Hunt for the Right Mentor

Time Is Money

A mentor is of no use if he doesn't have time for you. Equally important: Make sure you make the most of your time with her. One of Harris' pet peeves is a mentee arriving ill-prepared. "If you don't walk in with a list of questions, if you don't walk in with a pen and paper, then you're not respecting my time," says Harris, who is also a speaker and author of Surrender to Win: Regain Sanity by Strategically Relinquishing Control (Greenleaf Book Group).

"I had someone fly in, spend 20 minutes, leaning back and saying, 'tell me what I need to know.' If you're going to waste my time, I am going to waste yours."

Keep a Clear Head

Being a protégée can be heady stuff. But advice is advice: Take it with a grain of salt. A mentor is not infallible. He is shaped, and limited, by his own experience and talents. Harris said she unconsciously kept herself from growing when she took her mentor's word as a holy grail. "Check it out, use common sense, and don't blindly accept what they say," she cautions.

Consider Hiring a Pro

If you've hit up all the retired executives you can think of and tapped out on SCORE and the local Chamber of Commerce, perhaps consider paying someone to be your mentor. Coaches like Kelley can work with you in a group or one on one. Expect to pay $100 to $1,000 a month. Just don't forget to hold them to the same standards outlined above.

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