There are two ways to ask a mentor for help, one that costs them something and one that costs them almost nothing while still landing. A burdensome ask sounds like ‘can we get coffee sometime,’ open-ended, vague, and hard to say no to without feeling rude. A flattering ask sounds like ‘you are the only person I know who has actually done this, what would you do here,’ specific and cheap to answer.
The second version works because it treats the mentor as the expert they are, not as a favor bank you are withdrawing from. Larry’s instinct to attack the money instead of chasing a vague yes applies here too, ask for the specific thing, not the general relationship. A narrow question can be answered in two sentences over text, which means it actually gets answered.
Vague asks pile up in an inbox because they require the mentor to do the thinking about what you even need. Specific asks do that thinking for them, which is its own small act of respect.
This is karma again, a low-cost ask is easier to say yes to, and easy yeses are what keep a relationship active. Over time, a string of small, flattering asks builds more trust than one large, awkward one ever could.
Save the big ask for later, after several small ones have shown you know how to ask well. The best asks make a mentor feel useful in under a minute, not obligated for an afternoon.
Details: Watch Larry on the low-cost ask
#Karma #Mentorship #Web12