Last evening I spent with my daughters and some of their friends. Most of the quests were in their middle 20s to late 30s. The conversation bounced around a lot from topic to topic, but it seemed to always return to their jobs and careers. There were several things that interested me in their discussions, but especially how they talked about their careers. There were about five or six who actively engaged in the conversation, and another 3 or 4 of us who were mainly spectators.

While I was very interested in of their conversation, I was listening closely to detect if any of the young achievers has a mentor. Most of the stories started and ended with I. All were very proud of their achievements, as they should be. As the conversation unfolded, there was one young man who was starting a business with an older partner. They both work in the electric power industry, and are in the process of starting wind farms in the European market. When asked how he got the idea he told how his now partner and he became friends when they were working for a energy company, and often discussed their career goals. Although he never referred to his now partner as mentor, he did tell how he helped my friend advance in the energy business. Although the others spoke of their good working relationships with their bosses and coworkers, but none had anything close to a mentor. The thing that struck me most is while the others did not have mentors; they almost all said how lucky the power expert was to find someone who took such an interest in him and his career. None seemed to realize that they may also benefit from finding a mentor.

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