly admit that Harvard Business Review was my favorite management resource. Here are the benefits I garnered from a decade of prolific reading:
- Strategy. The latest thinking from the great strategists of the era – Michael Porter, Henry Ginsberg, Rosabeth Kanter, John Kotter. By applying Jacobs Suchard's brands and businesses to HBR's models, I was able to pin-point weaknesses and bring clarity to missing opportunities. Most importantly, the implications and action steps became an 'easy sell' to my team.
- Human Resources. I came up through marketing; quite honestly, during my years in marketing I hadn’t given much thought to HR. But shortly after rising to the corporate throne, people and culture became my mantra.
- Dispute Resolution. Each HBR issue included the views of guest contributors who tackled sticky, hyopethical scenarios posed by the editor. These executive contributors dealt with the situations differently, and their unique approaches broadened my horizons.
- Perennial Wisdom. I scribed notes of my favorite articles and had my secretary type them. Years later I referred to these notes in my capacity as a consultant. A client in need of innovation? “Yep, I can help with that,” I’d say. And sure enough, bright folks such as Gary Hamel, C. K. Prahalad and Adrall Pearson joined me as silent colleagues.
- A Mentor Doesn’t Have to be a Person. By all means interact with a live mentor, but do not discount the value of a disciplined approach to life-long learning from indirect experts. Their writings can be an invaluable management resource to help solve problems and unleash opportunities.
John Bell is the retired CEO of coffee/confectioner Jacobs Suchard, now part of Kraft Foods. As a strategy consultant, he has counseled some of the world's most respected blue-chip organizations. A prolific writer, John's musings on strategy, leadership, and branding have appeared in various marketing journals and publications such as Fortune and Forbes. His latest book, Do Less Better: The Power of Strategic Sacrifice in a Complex World was released in December, 2014. John can be reached at In the CEO Afterlife and on Twitter @JohnRichardBell.
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