By MITCH MAIMAN //
I’m a big proponent of giving back to the local economy – and one of the best ways to do that is through mentoring.
My commitment to mentoring began early in my career and I’ve now been mentoring for more than 30 years. As a cofounder of Intelligent Product Solutions and previously as an executive at Zebra Technologies (formerly Symbol Technologies), my calendar was always packed with the brush fires of the day and forward-looking strategies – but I always carved out time for mentoring.
Sometimes it was early-career staff members. Sometimes it was those still in their educational process, at universities and even in high school. I was always busy, but if I could make time for mentoring, you can too, and here’s why you should.
Having been in technology management – everything from entry-level supervision to executive positions – I know firsthand how stressful it is trying to find, hire and retain talent. For any technology company, engineers are the lifeblood of the product-development process, from ideation and innovation through full execution, and good ones are hard to find.
Over many years, I mentored several college students at local institutions including Stony Brook University and the New York Institute of Technology. I had opportunities, well before their graduations, to get to know some of these students, and over time I became proficient at identifying those who have special abilities and personal traits that are markers for success.
Mitch Maiman: Those who can do also teach.
When you come across a “gem” through mentoring, you have a first opportunity to engage him or her with your company. Anyone around here recruiting for engineering talent, at any level, knows that it’s one thing to find a good candidate and another thing entirely to get him or her to relocate to Long Island. Local university students are more likely to want to stay here post-graduation – and through mentoring, one is more likely to find such a candidate.
Mentoring can also provide access to the research and facilities available at regional educational institutions. And it provides opportunities to build relationships with faculty who may be able to provide technical support, understanding of advanced technologies and other resources for your company. At fast-moving and innovative IPS, our university relationships have provided myriad introductions to product opportunities and new projects.
As the old saying goes, a rising tide floats all boats, and mentoring also helps build talent throughout the regional business economy.
Sometimes, those you mentor may not be a fit for your company – perhaps they’re not getting a degree in a relevant domain, or maybe you’re not hiring right then in that particular area – but take a longer view. That mentee could be employed by a peer at another regional company, adding another engineer to our Long Island community. So, through mentoring, you’ve helped to build the local talent pool and helped another local company succeed.
It’s not unusual for me to introduce folks I mentor to associates at companies in my circle – friends at Applied DNA Sciences, BAE Systems, Bren-Tronics or elsewhere. We all benefit when regional companies are successful. It creates a robust technology-based economy that benefits all and creates broader opportunities for you as an individual. Who knows? Someday that mentee may be looking to hire you!
Noha El Ghobashy: Learned her lessons well.
The benefits of mentoring don’t end there, especially for those of us advanced in our careers. For many of us on Long Island, our technology careers have provided a very good standard of living – in an expensive place to live – and it’s personally rewarding to help others.
And as we get toward the end of our careers, or even retire, having a cadre of mentees out in the world becomes part of our legacy. There are many engineers that I’ve personally mentored and I know, from ongoing relationships that span 30 years or more, that many of them can still recount the ways I’ve helped them in their careers.
I brought Noha El Ghobashy into then-Symbol Technologies as a new graduate nearly three decades ago. Today, she’s president of Oxygen Hub and CEO of the Institute for Transformative Technologies – two New York-based company focused on bringing breakthrough technologies to large-scale projects in developing countries. I’m always amazed, and pleased, to hear that even as her career advances, Noha still values my coaching.
The same with Josh Stein and Mike Morena, the cofounders of AdhereTech, whom I coached through the early days of their New Jersey-based company. AdhereTech has created technology products that help patients with adherence to prescription protocols, which is crucial to the efficacy of life-saving medications and for studying medications going through clinical trials.
Through mentoring, your personal legacy lives on beyond your support – and those mentees, in turn, are more likely to mentor others.
The effects of mentoring are certainly far-reaching. It can help your company. It can advance the regional economy. And of course, there’s the personal satisfaction of giving back – of knowing you’ve helped another person get through his or her educational or early professional challenges.
Local colleges are seeking out mentors right now. I encourage you to reach out to Long Island’s higher-education community, at SBU, New York Tech, Farmingdale State College and Hofstra University, my alma mater. You just might find that you get back more than you give.
Mitch Maiman is the cofounder of Hauppauge-based Intelligent Product Solutions.
