<img class="" style="float: right;" src="https://opedge.com/Content/OldArticles/images/2006-05_11/fredrick,Jeffery-SM.jpg" width="237" height="226" hspace="4" vspace="4" /> Japanese culture reveres its elderly, while Americans seem to view them quite differently. Why? Perhaps the fact that we are a younger culture has something to do with it. But maybe our elderly population is not altogether guilt free in the equation? Respect is earned. It is about contribution, the ability to adapt and stay relevant. Does this mean experience measured against innovation lacks relevance? Certainly not. The best professional model is innovation matched with experience. Here we find the substance of true mentoring: the young and innovative guided by those whose experience has remained relevant, timely, constructive, and above all, accurate and impactful. So, what <i>is</i> the substance of mentoring? Vision is the best progeny of experience, if the eyes of the elderly have remained focused. But the only relevance it retains is what is communicated in terms young people can relate to. And remember, the eyes of younger professionals also must be focused. The big picture is as important to the beginner as to the prospective retiree. Here, the young and old share common ground. To make the point, let's mix up some metaphors and talk about change in our profession. Have you ever heard the term "agribusiness"? In American food production, economically <i>successful</i> food production, small family farming is all but a thing of the past. So why has the family farm model failed? Because family farmers lacked vision, and so had none to pass down. They prided themselves on their independence--including, sadly, independence from one another. Family farmers preferred to believe the old way was sustainable. They chose to work their own land, on their own tractor, producing their own crops. They saw no reason to organize their labor into a corporate (union) model, to respond to the external realities of their vocation, to come together to promote better prices. What is their "independent" response? "We're farmers, not businessmen." Now many of them are not even farmers anymore. What's agribusiness got to do with orthotics and prosthetics? Nothing directly, but everything metaphorically. Back to mentoring: Ivan Sabel, CPO, now chairman and CEO of Hanger Orthopedic Group, has practiced for many years following his father's longtime contribution to the field. Whether you've got an 'independence or die' attitude about it or not, you've got to admit he had a vision--a vision to pull together a huge company of "family farmers" as our profession waded precariously into a new century, fraught with encroachment, cost management, and other challenges. Yeah, I know that many of my fellow practitioners are not employed by Hanger and can bristle at the notion that "Ivan the Terrible" has accomplished something positive in their behalf. But truth always speaks for itself. If there ever was a time when a large voice was needed to face issues of governmental regulation and inordinate payer self-interest, it is now. As Hanger braces itself against issues that face every practitioner in our country, its success (or failure) will unavoidably trickle down. In this way, Sabel's accomplishment represents mentoring from a personal vision that illustrates the correct application of experience to innovation--the innovation, in this case, being a business model. Sabel's vision addressed the obvious need to meet external change with disciplined design. Not everyone has the opportunity to build a huge conglomerate. But this does not mean that each of us cannot put forward ideas and examples that lead and inspire. It all begins with a question: what can I do as a mentor? What contribution can I make? The answer is simple: find something positive in the negatives and promote it. Share it. Teach it. Pass it down, and maybe the O&P "family farm" will not only survive, but prosper. Vision remains the most significant answer to dilemmas facing any profession--vision with the courage and stamina to become reality. Above all, save your pugilistic energies for the outsiders. Big guys like Hanger advocate for all practitioners, if only by default. Beware of an independent, "tractor" mentality when the buyers care for little more than their own profit. Be a good mentor. Interact with one another in a partnership that transcends our competitive spirit. Beyond local business concerns, we must be one. <i>Jeff Fredrick, MS, CPO, is director of Hanger's Rehabilitation for Development (Hanger RFD) and branch manager at Hanger Prosthetics & Orthotics, Tallahassee, Florida.</i>
