Rick jumped into my office – “Brian do you have a copy of the incentive compensation plan?” I quickly said, “No, I think James was gonna send that to me.”
“Well, here you go. I printed one out for you. Read this each week. This tells you exactly what Wells Fargo wants you to accomplish to be successful.”
Week 1 at Wells Fargo was like drinking from a fire hose. My boss James Schmeltekopf one of his regional managers Rick Hargadine came to Oklahoma to ensure I got started on the right foot. Rick was my mentor for my first couple years at Wells Fargo and I couldn’t pick a better mentor to guide me through this transition into sales.
Why did Rick give me that incentive compensation document and tell me to read it each week? That is crazy talk!
Nope… Rick lived by the phrase, “Begin with the end in mind.” (Thanks, Stephen Covey Habit #2) Rick knew over the medium term Wells Fargo would judge my success by what they were paying people to do. The incentive compensation plan had deliberately emphasized very specific outcomes (the end).
Rick just wanted me to remind myself of those outcomes every week and not get distracted by something else that may be good but not important.
Fortunately about 18 months into the job, I found some success. I did focus on doing things that would lead to the outcomes that the incentive compensation plan provided. James, Rick and many others guided me along the way.
Have you had the benefit of a “Rick” in your life? Any mentor that really helped you succeed in a new job?
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