Mindframe Connect Wants To Mentor The Mentors And Teach Resiliency
HALIFAX–Covid-19 has, undoubtedly, changed the way we function in day-to-day life. We work differently now than we did two years ago; we socialize differently; we even shop differently. But one big change that hasn’t received enough attention is how learn and absorb information.
With so many meetings and seminars now taking place virtually, it can be challenging to learn new information because we are missing vital social cues that we subconsciously pick up during in-person communication. Something as small as a hand gesture or facial expression can be key to how we interact and share information.
These new challenges haven’t been ignored in the world of entrepreneurs, where people are constantly helping one another and learning new skills.
To help confront these challenges, a new online platform has just launched to help entrepreneurs navigate these evolving, challenging, times.
Mindframe Connect presents workshops, literature, podcasts, and more, and has a Halifax connection, as well; Dalhousie University is one of Mindframe’s co-creators.
“Our goal is to use synchronous engagements and to use as many forms of content digestion that people currently consume,” says Brice Scheschuk, a managing partner with Mindframe.
“The world of learning…I’ve been blown away through Covid with how people are learning differently.”
“You just have a different interaction, and there’s a lot of hand-wringing because you lose that in-person communication; the stuff that happens when you’re in a room talking to each other and signaling.”
In the early stages of Mindframe’s existence, the platform is focusing on workshops that teach some key pillars of entrepreneurship. Two of the big ones for Mindframe are resiliency and mentorship.
Scheschuk argues that an entrepreneur must learn resiliency skills, especially mentally, to survive the business world. Very few entrepreneurs find success right away.
“If you look at the entrepreneurial journey, what is it? It is a sequence of failures; punches in the face, getting knocked down in the boxing ring: struggle, struggle, struggle…and the ability to get up from all of that… and you adapt and adjust what you’ve learned, and you get better,” he says.
“We think that that is one of a few core pillars that has not been well dealt with in the entrepreneurial world.”
Scheschuk says there is a better understanding now of the importance of mental and psychological skills in the business world. He compares it to how, in recent decades, the world of pro sports realized that having technical skills only takes an athlete so far without the right behavioral and psychological skills.
“We want to treat the entrepreneur like an athlete,” he says. “We want to surround them with resilience thinking. We want to have coaches and mentors around them.”
Scheschuk notes that the timing is right to start a conversation about resiliency in the business community; Covid-19 has brought the world new pressures, such as childcare challenges and lockdowns.
“There is a clear issue with how’ve we had to, so abruptly, change the way we live, work, and play, as a result of this,” he says. “We have some wellness issues, physical and mental; we have various stressors that have arisen that are different than they used to be. And we’ve lost some community.”
Entrepreneurs, especially when first starting out, will look to veterans in the business community for a lot of advice. But one has to ask the question: who will mentor the mentors?
That’s another challenges Mindframe is looking to tackle, as the way mentors teach and pass down knowledge is also rapidly changing due to Covid.
It’s an issue that strikes at the heart of Scheschuk, who has considered himself a mentor in business for many years. But a few years ago, he suddenly realized he was taking the wrong approach.
“I had a self-actualization moment in 2018, where I’m 47 years old, I’ve been mentoring for years, and I realized I was doing it all wrong. And that prompted me to go on this journey,” he said.
Scheschuk says Mindframe, in its infancy, also must learn to adapt quickly to the changing times and could start to look different as time goes on and new challenges emerge.
“We’re learning as we go and we’re evolving to the new world of learning the best we can,” he says. “The goal is for lots of questions, lots of discussions, and lots of intro.”
Derek Montague is a Huddle reporter in Halifax. Send him your feedback and story ideas: [email protected].