As I was scrolling down through TV stations during my morning attempt at exercise I stopped when I saw David Letterman being interviewed. I always enjoyed his show but rarely stayed up late enough to watch it on any kind of regular basis. The retired Letterman was told that Colbert, Kimmel and Fallen all consider him a mentor and they asked him to comment on that. While flattered he kind of admitted that he was just busy putting his show out and did not anticipate that he would one day be considered a mentor. And then he gave credit to Steve Allen for being a mentor to him. It was an entertaining segment, at least for me it was. I’m a fan.
How I drag this topic back to the fastener industry is puzzling even to me, but I have a linear connection from stuff that goes on daily back to the fastener industry. Well, maybe not directly to the fastener industry but back to work, daily life, etc.
As they talked about mentors I recalled that the NFDA launched a mentorship program a few years ago. For all I know the program might be thriving and churning out a host of well mentored fastener industry professionals. I suppose if there is one person enjoying that kind of relationship then it was a worthwhile program. But just like Letterman being a mentor, sometimes the person acting as a mentor or being a teacher, an example or whatever – sometimes they do not even know they are, in essence, being a mentor. I’m a “son of” from the industry. It is not like my dad would sit me down and say “OK, in the fastener industry you have to do this, that and the other”. I just kind of watched, repeated some of the stuff that worked (and was still comfortable for me) and through time he was, of course, a mentor. Lucky for me, I have had several other people I consider mentors and I value each of them. Lots of sons and daughters have this same experience. I’m lucky, I got along with my dad. Some people have mentorship experiences where they NEVER want to do it like their parent did it. I have a nephew who teaches who was raised by my brother, another teacher. When a cousin said to him “hey, a teacher, just like your old man” my nephew quickly and emphatically answers “NO!, nothing like him. I had him in class and I go to work every day trying to do the exact opposite of what he did”. It’s kind of hysterical because the two of them actually get along but my nephew does not budge on their approach to their line of work. So, was my brother a mentor?? I don’t know, but probably.
Mentors don’t always show up when your young or starting out in your job though that is often the case. I still am meeting people in our industry who are dealing with situations I have not yet encountered and they are, in fact, mentors. This is not my personal example but an example that apply might apply to other industry old timers. There are many owners of distributors who have run a great business for years who are now looking to sell because there is no family member there to take over the business. In that situation, a 65 year old business owner might need a mentor to help them sort out the questions of how to go about selling their business. OK, they need a mentor and accountant and a lawyer. But I’m sure it is helpful to have someone to bounce ideas off of it they’ve been through the process already.
So, I’d be curious to hear feedback from anyone in the NFDA on how the mentorship program has worked out. I hope it has and is going well. But I’m not sure you can just sign up a mentor and say “OK, you’re going to mentor this person”. Like with Letterman, sometimes people just watching you do your job is the best form of education one can offer. Maybe someone is watching you, maybe not. It would be like a “best friends” program. “Hey, sign up and Joe will be your best friend for the next year”. Best friends, or even good friends just happen. You don’t plan them, and sometimes you simply end up being best friends just because you grew up together, or experienced college together or got in trouble as little kids together. Some mentors become mentors because someone watch what they do and how they do it over a long period of time.
This blog site is not really very good at getting people to respond or engage in conversations. That being said, I would welcome people to respond with examples of people you consider mentors. Feel free to share a story. Or even just respond with the name of someone you consider a mentor. Or don’t do it. Whatever suits you on this lovely Sunday morning.
Hi T.S., Thank you for another thought provoking post. I do not know how I could have been successful in this industry, without the mentorship that I was blessed with. There are so many people to thank for my success. Unfortunately, most of them are no longer with us. One of them was your Dad. He taught me the practices of, what a “good Rep” does.
One of my earliest mentors in the fastener industry told me ” be nice to everyone, because you meet the same people on the way down, as you do on the way up”. How true!
He used to tell me, “If you have 100% of the business and the economy goes down, then you have an excuse why your sales are down. But that’s only if you have 100% and that’s rarely ever the case. As long as you don’t have 100% there’s still something to go after”.
Al Lenhart (Bolt Products), was my mentor, and I am assuming a mentor to many others. We worked at Tinnerman together back in the day and he took me under his wing when I was just getting into the sales world. He taught me to always dress one level better than my customers, to always be early for sales calls, and that prompt follow up and following through on promises are what customers wanted the most. Not only did he tell me these things, he lived them every day. These seem like such basics now, but to a 20-something kid who started on the shop floor making fasteners, these were lessons I would have otherwise struggled (and screwed up), to learn on my own.
Thanks John. I think you are correct that Al was an influence on many people.
I would consider anyone in the industry a mentor, as the saying goes, with “fasteners, you never stop learning”. So long as there are fastener individuals out there talking about fasteners, or even the fastener business, there is something to learn.
Few specific individuals come to mind for me but I can tell you that the industry lost a great mentor years ago when Ed Lacerra passed. Eddie would make frequent visits to Abbott and educate us about fasteners. Ok, granted, he really came to talk about his line, but it was from an education standpoint. And he always branched into other manufacturing methods beyond his line. And he donated years to the MWFA and participated in our Education Program. We miss Ed, tough shoes to fill, but there are a lot of individuals out there with vast knowledge, we just need to tap into it before they all retire. If you don’t have an individual to teach you, then look to your local associations, like we do locally with the MWFA. And don’t forget the others, for example, Fastener Training Institute for education.
Great comment. Loved Ed.
OK, I did say that comments were not necessary, though there have been a few. And this might be presumptuous of me but as I’ve thought of some of the people that I believe read this blog I imagined some of the mentors they might have had. In no certain order I came up with these:
Cary Weitzman
MaryAnn Marzocchi
Leo Coar
Hank Murphy
John Ward
Jerry Hancock
Bill Unferth
Dick Walker
Bengt Blendulf
Bob Lehman
Hank Steers
Russ Philips
Andy Rayburn
Andy Arena
Joe Greenslade
Steve Andrasik
Gil Nolan
Cal Stearns
..just to name a few.
Paula Sens
NFDA welcomes the addition of more persons seeking mentoring. We have many mentors ready to be paired up with young fastener professionals. Here’s a link with details and links to application forms. https://www.nfda-fastener.org/nfda-yfp-mentorship-program
NFDA welcomes the addition of more persons seeking mentoring. We have many mentors ready to be paired up with young fastener professionals. Here’s a link with details and links to application forms.
Great topic! I have been blessed with many mentors in my life, both grandfathers worked their tails off and showed us kids what an adult needed to do to take care of family. As a result, both of my parents worked hard too. And several uncles too, I might add. Rick and Janie Perkaus started Fastener Specialties Manufacturing in the early 70’s, a time when it was not particularly easy to start a business. They did quite well and by 1980, were able to grow out of their Chicago address and into a Florida address. So I can say that my parents mentored me into the fastener business nearly my entire childhood. At first, it was giving me a box of socket cap screws, telling me “sort’em and count’em” Which I would do, no matter how long it took. After that, came the same sorting process out of a 55-gallon drum, which could take weeks! I often wonder if my parents bought those scrap drums just to keep my sister and I busy. and quiet. During that sorting process, I would come up with questions and got answers which apparently stuck in my brain after I heard the answer enough times. By then, we had so many fastener friends that I can honestly say that I had several fastener mentors. Some, I spoke to mostly on the phone, but always came away from those conversations feeling like I was on the right path. I went away to college, thinking that I did not want to burden my parents with another line on payroll. I was sure that I’d find a career elsewhere. And I am sure that I could have, but even with a college degree in hand, I ended up at Fastener Specialties. I can thank so many people within the industry, but the ones that stand out are my parents, Rick Perkaus (Sr) and Janie Perkaus, but also Frank Corsaro, I close family friend that never once treated me like the child that I was at the time we met, Bill Robb, whose house in Ohio was opened to us several times as we spent a weekend away from Chicago, and Ed Werner, who I did not know when he worked with my father in earlier years, but was always supportive when I was speaking to him in person at the Columbus Show or on the phone doing business day to day. I have pretty much told Bill as much, but I will bet that Frank and Ed do not know how much I appreciate the time they spent in casual conversation with me. God only knows how that positivity has added to my life in general, much less within the industry. Mentors are out there, but you don’t always recognize them as such. Sometimes they are just friends who know how to teach without seeming bossy. Mentors are awesome and I have been so blessed to have had so many in my life.
Thank for sharing your story. Enjoyed it!
The few men who I considered mentors would probably be appalled to hear it, if they weren’t already dead.
I bet they’d be honored…but like I said..it’s Sunday. Whatever you’d like to contribute is up to you!