I apologise if I may appear to be jumping on a bandwagon, but I feel obliged to say something about Robin Williams, who I simply adored. See him in concert, on TV or in a film, you come away aware that you were ‘better off’. You had learnt something.

It is difficult to know just how many were impressed by his talents. I have seen one analysis, explaining that the number of tweets about his suicide was almost as prominent in non-English speaking countries.

And this point brings me to my profession of business mentoring. Robin Williams was able to impact on nearly all of us. How?

Well, I want to stay clear of any psychoanalysis of his talents. To borrow a phrase from a recent blog, I believe he allowed us to consider a “whole new way of thinking” about ideas, almost any idea.  For example, as a result of his film work:

• Brilliant mathematicians are no longer seen as freaks
• Old works of English literature have taken on a new meaning
• We have begun to enter the minds of those who appear incapable of thought
• And genies may not be real, but he taught us how we can trust in our dreams.

What these ‘case studies’ add up to is the concept, which represents some of the core values of business mentoring. My colleagues and I are approached by individuals and organisations, who are frequently set in the ways, yet looking to move beyond. They are stuck, yet we show them a new line of self-discipline that allows them and encourages them to change.

How to build up a new team; how to resist procrastination; how to prepare a clear presentation for investors – these are just a small range of issues that I deal with on a weekly basis. And while much of my work is conducted in a bland setting over cups of tea, I have been known to get my clients to ‘act out of the box’ – just as Williams did with his co-thespians. The results are almost invariably enlightening, a game-changer if you wish.

Captain Williams – we will miss you, but your work will survive in so many guises, beyond what even you may have dreamed.