It wasn’t until I started telling my mentee the things my boss told me, that I realized how influential my first employer was.
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I tried the college thing, it didn’t work for me—I quickly excited academia and entered the workforce. I landed my dream job—front row at the drum department at Guitar Center. For a musician, this chain of a music stores was ecstasy, they allowed you to touch and play every instrument on the floor.
I was the youngest person on the sales team but I had the biggest ego, some would argue. I sold a shit ton of drums and I thought I was untouchable. It didn’t take long before I became a department manager, overseeing $2 million in inventory at age 19.
The guy who took a chance on this cocky kid from the hood was wannabe rocker named Scott Plfanz, he bleed Guitar Center red. His sales meetings were animated, although he wasn’t actually funny, a good motivator, however. He broke me out of my shell, took me out of my comfort zone—all the things a mentor is supposed to do; although he was only hired to play the role of my boss.
It wasn’t until I started telling my mentee the things my boss told me, that I realized how influential my first employer was. “When you’re good at something you chase after money, when you’re great the money chases after you,” he told me once during a meeting about my sales goals and projections. I walked away not only prepared to increase sales, but to be great!
It was a lot of those small conversations with Plfanz that I pull on now to help me and my mentee through life and business. “You miss 100% of the shots you don’t take,” he said to me when I shouted a hefty profit projection during our traditional group Saturday morning meetings.
I learned a lot of lessons and values during my three year stint at Guitar Center. It was there, on Chemical Road in Plymouth Meeting, where I comprehended the importance of adding value and exceeding expectations. And although those values were meant to steer me towards increasing sales, they ended up augmenting my personhood.
I’m a better person, mentor, brother and businessman because of Scott Plfanz, my first boss. I never told him that to his face and I kinda suck for that, but now that I’m blessed with this huge platform, I wanted to share a personal impact story of a man who molded me into the Flood the Drummer that drums for justice today.
Even when you don’t know it, you can have lifelong impact on someone. And, in my opinion, the only thing better than indirectly changing someone’s life for the better, is purposefully trying to change someone’s life for the better.
Happy National Mentoring Month! Celebrate by becoming a mentor today!
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Thanks for reading. Until next time, I’m Flood the Drummer® & I’m Drumming for JUSTICE!™
Source: TBO Inc®
Twitter: @therealTBOInc
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Just heard comments weren’t working and wanted to test it out.
Awesome article. I actually bought my current guitar at that same Guitar Center five years ago, before we had a Guitar Center here in Delaware. Small world!