Mentoring

"Experience is a flashlight that does not illuminate but the way we have already gone" Confucius

What does mentoring mean?

The term mentor, and  its derivative – mentoring, comes from Greek mythology. Odysseus, King of Ithaca, before embarking on a journey that was expected to last for many years, entrusted his eldest son Telemachus, in the hands of his friend and faithful adviser Mentor. The role of the mentor was to take care of the Telemachus, to look after him and to be in charge of his upbringing, until the return of his father. From here, and many generations ahead, the term took root.

Nowadays we are referring to mentoring where the mentor harnesses his knowledge and experience for the benefit of the client, by providing proper advice, connections, and transferring knowledge along with encouragement and personal support. The main goal of the mentorship I offer is to nurture the professional career of the mentee.

What do I offer

Mentoring for entrepreneurs

Intended for those who are in the pre-establishment phase of their initiative/project or in the first year of its establishment.

As someone who was part of the founders core team of successful startups like Galileo and Annapurna, I have the experience, knowhow, knowledge, and experience how to build infrastructure for success.

The answers to questions like how to build a company? How do you deal with the authorities? Partners – yes / no / who fits / who does not? How to raise money and what is the difference between the different sources, when is the right timing? What are common mistakes during the first year and how to avoid them? How does Value Creation Lead to business success? How do you build a company’s DNA and why is it important? Ego questions, titles, options, budget, grants, organizational structure, reporting and control, etc. will build the organization’s infrastructure, its quality and its ability to serve the company over time. The way the company conducts itself in the first year will have a critical impact (and I do not exaggerate) on the chances to succeed.

Mentoring to Managers

Designed for managers in the organization, at all levels.

In the reality of high-tech companies today, as managers you will feel it is like driving a racing car on the road while you’re paving it and hoping to win.

So being a manager, leading a team or knowing how to run an organization is not an easy job. Management is a profession – and like any profession you need to develop and learn how to do it right. Mentoring for managers aims to help you, first of all, to see the reality, the capabilities, the possibilities, the gaps between where you are now, where you aspire to be, and what you need to acquire/develop to achieve this goal. Managers deal with issues such as time management, employees’ motivation, work under pressure, meeting goals, meetings management, teamwork, effective management of remote work, delegation of authority, sharing, employee compensation, effective employee hiring and reception, the courage to dismiss employees, self-image,  organization politics  etc.

To deal with these issues you need mental flexibility, creativity, strategic thinking, emotional intelligence, leadership ability and many other skills you can acquire and / or practice.

How will the mentoring process work?

  • We will define  the point where you are now.
  • We will map your needs and find out what you would like to achieve in the coming year.
  • Then we’ll build an action plan that will address the needs depending on where you are now. We will have the big plan and we will have day-to-day challenges, and together we will address them. We will deal with the big plan – through tasks that we will advance from meeting to meeting. And on an ongoing basis – we will analyze the event and select the best response during the meeting.

It is an ongoing process of learning and doing, where experience has a place that skills cannot provide.

The infrastructure is built and when it is stable and solid, you can base all your business and professional dreams on it, where they can be realized.

How long does the mentoring process take?

The duration of the process varies from case to case, depending on the goals we’ll set,  on the development of our relationship, and external constraints.

In general, it can be said that the mentoring process lasts from 3 to 20 meetings.

The “classic” mentoring process lasts for 6-12 months, first in weekly sessions and later once a month.

Beyond the personal meetings the process can also include phone calls, WhatsApp, emails and any alternative communication, of your choice.