While watching one of my favorite shows on TV, I was amused at the lessons that Top Chef has taught me. (You never know where inspiration or a key success strategy will come from.) The ‘key’ is being open to receive at all times.
So I decided to share a few tips for business that I have had solidified and redefined from this culinary showcase, Top Chef. Each of the following are growth strategies that I encourage you to have a taste of. Of course you may just decide to ‘pack your knives and go’ and I hope you’ll play along.
Go Big or Go Back to Bed
Many clients and friends alike have heard me say this same expression a time or two. However, I am not sure I can take total creative credit for it. Season after season of Top Chef I have watched the culinary genius of many talented men and women. The one consistent theme from chef to chef, season to season is the tenacity and push to not play it safe.
In business to reach that level of success you desire it’ll pay to have that same tenacious outlook. If inspiration is not something you can pull from within when you get up in the morning, then head back to bed to get a new perspective. Continually pressing through and playing it safe will land you in the bottom and you will be eliminated.
Just because it looks good…doesn’t mean it’ll make people happy
Now this is a place I have gotten stuck a few times myself as I was working my own growth strategy. Putting things together for the sake of ‘looking good’ and not to please and inspire those I wish to serve. Very dangerous territory.
What often gets us in that place and I see it from the chefs as well is, Gold Star blackout. When we place a big gold star as our aim and focus, we often lose site of the little things along the way. We may paint a great picture, organize a spectacular home or create a beautiful dish, and that does not guarantee a happy client.
It is imperative to consider all elements of the business process when working with your clients. Only when they say “Yes!”, do we truly know we have hit the mark.
The little things DO matter
They say “the devil is in the details” and I do believe there is an element of great truth to that in both business and cooking. Week after week on Top Chef I watch people landing into the bottom because they skipped a step, a basic step at that.
In cooking the seasoning can make or break a great dish. Even the slightest amount of salt can take a dish out of the top spot. In our business, we can over do it with seasoning in just the same manner. In our networking we have a short opportunity to make an impression. When we over ‘salt’ our smile, our greeting or our elevator pitch we just might ruin the experience for the person on the other end.
In this often over looked area of business, I have seen a lot of networking superstars and a lot of salty dogs. If you don’t know how your approach is working, I would invite you to get a mentor and tag team at your next Chamber of Commerce or Biznik event. Remember, it’s better to be under seasoned than over cooked in a room peers and potential clients.
It’s not about finishing first, it’s finishing well
The one area where I see teams and chefs alike get into hot water is the impulse to be the first to the finish line. More often than not, when a chef pushes a dish to the front of the house in order to beat the clock and get the win, there is something that is missed in the process. Even one missed step can have the power to take you out of competition.
For the business team, a missed step in communicating an organizational change effectively to push something out can cause casualties. My experience with leaders tells me that we want to keep our team in our sights before the finish line. The leaders that execute that well will have a greater victory in the end. Now I can hear the collective gasp, and I would offer that you check in with that reaction. You might just find a few casualties that were left on the sideline as you launched an initiative too quickly.
I wonder, would you rather be known as the finisher of excellence or first?
Tammy, you are speaking to me! I am soooo stuck on blogging and it’s because I’m focused on what people will think instead of on who I am and what I have to say. I’m reading Judy Dunn’s “How to Show up Online” and she so stresses authenticity, so this is timely, to say the least. Back to the drawing board.
Thank you Maggie, I am glad it was helpful.
It’s funny to me how we can get locked on to giving sanction to people, even when we don’t know who ‘they’ are. Remember, we worked on your mindmap of topics/titles with over 50 to choose from, you’re half way there. Let the rest flow from your heart. Happy writing!
Oh and…if I can pull a post from my favorite TV show, you can pull one from your beautiful garden.