This week’s Foodie Friday Fun is our annual reflection on Passover. The holiday starts Monday night although in many homes the cooking will begin over the weekend. What – you eat your brisket on the day it’s made? Despite debates over what exactly species of fish is a “gefilte” (it means “filled, by the way), there are no debates that this seems to be the favorite holiday of many Jews as well as of the non-Jews who join in the celebratory dinner.
(Photo credit: Wikipedia)
The thing about Passover that raises a business thought today is that it’s a week of eating that’s out of the ordinary. While the first question in the dinner service is “why is this night different,” it’s the week without leavened foods of any sort that’s the biggest change for many. Some Jews won’t eat anything that swells up – beans, rice, etc. – as well as abstaining from bread and cakes made with leavening agents. It’s a subtile reminder throughout the week that the escape from Egypt, the deliverance of the people, and the lessons learned from those events shouldn’t be forgotten. Which is the business point as well.
What if every business designated a week during which something they did on a daily basis was changed? Maybe they turned of internal email and made face to face conversations happen. Maybe they let everyone work on projects that were important to the people involved rather than things important to the business. Or just maybe they refused to let anyone use the word “can’t” or the phrases “bad idea” or “not do-able”. I’m sure you can think of a few things that your organization could do differently for a time to cause everyone involved to focus on something other than the day-to-day routine.
The Jews spent 40 years wandering around in the desert after they left Egypt. Many businesses spend a lot of time figuratively wandering around as well. Maybe a week of change can provide a better focus and get you to your goals more effectively. Worth a shot?
Consult Keith 