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Title: Senior Lecturer

Company: Cornell University School of Hotel Administration

Years in the Industry: Rather more than I am willing to admit

Stephani Robson's Blog

The Magic of Mentors

Posted on August 4, 2008 at 9:04am 1 Comment 0 Likes

I get them almost every day: emails from would-be restaurateurs asking questions about how to go about creating their dream restaurant. Like many of you, my first instinct is to tell them to give up, to try some other line of business, to throw their money, sleep and relationships down some other bottomless well. But that knee-jerk reaction isn't entirely fair because many of these writers have hands-on experience as servers, chefs or managers and so aren't completely naive about the trials… Continue

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At 6:52am on October 9, 2008, Bill Baumgartner said…: Stephani,

It would be an honor !!!

Just let me know your agenda and I will make time
in my schedule.

Thank you,

"Giving Back is What It's All About"

Bill

Success Coach
"Helping you Achieve your Greatest Self"

At 7:38pm on October 8, 2008, Bill Baumgartner said…: Stephani,

If I can add any insight to your program, please let me know.

I don't have a whole lot of technical design knowledge. I do have a fairly diverse experience with the management and people skills needed to hold the bricks and mortar together after the construction is finished,
when the really challenging part begins !

Bill Baumgartner
Success Coach

At 12:29pm on October 8, 2008, Bill Baumgartner said…: Hi Stephani,

First, thank you for adding me as a friend on FohBoh.

Secondly,
I love to hear from educators, like yourself.

From your post, 'the magic of mentors,' you sound
like a very engaging teacher. I have sat through a lot of lectures that were just plain boring.

Anyway,
thank you for sharing.

Bill
Hamilton, Ohio

Success Coach
"Helping you Achieve your Greatest Self"

At 7:37am on September 16, 2008, Tony Martinez said…: Hello Stephani,

Just checking in to see how the semester is going. I hope this years students are encouraging as they will be the next generation of leaders in our industry.

Best wishes and I look forward to hearing from you soon.

At 11:54am on August 4, 2008, Tony Martinez said…: I'd be honored to be on the mentor team! Consider me in!

At 11:28am on August 4, 2008, Mark Moeller said…: Sign me up, mentors are vital in any business - this one perhaps more than any other. I'd be happy to help.

At 10:40am on August 4, 2008, Tony Martinez said…: Stephani,

I read your request to be a mentor and I can't tell your students how important a true mentor is. Like you, I've had two in particular in my life and the debt of gratitude I owe them, I'm only hopeful I can repay by becoming one myself.

I would be interested in knowing more about the time commitment you're looking for and specifically how I can help. I'd love to share my background with you as well to help you make a decision as to weather I can lend any insight relative to your goals.

Let's try to get in touch soon, I'd love to help!

At 5:25am on August 4, 2008, Stephani Robson said…: I am thinking of doing just that! I teach a course in restaurant development each fall in which teams of students come up with concepts, develop detailed marketing, financial, and facilities plans, and in the end attempt to attract imaginary investment capital from each other and from a panel of industry advisors. The amount of capital they attract is a component of their grade, so it's as "real world" as we can get it. Three teams from former years have moved forward with their concepts: one has been open for about a year (with a second unit under construction), one is in the process of opening right now in Maryland (www.punksbackyardgrill.com), and a third is just getting off the ground. Pretty cool!

Maybe some FohBoh users would like to serve as informal mentors to the student teams -- any takers? It would be a great experience for both sides, I think!

At 10:58pm on August 3, 2008, David Dodson said…: Stephani, would be great to get a group of your students on FohBoh with your dialogs and get a slice of life from Cornell these days.

At 8:22pm on August 2, 2008, Carl Muth said…: I sent Gary Thompson an invite to participate on this board before, but I think it wound up in his spam folder. I have a special section of my web for Cornell University Articles. You guys have GREAT tools!

Have Fun!
Be #1,

Carl Muth
FoodServiceResource.com