Who doesn’t love a good lasgna? I’m reminded of this great Italian recipe by the previous post – noting that good leadership is not so much the ingredients of a great recipe as it is the actions of a great cook. Anyone who knows their way around a kitchen will remember that every good cook has a different recipe for lasagna. This much sauce, this much ricotta, a stack of fat egg noodles – and each cook adds their own spices, to make their own dish.
And, even new cooks can create masterpieces.
Life has a way of throwing rocks at you, if you stand in one place too long. Having been hit by my own share of rocks, I learned early on that it’s my job to create the recipe of my life, to design my leadership process. It’s okay to be guided by the previous generation’s success; to adapt old routines into new ones. But, it’s not okay to think the franchise model of business works the same for everyone.
I routinely tackle new ideas and concepts with vigor. New is not necessarily better, but it does offer unique perspective and an opportunity to turn ‘old’ on its head. With each “new” thought or innovation, the business landscape becomes cluttered with talk about what’s best, what’s worthwhile, what’s “today”. Same old, same old. Bookstores are replete with stacks of cookbooks, and yet, some people will never create that delicious lasagna no matter how much instruction they get. And some will glance at the recipe, only long enough to memorize the main ingredients.
Which cook are you? Which lasagna are you creating? Who works the hardest in your kitchen?
