A Tribute To My Mentor

From the time I became a marketing major as a sophomore at the University of Akron, I heard glowing comments about Dr. George Prough. But Dr. Prough taught only upper-level marketing, so I had to wait until my final semester to take his Promotional Strategies course.   

From the first class, I realized all the praise was warranted. Dr. Prough's teaching style was unique and exceptional. He had a distinctive style.  He didn’t lecture on “theory”. He expected you to read that stuff in the textbook and come to class prepared. He talked about real-life examples and applications that cemented those theories in your brain.  And then there was the outrageous humor. But this wasn’t to entertain. The humor was used as a teaching tool, closely related to the topics, and to enhance learning. 

 

It wasn’t a lecture. It was a fast-moving, free-wheeling, joy-ride through the world of marketing. I flourished under this teaching style, and  Dr. Prough was my best professor ever, by far. I thoroughly soaked up everything presented in this course. I never looked at my watch during his class and was always

disappointed when it ended. 

 

As a result, my grades were stellar, but I don’t think I spoke up much during class the whole semester. I didn’t ask questions, since I understood everything the first time. I sat quietly in the last row and never spoke to Dr. Prough before, after, or outside of class. So, I didn’t think he even knew my name. 

 

An Outrageous Statement  

 

However, that was far from the case. Only a few students were left in the room as I finished my essay-question final exam in Promotional Strategies. They were clustered on the left side of the room, so I walked down the right aisle to turn in my exam booklet. Dr. Prough got up from his chair and met me before I turned the corner. I handed him my test. 

“You should be a marketing professor,” he said. 

 

I nodded and said, “Thank you.” But it was one of the most outrageous statements anyone has ever said to me. A marketing professor? That was laughable! It wasn’t even in the range of possibilities. I was vigorously job hunting and would be married in a few months. And why would he say that after one course? He really didn’t know that much about me. It was pure kooky talk. I immediately rejected the advice as pure folly. But I remembered that moment, only because it was so bizarre. 

 

The Reconnection 

 

I graduated, started my career, went to graduate school, and continued on with life. Several years later, the business college started a “Professor For A Day” program, where graduates were invited back to campus to teach a class. I participated a couple of times and enjoyed it. The third time I signed up, I received a call from the administrator asking if I would be interested in teaching Dr. Prough’s class. This was an honor. The first time teaching his class, I did such a good job that he always requested me for “Professor For A Day” and I taught in his class for years.  And now, before and after the class, I was able to spend time with him discussing marketing and life. We became good friends.  

 

When I taught Dr. Prough’s class, I would do short segments on real-life examples applied to marketing principles. After class, we would discuss my presentation and he would point out which elements worked best. I didn’t realize it at the time, but I was being mentored. The next time, I would repeat the good examples and add some new ones. Over time, I had a stellar presentation. The odd thing is, he never criticized any of the weak examples, he just praised the good stuff. 

 

The Next Step  

 

Around 2003, Indiana Wesleyan University opened a Cleveland campus and began recruiting adjunct business faculty. You didn’t need previous teaching experience, but you had to survive a challenging screening process. The final step was a 10-minute teaching presentation in front of the selection committee and every other person competing for a teaching position. This took place in a crowded conference room and was the most high-pressure presentation I have ever done. 

 

But I had been preparing for this moment, unknowingly, with Dr. Prough’s guidance, for years. I took the best segment from “Professor For A Day” , expanded it to 10 minutes, and then delivered it flawlessly under pressure. Almost all the other candidates had previous college teaching experience, but the campus dean told me later that my presentation was the best one that night. 

 

Hey, I’m A Professor 

 

Now I was adjunct faculty, but I was still inexperienced and unproven. Therefore, you start at the bottom. They gave me the course that nobody wants to teach: Basic Economics, at the associate degree level. Most students in the associate program have started their business careers and are taking college classes for the first time. They work all day, grab something to eat, and then it was my task to teach them economics from 6 to 10 p.m. The first night, they come into the class worried that economics will be too challenging and they will fail the class.

 

I quickly realized that I couldn’t just lecture on economics for four hours at night without the students falling asleep. So, I didn’t teach theories. I started with real-life examples that the students were familiar with, and I then extruded the theories out from the examples. It wasn’t a lecture. It was a quick-moving presentation with a lot of humor mixed in – not for entertainment purposes, but to reinforce the concepts. The university also provided videos and projects to break up class time. 

 

And it worked. The students had expected economics to be difficult and boring, but they loved my class. One student labeled it “stand-up economics”, since I had told them I had done stand-up comedy. And best yet, they were learning economics – really learning economics. They were getting it. 

 

My first five-week course went well. I was making the long drive home after the second night of my second course, energized because the class had just gone so well. “Wow,” I thought to myself. “You are good at this, and good, very quickly. You even have a style! Where did that come from? What does it remind you of?” 

 

And then, of course, was the epiphany. It wasn’t my style, it was my version of Dr. George Prough’s. I was unconsciously mimicking the best professor I had ever known. Oh, and it worked so well!    

 

Absurd? – No, Absurdly Brilliant 

 

After proving myself by receiving great student reviews in my economics course, they asked me if I wanted to teach a bachelor’s level marketing class. I felt like a minor leaguer getting called up to the majors. Yes, I was a marketing professor – 26 years after Dr. Prough’s proclamation.  The statement that I had considered absurd, was no longer ridiculous. It was absurdly brilliant. The man had been able to ascertain my destiny by reading just a bit of my writing when I was a just 22 years old, and had been a mere 26 years ahead of me. That’s just extreme brilliance – there’s no other way to describe it.

 

When my marketing textbook arrived at my house, I unwrapped the package like a kid at Christmas. Then, I held the book in both hands like it was some sacred scroll. I was so mesmerized that I read all the introduction pages that no one ever reads. But I stopped when it claimed  the book had been reviewed by the top marketing professors in the country. “Oh yeah?” I thought. “All the top profs, huh?  We’ll see about that.” And I  searched the list for one name. And there it was. “Dr. George Prough – University of Akron”.  I felt honored and confident to be teaching from a text reviewed by my friend and mentor.

 

You would think this would be an opportunity for a celebration between Dr. Prough and me. Where we would share some drinks, share some laughs, and I would remind him about his advice given 26 years earlier. But sadly, there would be no celebration. Dr. Prough developed Parkinson’s disease and had to retire during this time. I did correspond with him briefly for a time.  

 

The last time I saw Dr. Prough was at a university breakfast in 2011. The disease had progressed and he was in a wheelchair. A large group of people gathered around to greet him. After the university president Dr. Luis Proenza had talked to Dr. Prough, I grabbed his shoulder, pointed at Dr. Prough, and said “The best. The absolute best”, and he nodded in agreement. I then said what was basically hello, and goodbye, to my mentor and friend. Dr. Prough passed away a year and a half later. I attended the funeral. 

 

I wanted so much to be a full-time marketing professor. I seriously looked at it three different times after that, but I just couldn’t make the personal finances work. I guess the time to have planned this move was maybe, say, 26 or so years ago? 

Mentoring Is Important

 

The whole purpose of this story is to say that mentoring and being mentored are so beneficial and needed. I could have written all these words about the concept of mentoring, but I chose instead to show you, instead of tell you. (I wonder how I learned to do that?)

 

Therefore, I said all that to say this: 

 

If you are at the stage of your career, where you are confident enough that you don’t need to compete with everyone anymore, then share your knowledge about life, skills, philosophy, business, life-hacks with anyone who will listen. And if someone realizes the value in your wisdom, mentor them. 

 

Likewise, you younger folk, especially those who think you know it all, listen to the older guys (and women). It can keep you from making so many stupid mistakes. It can help you achieve more in your career, much faster. So, if you find someone willing to invest in you as a mentor, seize the opportunity.