Do you need a mentoring program that’s structured, action-oriented, and accountability-based? Would you like to develop a leadership succession plan that gives your organization a decisive edge in the marketplace? As the creator of Maximize Your Moments With The Masters, Dick offers a comprehensive, ongoing mentoring program that features high content, flexibility, and a unique opportunity for your people to take their personal growth and professional development to new heights. If you’re willing to invest a significant amount of time, effort and resources towards the achievement of this long-term goal, check out the following information:

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs):

• What is mentoring?



• Why should my organization have a mentoring program?



• Why do mentor training programs fail?



• Why do mentor training programs succeed?



• Why should my organization consider Maximize Your Moments With The Masters over other mentor training programs?



• What does it take to implement Maximize Your Moments With The Masters at my organization?



• What does the program creator provide to my organization once Maximize Your Moments With The Masters is approved?

The word mentor comes from Homer and Greek mythology. When Odysseus left to fight the Trojan War, the king of Ithaca placed Telemachus, his son, in the care of Mentor. King Odysseus had no way of knowing he’d be gone for 10 years, but he was wise enough to ask a trusted friend to care for his boy.

In short, mentoring is one-on-one leadership—the pairing up of a less experienced person (Telemachus) with a more seasoned person (Mentor). The purpose of this concept is twofold: Protégés shorten their learning curves and accelerate their growth. Mentors become servant leaders by modeling character, sharing wisdom, conveying experience, and demonstrating maturity. It’s a win-win relationship for protégés and mentors.

Perhaps Peter Drucker said it best: “There is no success without a successor.” No one can reach his or her full potential without tapping into the wisdom of the ages. When mentors pass on timeless truths to their successors, they leave legitimate leadership legacies. In turn, protégés perpetuate the legacies of their mentors by passing on what they’ve learned to their successors. That’s truly lasting success.

The right mentoring program will help your organization ensure its successor leadership. Mentors are able to take role modeling to the next level by teaching their protégés (potential leaders) the details of who they are, how they think, what they’ve done, and why they have something worth pursuing. Like a runner passing on a baton in a relay race, mentors pass on valuable life lessons to their protégés in the race of life.

FAQ: Why do mentor training programs fail?

Organizations often believe in the concept of mentoring, but they don’t always know how to launch such a program. Or once a program is started, organizations fail to stick with it or they simply don’t get the desired results.

A successful mentoring program must do more than pair up of protégés with mentors and say, “Go get ‘em!” Mentors fear this laid-back approach because they have no track to run on. Not surprisingly, the protégé-mentor relationship tends to be long on “small” talk and woefully short on learning and practical application. Protégés feel like they’re wasting their time and lose interest because there’s no perceived value. It’s a recipe for failure.

Another way for a mentoring program to fail is through long-distance learning. Mentors and protégés need face-to-face interaction to form the closest bond possible. Just as a coach needs in-person time with each player to foster optimal growth, a mentor needs an "up close and personal" relationship with a protégé to produce the most meaningful results.

FAQ: Why do mentor training programs succeed?

It’s important to have the right chemistry between a protégé and mentor, but eventually these five elements determine the long-term success of a mentoring program:

Structure – A solid framework reflects a well-conceived curriculum. Otherwise, protégés and mentors are likely to have moderate passion, vague direction, and weak focus. The end result is often limited learning and practical application.

High Content – Good material is what educates, encourages and empowers protégés and mentors to rise to new heights of personal growth and professional development.

Flexibility – While structure and high content are essential, protégés and mentors also want the freedom to adapt the material to their specific needs and desired results.

Action – There should be a low tolerance for protégés and mentors who don’t act on what they learn. Os Guinness puts it this way in Time For Truth: “…the deepest knowing comes only in doing.”

Accountability – Protégés and mentors should be willing to explain their actions to each other and the organization at large or there’s no meaningful way to measure results.

FAQ: Why should my organization consider Maximize Your Moments With The Masters over other mentor training programs?

Here are the top ten reasons:

Structure. This mentoring program is based on the four lifetime benchmarks of a master mentor, and 12 life lessons for a proactive protégé. A master mentor is someone who makes the time to share his or her wisdom with a proactive protégé—or one eager to learn from a more experienced person.

High content. The program creator delivers a one-hour, single focus seminar every month for a year (12 total lessons) to foster optimal personal growth and professional development among the protégé/mentor teams.

Flexibility. Proteges and mentors are at liberty to discuss each monthly lesson as they see fit. Each team has the leeway to determine what ideas should be implemented.

Action-oriented. The customized workbook has a recommended reading list for each lesson; questions to spark discussion; a space for listing action ideas; and, most important, an area for recording implemented ideas.

Accountability-based. In addition to quarterly evaluations and a closing celebration (see below), each participant has ongoing email access to the program creator. Proteges and mentors can ask questions, request clarification, make comments, receive feedback, share success stories, etc. All inquiries are answered promptly and confidentially.

Dynamic orientation. This opening session inspires protégés and mentors; sets expectations; previews the curriculum; offers ideas for maximizing the yearlong relationship; and answers any questions or concerns.

Quarterly evaluations. The purpose of these private meetings with each protégé-mentor team is to monitor progress, offer encouragement, and ensure consistent accountability.

Closing celebration. This festive occasion provides an opportunity for all willing program participants to share what they’ve learned from each other during the year with all of the protégé-mentor teams.

Course materials. There’s a customized 60-page workbook; a booklet that provides a concise, clear overview of the 12 monthly lessons; and, as a reinforcement tool at the end of the yearlong program, a CD album containing the gist of each monthly lesson.

Train-the-trainer/licensing feature. After the first year of services have been delivered at your home office, regional location or elsewhere, the program creator trains your people with good communication skills to deliver this material anywhere within your organization for as many years as desired. A one-time licensing fee—available as a local, national or international option—makes this an incredible value because your organization owns the rights to this material in accordance with the terms of the program agreement.

FAQ: What does it take to implement Maximize Your Moments With The Masters at my organization?

There are three crucial commitments that must be made to implement this mentoring program at your organization:

1.    You must appoint a key leader to champion this program within your organization.

This champion must have a vision for making this program available to anyone within the organization who wants to grow personally and develop professionally. Since this is a 12-month program that repeats itself year after year, a protégé may be paired up with several mentors during his or her career. The core curriculum remains constant, but a protégé is exposed to new perspectives from different mentors each year. Ultimately, the goal is for protégés to become mentors and create a steady source of new leaders for your organization.

Once senior leadership has bought into the program and financial support has been obtained, the champion is responsible for appointing a project manager to oversee the program; and a technology expert to coordinate the internal Maximize Your Moments With The Masters website for the purpose of pairing up protégés with mentors, announcing important information, etc.

2.    You must secure the buy-in of the entire senior leadership team.

The top leaders need to understand that Maximize Your Moments With The Masters isn’t an inexpensive, quick fix type of mentoring program. It’s an ongoing curriculum that, if managed properly, will have a major impact on the successor leadership of your organization. As Dr. John C. Maxwell says, “Everything rises and falls on leadership.”

Quite often senior leadership tends to focus so much on bottom line profits that mere lip service is given to the top line—people and their productivity. If senior leaders desire more productive, loyal people, these two truths can’t be ignored: (a) Senior executives must have uncompromising character, truly leading by example, not empty eloquence. (b) Employees need a master plan for their personal growth and professional development because the bottom line (profits) is a direct reflection of the top line (productive people).

3.    You must view this program as a long-term investment, not a short-term cost.

Maximize Your Moments With The Masters requires a three-part investment:

First, there is a one-time licensing fee that gives your organization the right to use the program title on your internal website and any other promotional pieces; the right to video each monthly seminar for the internal, non-commercial purpose of allowing program participants a way to view any missed lessons due to sickness, travel, vacation, etc.; and the right to a certain number of train-the-trainer sessions after the first year has been completed. This licensing fee is available for local, national or international use, depending upon the size of your organization, program vision, and other factors.

Second, there is a monthly fee for the 18 services rendered in the first year: the orientation, 12 seminars, quarterly evaluations, and closing celebration. Once the first year is completed, there’s no further monthly fee. You own the rights to this material, with all future sessions led by the certified train-the-trainer personnel within your organization.

Third, there is a modest materials fee for each program participant. Every protégé and mentor receives a customized workbook, companion reading booklet, CD album, and email access to the program creator during the first year. Some organizations choose to pay this fee for their program participants. Other organizations ask their protégés and mentors to pay the materials fee as a way of creating financial buy-in to the program.

Best of all, your organization owns the rights to this material after the first year is completed. There’s no further cost other than the materials fee (unless you pass this on to the participants), and any train-the-trainer sessions in excess of the number guaranteed in the program agreement. The more years you use this program, the more economical your investment becomes--and the more value you receive.

FAQ: What does the program creator provide to my organization once Maximize Your Moments With The Masters is approved?

The program creator’s role includes:

• Working with your organization’s project manager and other key people to promote this program and secure optimal participation.



• Providing each program participant with a customized workbook, companion reading booklet, and CD album.



• Facilitating an upbeat orientation that inspires the program participants; sets expectations; previews the curriculum; offers ideas for maximizing this one-year relationship; and answers any questions or concerns.



• Delivering 12 high-content monthly seminars; and encouraging each protégé/mentor team to meet at least once after each seminar to review the lesson notes, answer the suggested questions, discuss the recommended reading list, determine the action ideas, etc.



• Monitoring the program through on-site quarterly evaluations held privately with each protégé/mentor team.



• Offering email access to each program participant for the purpose of asking questions, requesting clarification, making comments, receiving feedback, sharing success stories, etc.



• Helping the project manager coordinate the closing celebration, a special occasion in which all willing program participants share what they’ve learned from each other during the year with all of the protégé-mentor teams.



• Leading the train-the-trainer sessions so that your certified train-the-trainer personnel can deliver this material throughout your entire organization for as many years as desired.



• Consulting regularly with all certified train-the-trainer personnel through email or telephone.



• Conducting future train-the-trainer sessions if more are needed beyond the initial number guaranteed in the program agreement.