50 Shades of Jay – Shade 37 A case for mentoring. See what you think?

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I’m having a problem with one of our tech-people – – whom we paid months ago to complete a new killer website for us and for you. I was writing a partner (who’s been waiting for months to start a co-authored special blog series w/ me) about the frustrating story.

He replied to my comment by saying:

“. . . when your disappointing technology guys let you down horrifically on the new web site. . .”

The ultimate catastrophe of the digital world is the lack of mentors.

Direct Marketing goes back 800 years. A long time ago I wrote:

Chartres Cathedral, France, 1194 A.D.

As regular readers may recall, direct marketing was launched June 15, 1194 A.D., the week lightning kindled a huge fire that destroyed Chartres Cathedral. All that remained intact were the façade, west towers and the crypt. Bishop Regnault de Mouçon immediately started writing fundraising letters to rebuild it.

The rich noble families of France and England responded with cash and gifts, as did the many guilds, the equivalent of unions back then—shoemakers, wheelwrights, bankers, vintners, coopers, furriers, bankers, etc.

I tried to get hold of one of those first fundraising letters and was told if they existed at all, they would have been in the Chartres archives, which were destroyed in WWII.

The point is, for over 800 years direct marketers have been mentored by the professionals that went before them.

Enter the Internet. New kids. Their message to us geezers: This is a new medium. A new paradigm. The old rules do not apply. We make the rules now.

The Internet was flooded with brand new copywriters, designers, strategists, and consultants who winged it. As they rose through the ranks and hired others, they did not know squat about mentoring. The errors and lack of knowledge of their employers were compounded and spread.

Hence:
“… our disappointing technology guys let us down horrifically on the new web site…”

There’s monster performance enhancement to be gained from mentoring.

A few months ago a colleague was incredulous when a younger entrepreneur castigated him for not being digitally/socially savvy. The colleague lamented the issue to me.

I got curious and did some research. Interesting findings:

Something like 500 famous iconic figures–representing everything from business greatness, technological might, political fame, religious/ cultural/ sports/ entertainment/ arts – – famous legends – – ALL had wise, worldly, mammoth older mentors acting as THEIR “Masterful Thinking Partners.”
Here on Shade 37 is a link to a web site that lists a huge number of THOSE icons– and the mentors behind their greatness.

I’m stopping the conversation at this point – – for now; to be continued. We’re working on something absolutely outrageous in the category of Masterful Thinking Partnerships.

You’ll be utterly intrigued when I finally complete and announce it.

Do check out Shade 37 – – it will confirm the unknowing limitations and performance constraints entrepreneurs unintentionally/ unknowingly impose on themselves by trying to go it alone – – when so much rich knowledge and wealth of guidance is so readily available – – through the right mentors.

More on this soon.

Jay