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In 1979 when Patagonia’s general manager quit, founder Yvon Chouinard did not want to take the reins – he had always avoided seeing himself as a businessman. Instead, he preferred to create and test equipment and clothing.
He turned to Kristine McDivitt, another manager at Patagonia, and put her at the helm. As she retells it in an interview, which Yvon highlighted in his book Let My People Go Surfing, “In 1977, there were 16 of us when [the general manager] quit. Yvon gave me the companies, saying in effect, ‘Here’s Patagonia. Here’s Chouinard Equipment. Do with them what you will. I’m going climbing.” But Kristine had no business experience – she didn’t know how to run a company. So, she started asking people for free advice – she cold-called for mentoring. “I just called presidents of banks and said, ‘I’ve been given these companies to run, and I’ve no idea what I’m doing. I think someone should help me.’ And they did. If you just ask people for help – if you just admit that you don’t know something – they will fall all over themselves trying to help. So from there, I began building the company.” Kristine successfully ran and grew Patagonia as CEO for 13 years. Ad Hoc Mentoring Asking someone for help triggers their “prosocial behavior” – their desire to help for the greater good. Essentially, when we ask someone for guidance, we are inviting them to help us and make a difference. Gratifyingly, offering advice, perspectives, or ideas is an easy lift. People can contribute without assuming the project or the problem. They get to help without the homework. While Kristine’s audacious task of leading Patagonia fueled her need to create these conversations, we each have the power to elevate any interaction into ad hoc mentoring. How? Five simple words: “Can I ask your advice?” And because ad hoc mentoring is indifferent to title, tenure, rank, and age, we can connect and converse with anyone. When you couple that compelling question with determination and courage, you’ll effortlessly unlock a world of wisdom. © 2022. Ann Tardy and MentorLead. www.mentorlead.com. All Rights Reserved. |