This is a very personal post for me. Many years ago, when I was EVP and International Media Director at Foote Cone & Belding, the company wanted to create a worldwide media buying unit: Pervasive.

We were about 20 people who had to fly to NY twice a month from anywhere in the world to create it. Naturally, the company hired consultants to help us form the company. One of the consultants asked the group “what are you most proud of?”.

Predictably, lots of children mentioned, a couple of offbeat answers (e.g., jumping from a plane) but I was the only one who answered that what made me prouder is that out of the hundreds who had worked with me in different countries, about 20 or had gotten VP, GM and, now, even a CEO job in ad agencies.

A recent article on mentorship in the South Florida Business Journal got me thinking: what if mentorship were the best way to fight age discrimination in the marketing, advertising and creative industries? What would that look like?

This will be a 17-part series about the value of Mentorship: how it fits with those of us over 50 and, more importantly, a blueprint for creating a mentorship program in your company, if they don’t have one, or improving the existing one.

As with everything, the moment you think about something, you begin noticing it around you. Much like when you buy an Alfa Romeo you begin noticing other Alfas on the road. I’ve begun noticing more and more content on mentoring.

Your Gray Matters welcomes the opportunity to create a custom mentorship program for your organization or for you to implement in your organization. Write us at msalup@yourgraymatters.org or grab some time at www.calendly.com/performist-us/60 - Thanks