Ben Kornell’s Post

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Educator, Entrepreneur, Advisor, Investor, Advocate

What is a mentor? 15 years ago I was assigned Dick Fontaine as my “mentor” at DaVita Kidney Care. Ever since he has been my Yoda on this crazy journey of life and work. I got to have dinner with Dick last night. I hadn’t seen him in 2 years. And it had me reflecting on everything I have learned from and with Dick: 1) Lead with inquiry. In my first session with Dick, I expected him to drop his knowledge, wisdom, and advice. Instead he had deep questions that often helped me peel back the layers of my Why? Good questions are almost always more powerful than good advice! 2) Reframe & expand. Often we see the objects in front of us from only one angle. Dick often helped/helps me explore different perspectives on opportunities and challenges. Reframing is not about ascertaining which perspective is right or wrong. Instead it helps expand thinking and also understand others. 3) Build from the human out. While our conversations range from career to family to passion projects, Dick always manages to ground things in the core human - body, mind, spirit, place, connection. When we lead from a solid base, we can endure and achieve anything! 4) Live in the upside. The first book Dick gave me was The Art of Possibility by Benjamin Zander. One of the mantras is ‘give yourself an A.’ Living a life of human potential and being kind with judgement has been a gift to me. Also living free from fear of the downside b/c the worst case scenario on a relative basis is usually not that bad. 5) Embrace the neutral zone. Navigating ambiguity was probably the hardest mindset shift for me as I moved from teaching to social impact entrepreneurship. In that time Dick rode with me through classroom educator -> healthcare executive -> charter operator -> startup CEO -> investor. I never would have imagined the path but Dick helped me open myself to the journey. 6) Let the learning guide the way. One of Dick’s favorite questions is ‘what are you learning?’ At 80 he still leads trips across the country learning about clean water in St. Pete, FL and the Native American experience in Sioux Falls, SD, etc. Letting the learning lead has been a constant theme for me and it has led to so many unique experiences, roles, and relationships Today Dick spends lots of time volunteering for Hospice. He shared all of the things that he is learning and processing. A big part of his work is just being totally present with the other person. His newest Hospice patient is 101 years old! There is something spiritual and profound in being with people as they pass from this world. So maybe the biggest lesson I’ve taken is that the journey never ends… I wish you all many mentors in life, and may you be one yourself to other! #mentorship #life #leadership

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Ivan Cestero

education innovator | cross-sector collaborator | holistic learning designer | startup junkie | aspiring optimist

2mo

Ben Kornell thanks for sharing this great story. The transformational value of Mentors is well understood, AND YET it's very difficult to scale systematically. This is our vision at Portal, but there are hurdles on both pro and student sides, even with online only meetings. Do you think AI mentors can help gill the gap? Or will they ironically make it harder to build interest and infrastructure for the real human exchange, as lazy humans fall back on "good enough" AI imitators, and we all end up in a real life version of HER?

Joseph Bielecki

Product Leader; Health & Wellness Tech; Learning & Development; Startups to Scale-ups

2mo

I love everything about this. Thanks Ben Kornell for sharing! Mentor/Mentee relationships are among the highest impact opportunities for personal growth (and building a sense of gratitude). I've been fortunate to have a number of informal or occasional mentors in my career, and this post is certainly inspiration to reengage those relationships.

Daniel Rueda Posada

IT Executive | Digital Transformation | Applications Development | Enterprise Systems | Project Leadership | Scrum Certified | BI/AI | Salesforce | ServiceNow | Workday | NetSuite | Marketo

2mo

Great insights! Thanks for sharing!

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Daniel Stedman

Founder of Pressto | K-12 Writing Instruction and applied AI in Education | Co-Founder of Northside Media and Brooklyn Magazine (acquired).

2mo

Love this story. I reckon he has learned a lot from you, as well!

Jeremy Forbes

Global Human Resource Leader | Transformation | Innovative Leadership

2mo

Dick Fontaine was an excellent selection. Everyone needs a Yoda.

Aditya Advani

Live Free & Fly w Gen AI

2mo

Wholesome shoutout, thanks for sharing. Having a mentor seems so balanced and healthy. Would love to have such an opportunity.

Bob Perraud

Senior Healthcare Leader, Operations and Strategies

2mo

Dick is that human being!

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Adam Buchbinder

VP of Sales and Marketing US K-12 @ Boclips

2mo

This is fantastic, Ben! Thank you

Heather Barry MBA RN

Regional Vice President at Wellpath

2mo

Dick is a wonderful human being Made my day to see him again !

Andrea Donnor, ICF-ACC, MBA

Executive Coach | Keynote Speaker I Strategy | Operations I School Board Vice Chair

2mo

Dick! He mentored me too! He’s amazing.

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