Saying yes to a free bit of advice could be the best business move you can make.

A few years ago, I was invited to attend an event on the north side of Indianapolis called America’s Best Hope. It was an event that focused on leaders in business giving their time to young people who were in need of a mentor. The speakers that day were highly recognizable names from the sports and business worlds. Clark Kellogg, the CBS Sports College Basketball Analyst, was the moderator. Hall of Fame football coach Tony Dungy was one of the speakers. So was former Indiana University Basketball coach Tom Crean. They were inspirational. Their message was very focused and clear: there is a gap between young people who lack experience and are trying to make their way into adulthood and older adults who have the life experiences and knowledge. Both coaches especially hit this hard because they work with young adults. They need a mentor who will give them time and advice. I realized they were 100% right.

I felt compelled to do something with that information. It seems to me that the more connected we become via technology, the more disconnected we become socially. Here is what I did. I said yes. Shortly after I attended the conference, I was contacted by a young lady who attended college at Ivy Tech in Indianapolis. She wanted to interview me for a paper she was writing on the creative process business professionals follow to produce something others will buy. Instead of doing a phone or email interview, I invited her to come to my office and we sat around our conference table for an hour. She did a great job asking me questions. I showed her some of our work, explained what the process looked like to find clients, discover what they needed, and create the pieces we were contracted to produce.

About six months later, I was contacted by one of her professors, Rebecca Jo Bilbrey. Rebecca asked me to be on a panel of professionals to review the portfolios of soon-to-be graduates. I said yes. I thought I would be with two or three other business people who had some connection to creative services. What I discovered was a room of around 40 business people who had given their time to help these young adults with valuable information about making a business presentation and how to land a job. I found the process quite fulfilling. I kept going back to these portfolio reviews at the end of each semester for a number of years.

At one of these portfolio reviews, Rebecca asked me about teaching a class on the business side of creativity. It was what I did every day. The pay was not very good, but she thought I could help some students understand how to translate what they did creatively into real income. She had me talk to John Perez, the program chairperson for the Visual Communications Department. I said yes. I have taught the class off and on for the past two years. It is quite fulfilling to see the light come on with students. It is even more fulfilling to see them land a job and start earning an income based on what we discussed in the class.

Six years I was on the campus of Anderson University. An old friend, Dr. Doyle Lucas, approached me and asked me if I would be willing to join their Marketing Advisory Board. The group was made up of marketing professionals who gave guidance to the school of business on curriculum. The big draw for me was being able to go into a classroom and talk to students about what it took to work in the field of marketing, what they needed to do to get hired, and how to be a good employee. These were bright students, they just needed a connection to the real business world. I said yes. Doyle introduced me to Dr. Mike Wiese and other professors at the Falls School of Business. They are passionate about making a difference in the lives of young people. It was great to offer some perspective from what I do professionally.

Last month, I reached out to a young man at Anderson University who had put a post on LinkedIn. I commented on his post, which had to do with a project he was working on. The comment led to a phone conversation. The conversation led to an invitation to talk to his marketing class about the benefits of LinkedIn as a business connection and marketing tool. Dr. Ray Sylvester was gracious enough to turn the teaching of his class over to me for an hour this past Tuesday.

So where is the business connection? This all sounds like I missed my calling and should have been a university professor. I like to leave the full-time teaching to the professionals. No, the business connection was this: in each situation where I have said yes, it has led to some sort of paying business for my company. I can trace clients and connections for clients through each "yes” that I have given. Pro bono mentoring pays off. But the biggest payoff did not come in the form of new contracts and remuneration, it came in the satisfaction in knowing that I helped a young person along the way.

I would encourage you to look for someone you can mentor, lend some advice, make some of your secrets known to someone who needs a leg up on life. We are in the season of Lent in the Christian faith. It is a time to contemplate giving of yourself. Now may be the best time to say yes.