Why do we need a mentor? In the last issue I raised the concern of faking it until you make it, showing the hazard of confusing false confidence with true skill. A mentor is someone who can help us obtain the right skills and confidence to succeed, and we perceive them as being paramount to our success. They are equally important to the success of a company.
Costco requires all of its employees to start on the warehouse floor. All of them. Have a master’s in business from Stanford with 10 years of experience? You start on the floor. Costco’s reasoning is simple: its vision is its people. During the 2007 financial crisis, while many companies were slashing wages, Costco committed to raising them.
Costco trusted its people then. Costco knows that its employees, not its board of directors, handle the small details of the big picture every day. Costco knows that while its overall profitability depends on its vision and big picture, its everyday survival depends on the employees that interact with its customers on the daily. And if its top people don’t know the inner workings on the ground floor, their decisions will show that.
For more information, I suggest reading Built to Last by Jim Collins and Jerry I. Porras.
Camosun Business Study Group is focused on students helping students to succeed both in and outside of the classroom. For news and events, follow them at facebook.com/cambussg.