The Power of a Mentor

This Week In Ag #161

“Find a mentor.”

I’m often asked to offer career advice to groups of students and young professionals. Seeking out mentors is always the first piece of advice I give. That’s speaking from experience.

A mentor can serve many roles. You can look up to them. You can learn from them. And if they are truly special, you’ll want to emulate them.

Forty years ago, a bright-eyed kid entered the Indianapolis office of Prairie Farmer magazine to begin his internship as a field editor. To his credit, he did know what he didn’t know about being a professional ag editor, which was a lot. But he did know two things: he loved reading Prairie Farmer. And that they had Tom Bechman.

Tom was a content creator extraordinaire. “Nobody in this business produces copy like Tom,” Jim Lilly once told me, himself a legendary ag editor. Tom cranked out must-read stories like his fellow Indiana native, Larry Bird, sank clutch shots. But unlike Larry Legend, Tom did it over five decades.

Tom broke all stereotypes for the media. On the surface, the lessons he taught me were how to be a successful ag writer. But looking closely, his techniques apply to anyone working in agribusiness. Or any business, for that matter. These include:

Don’t speak, listen. For Tom, it wasn’t about hearing himself talk. Nor was it about sounding smart and driving the interview with deep, probing questions. His interview style was relaxed. It was about presenting a topic, asking open-ended questions, and then listening. He encouraged me to prepare a list of questions before interviewing a source. But it’s not a script, it’s a guide. Let the source drive the discussion. This often involves pivoting from your script and going in the direction of your source. That’s where the story lies.

Build a large network but hold a close circle of contacts. Tom accumulated a massive Rolodex of sources. But the majority of his stories often evolved from a close circle of sources. In some cases, he’d feature those sources. But he also relied on them to identify other sources. It’s called networking. And it’s built on trust. He showed me that by building relationships, your close sources will get you more sources.

It’s not about getting the scoop; it’s about what readers care about. Sure, Tom enjoyed sharing cutting-edge ag research results. But more importantly, he had his thumb on the pulse of his readers. He knew what they wanted to read about. And he delivered.

It’s not about you, it’s about them. Ultimately, this is what made Tom special. He respected his sources. And put his readers first.

Tom just wrapped up his career at Indiana Prairie Framer. To so many of us, he’s the GOAT (Greatest Of All Time) of farm editors. And to me personally, he’ll always be my friend and mentor.