“In a life time’s association with great and good men, he is the one invisible figure to whom I owe an incalculable debt.” Dwight Eisenhower spent three years in the Panama Canal Zone being mentored by Fox Connor. As in all great mentoring relationships, there was a spirit of reciprocity between them. Ike developed rapidly as an officer and human being, learning how to think strategically about war plans and the importance of building strong relationships with allies. Connor found an enthusiastic student who not only looked up to him but had a profound sense of gratitude for the lessons he was being taught.
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Master Mentor 3: Fox Connor, the Man Who Made Ike
I picked up a book on CD called General Ike and soon found myself listening to a fascinating and intriguing tale. Central to it was an extraordinary man who was mentor to three men who had the biggest impact on winning WWII: Dwight Eisenhower, George C. Marshall, and George S. Patton. Unlike George Patton, who came from a very wealthy NY family and looked at entrance into West Point as the beginning of a life-long adventure in the military, Dwight Eisenhower came from the wrong side of the tracks in Abilene Kansas and had entered West Point mainly to get a free college education. One Sunday afternoon in 1921, Patton…
Read more →Master Mentor 2: General Ike and Mentor Fox Connor
Shortly after my romp through Harvard Yard where I met with Tony Mayo, I took a shopping trip, not to one of our classy high-end malls in the Boston area, but to the proletarian Building 19 whose advertising moniker is Good Stuff Cheap (reading glasses, oriental carpets, designer suits, etc.) After sorting through the usual collection of mysteries and thrillers, I saw a boxed set called General Ike, The Personal Reminisces of His Son John S. D. Eisenhower for just $7.98. I purchased this and went out to the car to listen as I made my way north. Within 5 or 10 minutes I found myself totally captivated by a story being told by the narrator, one that ignited my investigation into the subject of mentoring.
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