People often ask me what is business mentoring about. Surely, it is another form of consultancy, they ask sarcastically and almost rhetorically, implying that I am trying to pose as an expert on everything in order to get a buck.

So, here are three quick case studies of what has happened to some of my clients in the past few weeks. While this may sound like showing off, together they represent a response to the critics above and show what a mentor or coach can offer most businesses, large or small. (For the sake of brevity, some of the stories have been slightly altered)

1) The Bank:

To cut a long story short, my client’s bank acted illegally. He was exposed to possible financial damage as well as embarrassment re suppliers and customers. The client, call him Adam, at his own initiative turned up to his next meeting with his banker, armed with a big smile and a lawyer’s letter. Adam calmly, no shouting, told them what he thought. He told them to go away and come up with a response.

At this stage, I was able to ask Adam what he wanted to obtain out of the process. I put forward various scenarios. Ironically, later that morning, the bank responded. Bottom line, Adam effected one of the options and walked out, not just very pleased but much better off.

2) The missing customers.

Many of my clients complain that their own customer basin has run dry. Things are not looking good. I generally react by encouraging people to look at their existing pool of commercial knowledge. Quite often, it is more extensive than we give it credit.

For example, not for the first time, I encouraged a client of mine (Bll) to actively engage some of their quieter customers. Although the initial feedback was friendly but dull in terms of revenue, the medium term results have been staggering. William is too busy to meet me – no exaggeration.

3) Formulating strategy

Most senior business execs know their territory and are constantly looking to challenge their own strategy. However, it is just as common that they do not have the means to think things through and / or to discuss the alternatives. This can be a result of the pressure of time management, a lack of people to confide in, or just old-fashioned fear.

Most of my meetings take place with people off-site, where they are able to move away from the ‘obvious’ thinking that familiarity breeds. In the past few weeks, I have had several encounters, where I would just ask a seemingly innocuous question about how to develop the organization, and the others present found that they could not stop talking. Suddenly they were creating a detailed map to move on to the next level of sales, production or whatever. Naturally, they did not leave the meeting without receiving some further homework from me.

In each of the case studies, it is my client who does the hands-on work in order to change. My role as mentor is enhance and fortify their achievements. A mentor does not have to be an expert in any given field, but they do have the ability to provide an extra perspective. This is what places significantly added value in to the business.