By David Brewster September 2005
Cooking didn’t come naturally to me. My first attempts in the kitchen were more Dr. Frankenstein than Jamie Oliver. Curdled custards, clumpy couscous and charcoaled casseroles were standard fare. These days I’m pleased to report things have improved. And it was one of simplicity’s key ingredients which turned things around.
Back in those early days, my girlfriend used to laugh at the way I would approach each meal with the precision of a chemist. If a recipe called for organic Arborio rice from the west side of Lake Como, I would travel to the other side of the city to get it. Or I’d find another recipe. Certainly not use another Arborio.
Later, that same girlfriend – by then my wife (the food can’t have been too bad) – bought me a cookbook by English writer Delia Smith. The book was generously seasoned with pictures and included a healthy ration of reassuring statements like “if it looks lumpy at this stage, don’t worry”.
With the virtual hand of Delia held firmly in mine, I was led through the joys of breads and scones, pastries and puddings, risottos and ratatouilles.
Over time, I graduated from these step-by-step, painfully explicit instructions to recipe books without pictures. I even started using recipes that called for a ‘dollop’ of this and a ‘handful’ of that.
These days I substitute ingredients with the reckless abandon of a ten-year old while my ten year old approaches her first cooking efforts with my old chemist-like precision. These days my recipes nearly always work because they know I expect them too. Rise, soufflé, or be damned!
I credit much of this transition to that wonderful book. What that book had which others lacked at the time was an understanding that a beginner cook needs step-by-step clarity – not just a picture of the finished product.
I have written often in previous articles of the important relationship between clarity and simplicity. My point here is that efforts to achieve clarity need to be pitched at a level appropriate to the person and the circumstances.
When someone joins your business, or your part of it, you could show them the best vision statement in the world but it wouldn’t help them do their job. What they need is the clarity which comes from being led through ‘what goes on’ by someone who already does the job. Someone who can offer the small insights that Delia’s reassuring words provided me.
Later, when they’ve settled in, you might be able to encourage them to look further forward. You’ve a much better chance of inspiring them with your grand vision when you they can make the link between what they currently do already and where they might be going next.
Unfortunately Delia never wrote a book on management, so you’ll have to work out your particular recipe for yourself.
©September 2005 Business Simplification