Eric Rosenkranz Part II: Executive Mentoring

My guest is Eric Rosenkranz, former Vice Chairman of Focus Media China, now founder and CEO of Advisory firm, eThree. I’m speaking to him in the offices of one of Singapore’s original start-up “incubators.”

In case you missed our last episode, it featured Eric’s unforgettable tale of a billion-dollar startup that began as an insight about elevators in China.

It was that success that led Eric to position himself as mentor to some of Southeast Asia’s most promising young entrepreneurs. He’s the guy folks turn to in hopes of taking their game to the next level. That’s our focus this time: executive mentoring.

Most everyone will agree that supporting CEO's, senior leaders and managing partners is crucial, but often neglected. As a corporate headhunter—a guy who locates and positions talent for a living—I’m continually struck by how effective mentoring has fallen off the radar for many companies. It’s shocking, but they are simply not making the investments they should be making in their people.

It’s a different story in the startup space. Around the world—and Eric gives us a unique glimpse into the challenges specific to Asia—the concept and practice of mentoring has been widely embraced.

As Eric points out, the key to effective mentoring is to not to think of it as a one size fits all proposition. It begins and ends with the individual, with finding out what they need, what questions they’re not asking, and how to transform them as executives and as people. Subscribe to the podcast here on iTunes and to our InsideAsia Newsletter here and never miss an episode.