Teachers are leaders

BY ELLEN ROHR

contributing writer

“I review my plan every weekend,” Robert shared as he showed me his meticulously crafted business plan. “Sometimes I update it, which is why I’ve written it in pencil. Sometimes I just read it and it inspires me.” Robert is an inmate at the Davis Correctional Facility in Holdenville, Oklahoma. He and his classmates are building their business skills and crafting business plans under the loving care of Randy MacKenzie. Randy teaches a commercial cleaning course to inmates who have earned the right to attend. This course has become about much more than how to clean a floor or manage a power washer. It’s about new beginnings. It’s about expanding freedom.

I visit as a guest teacher every couple of months. It’s probably the most selfish thing I do. The students greet me with so much excitement and treat me with the utmost respect. We spend a few hours together…talking business. On our last visit, my son Max joined us, as did Gail, my sister and the world’s greatest “bean counter.” We showed the class how to use a computerized accounting system. This was a big upgrade for the fellows, who had been accustomed to doing the financials by hand. The students are ¨¨über-motivated. Many of them have put business plans together for cleaning businesses. There are also plans for landscaping companies, a restaurant, a hair salon and a thermal solar contracting company.

At the end of my presentation, I suggested that they choose between two Q&A groups: general business discussion and accounting software discussion. Half of the fellows swarmed Gail with high level queries about how to use the software; the others tackled me with excellent questions like…

“How do you know when to hire your first, or next, employee?”

“How much inventory do I need to start my business?”

“If I can’t get a loan, what are my other options for start up capital?”

(Do these questions sound familiar? Business is a universal language.)

Their teacher is Randy MacKenzie. “Mr. Mac” was hired by the prison to teach a technical class on how to do commercial cleaning work…buff floors, power wash, etc. However, he recognized right away that if these men were going to make a living once they were released, a minimum wage cleaning job was not going to cut it. Randy and his wife own a successful cleaning company.

Randy has created a terrific curriculum for the students: accounting classes, business planning sessions, safety procedures and technical training classes. I met Randy because he uses my books as part of his program. He also lines his class library with worthwhile books by Michael Gerber, Jim Collins, Jack Welch, Larry Winget, Jack Canfield, Jim Rohn…and many more.

The most important thing Randy does is demonstrate that you can make a life for yourself with a simple, meaningful, profitable business. “Mr. Mac” is a mentor. He and Shirley have made a great life for themselves and their now grown kids. He has the freedom to do what he wants and chooses to be of services to his students. They, as you can imagine, love Mr. Mac.

Mentor \ ‘men – tor, -t?r\ n: trusted counselor or guide

I have been blessed with mentors my whole life. I am grateful for their lessons, some of which didn’t sink in until years after they were delivered. Here are a few of my mentors and their pearls of wisdom:

Restaurant owner Jackie Moran taught me that every job is an opportunity to develop excellence. There is honor in washing dishes, filling salt shakers and pouring coffee.

Ski instructor Val Stevens taught me about keeping things simple and sticking to the basics. He believed that we get tired of talking about the few things that make all the difference. So, we ball things up and make it complicated. The basics work…and they are new to your students. As you are getting tired of it…it is just starting to sink in.

Frank Blau taught me to charge more than it costs. He taught me that the foundation of a successful business is profitablity. He taught me that everyone, not just the owner, deserves to make a great living and build a substantial nest egg. He taught me to keep score…and that wealth is integral to a fully lived life.

I used to call John Young to help me when I would hit a brick wall. He responded, “I love solving problems. I am good at it.” And he taught me how to solve any problem.

Dan Holohan taught me to write like I am talking to you. He is so good at it that he makes you feel like he wrote every word just for you. He connects with people, and connects people with each other. What a gift.

Al Levi taught me to sit in the other person’s chair. Al literally gets up and sits in the second chair in his office to consider every move he makes from the other fellow’s viewpoint. He believes that every business decision is a win-win…or it is a non-starter.

JR Richardson taught me to pull my gaze up from right in front of me to the horizon. What do you want long term? What is the biggest dream you can imagine? That’s what JR likes to talk about and inspire in his protegees.

My husband, Hot Rod, taught me to follow your bliss. It makes you an expert. He does exactly what he wants to do every day and has made a series of great careers doing just that.

Mr. Mac taught me that there is always hope.

Here’s what I have learned from all my mentors (and there have been so many more than I have mentioned): Everyone who has made a success of their life on any level had help from someone else. You don’t get there alone. Once someone helps you, you are honor bound to help someone else.

When we wrapped up class at the prison the other day, I gave a homework assignment. It’s time for the leaders of Randy’s class to take on mentoring duties. There are brand new students in the class. I challenged the gentlemen who have benefitted from Randy’s support and his curriculum to reach out to the new kids. Listen to their dreams. Help them write their business plans. Show them their assets from their elbows. Hold them accountable to their commitments. Praise good works and be intolerant of poor behavior.

Here’s some advice for being a good mentor:

• Offer help when asked. Refrain from giving unsolicited advice. I have learned that it makes no sense to offer help to those who don’t ask for it. Be open, be available and wait until someone says, “What do you think I should do about.”
• Sometimes it takes a feather and sometimes it takes a brick. There is a time for everything, and more than one way to deliver information. You don’t have to do it perfectly. And you can’t know if the way you are offering your advice is the “right” way. Always come from a place of service. Always act in a spirit of love and understanding. You won’t know if the lesson will be received or not and that’s fine. It leads to my last piece of advice.
• Offer to help and let go of the outcome. Don’t expect your protegee to act on every bit of wisdom. It may ‘hit’ them years later. Once you have sown the seed, relax and let it grow. Once upon a time, ski instructor Val asked me to make my feet “greasy” as I made a turn. I had NO idea what he was talking about. Five years later, I slipped my feet around a turn, stayed in balance, and knew exactly what he meant.

The mentors at the correctional facility will discover what I have discovered: You get really good at something when you teach it. Being a mentor is all about learning. You will be amazed at how much you get when you open yourself up to giving. It is the most selfish thing you can do.

I am returning in February. I look forward to discovering what Randy, Robert and the rest of the class have to teach me.

“Leaders are Teachers.” -- Jack Welch

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