The Multiplying Power of Mentoring

A Journey into the Sage Stage

BY LLOYD REEB

August 2026

I can’t imagine trying to make my way through life without older men who have guided me with wisdom, humility, and intentionality.

I was 37 years old when someone introduced me to Bob Buford. Bob was a successful entrepreneur who had recently written Halftime. To his surprise, his phone began ringing with business leaders from around the country who deeply resonated with his message that there is more to life than simply winning in our careers.

Bob was 59 at the time. What fascinated me was that he was still being mentored himself—by Peter Drucker, the “father of modern management” who was then 89 years old.

I remember wondering, Why would someone as accomplished as Bob Buford still need a mentor?

Bob and Peter met regularly, and Bob had the foresight to record many of their conversations. Then, in one of the greatest gifts of my own life, Bob began passing along some of Peter’s wisdom to me.

One day he said, “Lloyd, I have an exercise for you.”

“Take out a blank sheet of paper and draw two columns. In the first column, write down everything you have that is valuable.”

I quickly filled the page—our business, real estate, boats, classic cars, investments. With a little pride, I turned the paper toward him.

Bob smiled.

I had the distinct feeling he was leading me somewhere I hadn’t expected.

“Good,” he said. “Now, in the second column, write down everything you have that is priceless.”

That question stopped me in my tracks.

What do I actually have that is priceless?

Does my business belong on that list?

After several quiet minutes, I ended up with a surprisingly short list: my relationship with Christ, my wife, our children, close friendships, my character, my calling, and a few other treasures that no amount of money could ever replace.

Then Bob quietly observed something I have never forgotten.

“Lloyd, isn’t it interesting that most of the things we work so hard to protect are merely valuable, while many of the things that are truly priceless are largely unprotected?”

Twenty-eight years later, I can still remember exactly where I was sitting when he said those words.

That fifteen-minute conversation changed the trajectory of my life.

But perhaps the most remarkable part of the story is this: over the years, I have shared that simple exercise with thousands of leaders around the world. It has sparked conversations around dinner tables, in boardrooms, on retreats, and in one-on-one mentoring relationships. In fact, as you read those two questions just now, they may have prompted your own reflection.

That is the extraordinary power of mentoring.

One conversation. One insight. One faithful investment from an older, wiser guide can ripple outward for decades, shaping lives the mentor will never even meet.

So, now at age 65 I know that there comes a moment—sometimes subtle, sometimes unmistakable—when a man begins to sense that the scoreboard he has been keeping no longer satisfies. The wins still matter, but they no longer define him. The question shifts from “What am I building?” to “Who am I building into?”

In my own journey, that shift marked the beginning of what I now call the Sage Stage—a season of life not defined by accumulation, but by multiplication. Peter Drucker taught us that historically leaders moved from warrior to king to sage. The Sage Stage involves giving up some of the control but gaining influence and so much more leverage. 

For many years, like most men, I focused on building—businesses, teams, then ministry opportunities. It was meaningful work, and it required everything I had. But over time, I began to realize something profound: the impact of my life would not ultimately be measured by what I built directly, but by what I helped others build.

That realization didn’t lead to less ambition—it led to a different kind of ambition. A leveraged ambition.

Mentoring became the primary vehicle for that shift.

From Addition to Multiplication

When we operate only in our own sphere, our impact is inherently limited. Even at our best, we are adding value—one deal, one project, one decision at a time.

But mentoring changes the equation.

When you invest deeply in another person—especially a talented leader with calling, capacity, and character—you are no longer adding. You are multiplying. Their decisions, their leadership, their influence begin to carry forward the wisdom, perspective, and faith you’ve had the privilege to develop over decades.

Over the last 28 years since Bob Buford and I founded the Halftime Institute, I’ve had the opportunity to walk alongside hundreds of high capacity leaders—many of them entrepreneurs—who are building companies, leading teams, and navigating complex decisions. What has struck me again and again is not just their capability, but their hunger. They don’t just want advice. They want formation. They want someone who will walk with them, challenge them, and remind them who they are in Christ when the pressure mounts.

And in that relationship, something unexpected happens. The mentor is changed too.

The Quiet Transformation of the Mentor

Mentoring in the Sage Stage is not about dispensing answers. It’s about cultivating discernment.

It requires listening more than speaking. Asking better questions and well-curated stories instead of offering quick solutions. Trusting that God is at work in the life of the person you are mentoring—and that your role is to help draw that out, not control it.

Over time, I’ve found that mentoring sharpens my own dependence on God. It helps keep me honest. It forces me to distill what I truly believe and live, not just what I once learned.

In many ways, mentoring has become one of the most refining spiritual disciplines in my life.

Growing as a Mentor

Like any meaningful calling, mentoring is something we can grow in.

A few practices have proven especially important:

• Learn to ask great questions. Questions unlock insight far more powerfully than advice. They invite ownership and help younger leaders hear God’s voice for themselves.
• A Toolbox of helpful resources. To what degree have you curated your own leadership learnings, problem-solving techniques, analytical tools, resources, and research to pass them on effectively? 
• Anchor the relationship in faith. The ultimate goal is not just better leadership—it is deeper alignment with Christ. That is where true transformation happens.

A Simple Path to a Leveraged Impact

One of the challenges many men face is not a lack of desire to mentor, but a lack of clarity on where to begin.

For a limited time you can download the book Sage Stage free from https://www.ardentmentoring.org/sage-stage-book – In this book you will gain insights into where you are on the sage-mentoring hierarchy, take the mentoring self-assessment and begin to map out next steps to continue to grow. Becoming a better mentor will help all of us be better fathers and fathers-in-law, better friends and better leaders.  

Perhaps the easiest way to get going as a mentor is through online platforms like ArdentMentoring.org, which make it simple to be matched with a young, talented Christian entrepreneur who is actively seeking guidance. It removes the friction and creates a clear pathway for engagement.

This isn’t about adding another obligation to an already full life. It’s about redirecting a small portion of your time and experience toward something that multiplies far beyond you.

An Invitation to the Journey

The men of the New Canaan Society understand something essential: life is not meant to be lived in isolation. We are called into brotherhood, into purpose, and ultimately into legacy.

The Sage Stage is an invitation—to every man who is willing to shift from building for himself to building into others. 

Mentoring is one of the clearest expressions of that calling.

It is quiet work. Often unseen. Rarely celebrated.

But its impact is profound.

Because when you invest in the life of another man—especially one who is just beginning to step into his calling—you are not just shaping his future.

You are shaping every life he will touch.

And that is a legacy that truly multiplies.

*For those interested in diving deeper, you can download the Sage Stage book for free and access the Sage mentoring self-assessment toolbox at https://sagestage.org/toolbox. 

*For more information about Ardent Mentoring visit www.ardentmentoring.org.