Friday at last, and with it some food-related thinking. There’s a new study out from the Harris folks which, in their words says that
Amateur chef shows abound and huge numbers watch, thinking – “Wow that looks easy. I could probably do that as well.” But how many Americans actually watch these programs? And just who are there favorite TV chefs?
I think the results give us a business thought as well. But then again, don’t I always find those thoughts in weird places?
What spurred the thought is who the top chefs are – Rachael Ray, Paula Deen, and Emeril. What I think they all have in common is accessibility (we can debate the culinary skills of the first two later). They’re real people and, in Emeril’s words, let you see that cooking isn’t brain surgery. “We’re just cooking here.” If you’re getting those thoughts from Iron Chef or Top Chef, you’re nuts – the techniques used on those shows are very advanced and the food isn’t simple. But the top three are very human, as is their food.
So what’s the business lesson? Often we try to hide the fact that what we do (most of us anyway) is, from a technique perspective, relatively simple. What’s hard is execution, creativity, and the ability to make what we have been given to work with better than one might expect it to be. My clients don’t pay me to be an Excel expert (thank goodness). I’m hired, and you probably are too, for my insight into their situation. In cooking terms, I’m hired because I can look at the available ingredients and, using relatively basic techniques, turn out something that’s way better than they could have on their own. I might use seasonings they ignored or suggest adding something from the pantry which they’d forgotten was available. But it’s not brain surgery. Watch Rachael or Paula or even Emeril and you’ll get that right away.
As business people we can’t get caught up in the “how”. From a business perspective, you or I might have Top Chef level skills but 90+ percent of the time it’s the basic stuff, plus creativity, experience, and execution, that gets the job done. That’s why I think those cooks are the top three and that’s why America watches them – they’re real, their food is believable, and they make the job fun. Brain surgery is too scary!
Who are you watching this weekend and what are you cooking?
Consult Keith 