Wednesday, August 23, 2006
The Best Mentor: Opportunity
A great deal of business press stresses the importance of finding a good mentor early in your career. While I think this approach is generally right, I wouldn't underestimate the value of jumping into the deep end of the pool and learning to swim yourself. When I look back upon my own experiences, the times that I have learned and grown the most occurred when I was more or less unqualified for the situation. I have come across several individuals here in Shanghai who are a great deal more qualified and polished than their years of experience would indicate. I think it's because they've been swimming in the deep end by themselves for the past few years.
