Yesterday, this topic was broached on 612 ABC Brisbane radio, as our Managing Director joined his mentor-turned-mentoree, Michael Sherlock to discuss their experience.
Listen to the whole interview here: Bambrick Sentinel ABC Interview
In our fast-paced and ever-changing world, keeping up with new technologies and information is ongoing and never-ending. The technology that only a few years ago was considered revolutionary is now outdated and simple, everyday tasks have been transformed in ways we wouldn’t have imagined.
The same goes for our relationships. When once it was once almost exclusively older generations teaching younger generations, we now see the opposite.
When we think of mentoring, we conjure up images of the more experienced cohort sitting down patiently to provide much-needed advice to Gen X, Y and Z. Now, often it’s these younger generations passing on their knowledge to those who once taught them.
Reverse-mentoring is a revolution that we are all aware of on some level, yet rarely speak about.
This intriguing interview, hosted by Kelly Higgins-Devine, explored with humour the ways in which traditional working relationships have been altered by the new digital world.
“Can you teach old dogs new tricks?” Kelly asked at the opening of the interview.
Some may not think so, but Tim and Michael have proved them wrong.
So what’s Tim and Michael’s story?
Michael Sherlock is a high-profile business leader who transformed Brumbies from an ailing bakery business to the second largest bakery franchise system in Australasia. His relationship with Tim didn’t start until recent years, however, until Michael entered his current role as Chief Marketing Officer at Sentinel Property Group, and Tim decided to try his hand at franchising.
“I had sold Brumbies and I needed to reinvent myself,” Michael explained. “Tim approached me to help him in the franchising area.”
Around that time Michael was placed in charge of raising money from high-net-worth individuals for Sentinel. Traditional marketing wouldn’t suffice, so Michael turned to his mentoree for solutions.
While Michael admitted he was a bit cautious of the digital world to begin with, this twist on traditional mentoring resulted in exceptional success.
“We’ve been able to raise around $300 million from individuals without even placing an ad and we’ve done it all digitally by using all of the tricks I’ve learnt from Tim in the reverse mentoring scenario.”
While this success was due to digital marketing tactics such as Remarketing and Search Engine Optimisation (SEO), Michael has also experienced success on social media.
“I got into Twitter because that’s a bit funky,” Michael said. “Now I’m global and I’m trending. I’ve got about 400 followers.”
So does reverse mentoring work? “It’s just a two-way exchange and learning from somebody else,” Michael says.
The world of digital marketing is no stranger to ‘new tricks’ and there are always new and exciting ways emerging that enable businesses to achieve more with their digital marketing campaigns. When you’re free to talk strategy with a Brisbane SEO, PPC or Social Media expert, get in contact with Bambrick. We can be reached on (07) 3216 1151, or via our online contact form.