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The New Restaurant Manager: How to get ahead, avoid rookie mistakes, and still have a life
The New Restaurant Manager is for new managers who want to avoid the mistakes that most beginning managers make. This refreshing how-to guide is written in a practical, down to earth style, like having coffee with your mentor. •Guides you through situations and traps that could hurt your career •Recognize career killers and how to avoid them•Learn how you really get promoted •Helps you work smarter, not harder•Learn what to do when it is not going wellThis book takes you through the most common situations, scenarios, and events that you are likely to experience as a new manager. Now rookie managers like yourself can avoid common mistakes and accelerate your career. This book is the result of years of personal experience in restaurant management, teaching restaurant management, observing new restaurant managers, and gathering solid expertise from all levels of restaurant management. The personal experiences that the author had, both good and bad, and the experiences that he has observed have proven to be the same experiences that every single new restaurant manager goes through. This is a career, self-improvement book that will accelerate the learning curve of new managers and prevent bad decisions and questionable career moves that can derail or delay promising careers. This is written in a practical, down to earth writing style to help new restaurant managers begin their career journeys.
213 pages, Kindle Edition
Published January 20, 2021
About the author
John Self
3 books2 followersJohn Self has 16 years restaurant management experience ranging from manager trainee to vice president of operations, including owning three restaurants and a comedy club.
After his restaurant career, he went back to school, earned a PhD and taught hospitality management at the University of Alabama, Golden Gate University, and Cal Poly Pomona. He was a Fulbright Scholar in Helsinki, Finland where he taught hospitality management and taught hospitality management twice in universities in China.
INVITED INTERNATIONAL KEYNOTE PRESENTATIONS:
•"Why restaurants fail," at GastroPRO, The Future of Hospitality, in March 2014 in Helsinki, Finland. GastroPRO is the educational arm of Gastro Helsinki, the foodservice conference for Nordic and Scandinavian countries.
•"Becoming a better restaurant manager," Tallinn, Estonia for restaurant managers, December 2014.
John was a guest on KPCC Southern California Public Radio on restaurants and the economic recovery and was one of the featured consultants in the Los Angeles Times series Small Business Makeover.
John has many academic presentations and has published his research on turnover and restaurant failure in such journals as the Cornell Hospitality Quarterly, International Journal of Hospitality & Tourism Administration, Journal of Hospitality and Tourism Education, and the Journal of Foodservice Business Research.
TMI author bio
In his spare time, John loves international travel, reading post-apocalyptic and science fiction, is a private pilot with instrument rating, flying radio control airplanes, and ham radio (K6VFR).
Likes: Cold pork and beans, cold apple pie, comedy, trivia, humor, bad jokes, pets, college football, and Morgan automobiles.
Dislikes: the color yellow, restaurants that pick up dirty plates but not the dirty silverware, and really dislikes that Pluto is not a planet anymore.
John lives in Santa Fe, New Mexico with his wife, Deb and cat, Chili.
After his restaurant career, he went back to school, earned a PhD and taught hospitality management at the University of Alabama, Golden Gate University, and Cal Poly Pomona. He was a Fulbright Scholar in Helsinki, Finland where he taught hospitality management and taught hospitality management twice in universities in China.
INVITED INTERNATIONAL KEYNOTE PRESENTATIONS:
•"Why restaurants fail," at GastroPRO, The Future of Hospitality, in March 2014 in Helsinki, Finland. GastroPRO is the educational arm of Gastro Helsinki, the foodservice conference for Nordic and Scandinavian countries.
•"Becoming a better restaurant manager," Tallinn, Estonia for restaurant managers, December 2014.
John was a guest on KPCC Southern California Public Radio on restaurants and the economic recovery and was one of the featured consultants in the Los Angeles Times series Small Business Makeover.
John has many academic presentations and has published his research on turnover and restaurant failure in such journals as the Cornell Hospitality Quarterly, International Journal of Hospitality & Tourism Administration, Journal of Hospitality and Tourism Education, and the Journal of Foodservice Business Research.
TMI author bio
In his spare time, John loves international travel, reading post-apocalyptic and science fiction, is a private pilot with instrument rating, flying radio control airplanes, and ham radio (K6VFR).
Likes: Cold pork and beans, cold apple pie, comedy, trivia, humor, bad jokes, pets, college football, and Morgan automobiles.
Dislikes: the color yellow, restaurants that pick up dirty plates but not the dirty silverware, and really dislikes that Pluto is not a planet anymore.
John lives in Santa Fe, New Mexico with his wife, Deb and cat, Chili.
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Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews
October 31, 2023
Firstly, this book could really have used someone looking over it before it went to print. There are many punctuation errors, grammar errors, etc. … there’s even a sentence that is cut off in the middle by the author starting another sentence. I get that mistakes happen, but this is way too many to write off as simple “they just happened to miss it”. I don’t know if Self thought the book didn’t need an editor/beta reader or if he just had the worst one of all time, but it makes the book difficult to read and it makes me not trust the information in the book since he can’t even be bothered to fix simple mistakes.
Moving on… there’s not really any structure to this book. It reads more like a list of facts Self thought people should know, with no rhyme or reason as to why certain things are grouped together. I purchased this book expecting it would help teach me before my new position as assistant manager, but I just ended up far more confused than before.
It’s also somewhat misogynistic with Self constantly referring to managers with exclusively male pronouns, and anyone in a serving role with female pronouns. I get that Self probably grew up in a different time, but it’s really not that difficult to replace them with gender-neutral pronouns so we can all feel included. It’s to the point where I can tell Self or anyone who thought this was an excellent book would probably write me off as being some ridiculous leftist obsessed with pronouns rather than someone who sees the underlying problem of only referring to serving roles as female and anything with any authority as male, because his outdated views definitely come through in the writing.
All of that being said, there were a few helpful tips I gleaned from the book, and it’s not *totally* unsalvageable… but I wish I had known this was the route Self was going before I had spent any money on it. I don’t know if having a PhD makes you believe you can do anything, including write a book with (seemingly) no one going over it beforehand, but it’s not a good look, and Self has lost a lot of credibility with me about this field, no matter how many years of experience he’s had in it.
Moving on… there’s not really any structure to this book. It reads more like a list of facts Self thought people should know, with no rhyme or reason as to why certain things are grouped together. I purchased this book expecting it would help teach me before my new position as assistant manager, but I just ended up far more confused than before.
It’s also somewhat misogynistic with Self constantly referring to managers with exclusively male pronouns, and anyone in a serving role with female pronouns. I get that Self probably grew up in a different time, but it’s really not that difficult to replace them with gender-neutral pronouns so we can all feel included. It’s to the point where I can tell Self or anyone who thought this was an excellent book would probably write me off as being some ridiculous leftist obsessed with pronouns rather than someone who sees the underlying problem of only referring to serving roles as female and anything with any authority as male, because his outdated views definitely come through in the writing.
All of that being said, there were a few helpful tips I gleaned from the book, and it’s not *totally* unsalvageable… but I wish I had known this was the route Self was going before I had spent any money on it. I don’t know if having a PhD makes you believe you can do anything, including write a book with (seemingly) no one going over it beforehand, but it’s not a good look, and Self has lost a lot of credibility with me about this field, no matter how many years of experience he’s had in it.
February 24, 2026
The New Restaurant Manager: How to Get Ahead, Avoid Rookie Mistakes, and Still Have a Life by John Self is a practical and highly actionable guide for new managers navigating the fast-paced world of restaurant management. Drawing on years of personal experience, observation, and teaching, Self provides readers with insights into common pitfalls, career accelerators, and strategies to work smarter while maintaining balance.
What makes this book particularly valuable is its approachable, mentor-like tone. Self walks readers through real-life scenarios, career traps, and decision-making challenges, giving them the tools to avoid mistakes that can derail a promising career. The emphasis on practical advice, problem-solving, and proactive management ensures that new managers can confidently navigate the complexities of their role.
The New Restaurant Manager is both instructive and empowering. By combining personal experience with structured guidance, the book equips aspiring restaurant managers with the knowledge, confidence, and strategies needed to succeed and grow in their careers while maintaining a healthy work-life balance. It is a valuable contribution to the fields of hospitality management, leadership development, and career coaching.
What makes this book particularly valuable is its approachable, mentor-like tone. Self walks readers through real-life scenarios, career traps, and decision-making challenges, giving them the tools to avoid mistakes that can derail a promising career. The emphasis on practical advice, problem-solving, and proactive management ensures that new managers can confidently navigate the complexities of their role.
The New Restaurant Manager is both instructive and empowering. By combining personal experience with structured guidance, the book equips aspiring restaurant managers with the knowledge, confidence, and strategies needed to succeed and grow in their careers while maintaining a healthy work-life balance. It is a valuable contribution to the fields of hospitality management, leadership development, and career coaching.
April 20, 2026
The New Restaurant Manager: How to get ahead, avoid rookie mistakes, and still have a life is a practical and highly relevant guide for anyone stepping into restaurant management or looking to refine their leadership in the hospitality industry. John Self presents the material in a clear, structured, and experience driven manner, making it easy for readers to translate advice into real-world action.
What stands out in this book is its strong focus on both performance and balance. It doesn’t only address operational excellence and avoiding common beginner mistakes, but also emphasizes maintaining a healthy personal life in a demanding industry. This dual focus makes the book especially valuable for new and aspiring managers who want to succeed without burning out.
The writing is straightforward and grounded in real industry expectations, which gives it a practical edge. Overall, it serves as a useful handbook for building confidence, improving decision-making, and developing a sustainable approach to restaurant management.
What stands out in this book is its strong focus on both performance and balance. It doesn’t only address operational excellence and avoiding common beginner mistakes, but also emphasizes maintaining a healthy personal life in a demanding industry. This dual focus makes the book especially valuable for new and aspiring managers who want to succeed without burning out.
The writing is straightforward and grounded in real industry expectations, which gives it a practical edge. Overall, it serves as a useful handbook for building confidence, improving decision-making, and developing a sustainable approach to restaurant management.
Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews