My Tribute to My Mentor

Posted by Richard Harshaw on August 12th, 2011

I received an email today from a friend and former colleague from my Carrier Air Conditioning days. It contained this sad news:

 

Stewart Docter August 10, 2011 Stewart Docter, 85, of DeWitt (New York), died Wednesday, August 10, 2011 at Crouse Hospital after a short illness. He was a life resident of Syracuse. Stewart was a graduate of Syracuse University, where he received his bachelor’s, master’s and doctorate degrees. He was employed by General Electric as a technical writer in the heavy military department. He later served as manager of the Dealer Development Department of Carrier Air Conditioning. Upon retirement, Stewart formed Management Options Group. He was member of Temple Adath Yeshurun and DeWitt Rotary. Predeceased by his wife, Marian Jacobs Docter, in 1999. Survived by his son, David (Jan); daughter, Karen Docter Johnson (George); sister, Betty Ruth Raines; and five grandchildren. Funeral services will be held at Birnbaum Funeral Chapel, 1909 East Fayette Street, at 1:30 p.m. Friends may call from 12:30 to 1:30 p.m. Friday at the funeral chapel. Burial will be at Woodlawn Cemetery. Contributions may be made to Temple Adath Yeshurun. Birnbaum Funeral Service, Inc.

Stew was my personal mentor for a few years in the 1980′s, teaching me much of what I continue to pass on to my clients.  (Some might say that I have done  Stew a disservice.  If that is the perception, I apologize to Stew.) Stew had the ability to take difficult and complex financial principals and make them understandable to contractors.  Stew did his work in the days before the personal computer and as a result his business management workshops took quite a bit of time and a lot of labor on the part of the participants (who had to bring calculators to the workshop). When Stew stepped down from the lecture circuit, I picked up his mantle and transferred his tools and techniques to spreadsheets. This made it possible to teach the wonderful principles that Stew expounded in shorter time, allowing the participants to explore multiple scenarios.

Farewell, Stew.  You will always have a secure place in my heart and I thank you for all you poured into me.

 

Biz Stuff: Financial and Managerial 2 Comments

David Holt said,

September 20, 2011 @ 7:58 am

Stewart Docter (and Clancy Merz) had a great impact on my family’s life, too. Through the examples of Ralph’s Heating & Air and Fred’s Heating & Air (which just so happended to be my grandfather and father’s names respectively) our family HVAC business was transformed from a tech-run to a profesionally-run company!

Thanks, Stew. You will be remembered as a true pioneer in the HVAC industry.

Jack Tobik said,

October 19, 2011 @ 8:19 am

Twenty-six years ago, when I first began my HVAC career, I attended every Stewart Docter seminar possible. As a result, I began to understand what it took to be successful in the industry and was able to pass that along to the contractors I called upon. He was a great asset to the industry and those who knew him. I was very sad to hear of his passing.

· TrackBack URI


Leave a Comment