Here is the first lesson my first mentor taught me decades ago: “There will be times when you will have to work twice as hard as the next person and you will only get half the recognition.” Since it’s argued that we will live in a merit based society, my first thought at that revelation was that the advice made no sense at all and on top of everything…it was just plain unfair. I still view the advice through the same lens…makes no sense and is unfair. However, the one thing that my mentor taught me during our relationship was that I could sit on my thumbs and cry out how unfair the “meritocracy” was or I could work my butt off and do something about it. And that’s exactly what I’ve done as a mentor. As a manager and leader, I made sure that anyone that worked for me were treated fairly regardless of their background. As a mentor, I taught my mentees to do the same and I’ve enjoyed planting disciples all over the world that believe the same truism that output and recognition should reflect input and effort. In the meantime, I’ll work hard but not for the recognition, but for the chance to do my part to make the world better. Mentoring works.