笔者非常推崇商业导师制，本人既为公司提供过指导，也得到过导师的指点。最近，我经常听到创业者抱怨良师难寻，或是导师效率太低。其实，与其他关系一样，要想使导师制发挥作用，需要双方共同努力。

    大多数创业者认为，导师就应该是阅历丰富的长者，就应该亲自为创业者提供指导和建议，并且要在创业者的事业中投入情感。他们从来没想过自己也要有所投入，一方面，要培养与导师的关系，另一方面，要真正用心倾听导师给出的建议，而不是心存抵触。

    导师制以及其他个人发展活动可以快速增加个人在商界的价值和收入。布莱恩•特雷西在其新书《追求真正值得拥有的东西》（Earn What You're Really Worth）中也为我的这一观点提供了佐证。那么，该如何寻找和利用合适的导师呢？以下是我特地为创业者总结的几个要点：

    • 确定清晰的公司发展目标。考虑理想的导师人选之前，首先要明确你希望导师为你提供哪方面的辅导。一位成功的财务主管不见得能够为优秀营销策略的制定和执行提供有用的建议。如果没有目标，就永远无法抵达成功的彼岸。

    • 持续工作、学习和练习，以便巩固指导的效果。愿意学习和快速成长的人最能引起优秀导师的兴趣。这并不是要创业者盲目地接受指导，但却意味着创业者的确没有找借口的时间，必须老老实实地努力理解、落实指导意见。

    • 不要要求导师拿出过多的时间，否则很可能招人烦。切记，最优秀的导师通常都非常忙碌，所以，如果有人占用他们太多的时间，肯定会引起他们的反感。其实，最佳方案是请求导师在私下里专门拿出一小块时间，比如十分钟，同时准备确实值得讨论的问题。

    • 创业者在与导师的会面过程中应该主导讨论的过程。导师不应该成为公司的主导，创业者也不应该指望导师能够对自己采取的措施或失败的方案提供宝贵的反馈意见。最有效的做法是，创业者提出议题，力求得到具体的见解；但同时，也别忘了敦促导师给出更广泛或相关的建议。

    • 切记导师、朋友与教练三种角色之间的区别。导师会告诉你需要听到的话，而朋友也许只讲你喜欢听的话；商业教练的主要作用是帮助创业者掌握通用的技能，而导师的目的是根据具体情况为创业者提供指导。同一个人无法身兼数职。

    • 定期沟通进度和当前的任务。要想使导师更愿意提供帮助，最好的办法莫过于创业者向导师表明，自己听从了指导，而导师的帮助的确发挥了作用。同时，这也是继续给导师分配新的指导任务、继续学习新知识的一个巧妙方法。

    I'm a big fan of mentoring in business, and have been on both the contributing and receiving end of the process. These days, I seem to often hear from entrepreneurs who are struggling to find a mentor, or complaining about their lack of effectiveness. Like any other relationship, it takes work on both sides to make mentoring work.

    Most entrepreneurs view a mentor as someone older and more experienced who takes the time to personally give guidance, advice and takes an emotional investment in your success. They don't think about this process requiring an investment on their part, both in nurturing the relationship, and really listening, without being defensive, to advice given.

    Brian Tracy, in his new book, "Earn What You're Really Worth," solidifies my ideas on how mentoring, as well as other personal development activities, can quickly increase anyone's value and income in business. Here are some key points on how to find and utilize the right mentor, which I have adapted specifically for entrepreneurs:

    • Set clear objectives for yourself in your business growth. Decide exactly what it is you need mentoring on before you start thinking of the ideal person to work with. A successful financial executive probably isn't a good mentor for building and executing a great marketing strategy. If you don't have an objective, you won't know when you arrive.

    • Work, study, and practice continually to solidify the guidance. The very best mentors are the most interested in helping someone who is willing to learn and grow quickly. That doesn't mean you should accept any guidance blindly, but it does mean no time making excuses, and an honest effort to understand and implement action items.

    • Don't ask for too much time or make a nuisance of yourself. Remember, the best mentors are busy people, and they may be opposed to someone trying to take up a lot of their time. The best approach is to ask for small focused blocks of time, maybe just ten minutes, in private, and be prepared with real issues to discuss.

    • When you meet with a mentor, you should lead the discussion. Your mentor should not be driving your business, or expected to provide critical feedback on actions taken or missed. It's most effective if the entrepreneur proposes the agenda and drives for specific insights, but never forgets to press the mentor for broader or related implications.

    • Remember the difference between a mentor, a friend, and a coach. Expect a mentor to tell you what you need to hear, not like a friend who may tell you what you want to hear. A business coach is focused on helping you with generic skills, whereas a mentor's aim is to teach you based on specific situations. The same person can't be all of these.

    • On a regular basis, send a note to communicate progress and current tasks. There is nothing that makes a potential mentor more open to helping you than your making it clear that you are following through, and the help is doing you some good. This is also a good way to hand out and follow up on assignments to your mentor.

    • 保持积极而有效的关系。如果创业者认为导师回应不够及时，或者没有共同语言，不必犹豫，马上结束这种关系。一定要记住，对于创业者，导师所处的位置既能给创业者带来帮助，也可能带来伤害，所以不要浪费他们的时间，甚至引起导师的反感和敌意。

    创业者如果有意寻找一位导师，选择的对象必须是那些真正关心创业者个人成长，真心希望创业者取得事业成功的人。这种感情上的投入和真切的关心才是导师发挥作用的关键所在。

    有人认为，吃一堑长一智，只有亲身经历错误，才能汲取经验教训。但有大量证据证明，通往商业成功的捷径便是找到长期研究成功诀窍的导师，站在他们肩膀上采摘成功的果实。作为创业者，如果连让导师关系发挥作用都无法做到，又何谈经营好一家公司呢？

    本文作者马蒂•兹威灵为初创企业专业咨询公司（Startup Professionals Inc）创始人兼CEO。

    译者：阿龙/汪皓

    • Keep the relationship positive and productive. If a mentor proves to be unresponsive or on a different wavelength, bow out of the relationship immediately. Be aware that mentors are usually in a business position that can hurt you as well as help you, so don't waste their time or antagonize them.

    When you consciously and deliberately seek out a mentor, you must look for someone who genuinely cares about you as a person and who really wants you to be successful in your venture or your career. That emotional involvement and genuine concern for you are the keys to real mentor contributions.

    Some people will say that they need to make all their own mistakes, in order to learn from them. Yet there is plenty of evidence that the fastest way to business success is by piggy-backing on the counsel of men and women who have already spent years learning how to succeed. If you can't make a mentor relationship work, I worry about the rest of your business as well.

    Marty Zwilling is CEO & Founder of Startup Professionals Inc.