Who would you say has been the greatest influence on business?
Industrialists such as Henry Ford or Alexander Graham Bell? Technology gurus such as Bill Gates and Michael Dell?
While these and other great entrepreneurs have undoubtedly influenced industry as we know it, I would argue that the truly great influences on industry are those who have worked to inspire and develop our youth, who have taught our children that anything is possible.
Developing the next generation of leaders is not the highest-paying job but it is perhaps the most rewarding. Dr. Robert Sturkey, interviewed as our Who To Know subject this month, understands this — he gave up his practice as a dentist to work with students at Walsh Jesuit High School as diversity director.
Today, he is running Camp Olympic, a concept he hopes to take nationwide but which for now only benefits Akron-area youth. In a couple of weeks, Olympic gold medalists will arrive in Akron to teach young campers about physical, character and attitude development.
Sturkey hopes to inspire these students as they move through life to consider education and career choices that others may find too challenging.
It takes more than personal drive to develop the kind of ambition that turns a computer science student into the next Bill Gates. Most people who accomplish greatness in their fields talk about mentors and the influences they had on them as children.
Mentoring a young person doesn’t have to be a full-time job. There are many ways we all can influence the next generation of leaders without giving up our careers, by setting up a student internship program at our business, becoming involved in a community program for youth or just by making more of an effort to inspire our own children at home.
