What We're Reading Now

Three Lessons for Leaders from the Kitchen

16 October 2011

Rachel added to her cookbook shelf with three recent releases. In between the recipes from Ferran Adria, Michael Ruhlman and Todd English, she noticed some trends from restaurant kitchens that go way beyond food. (I guess you can nourish mind and body at the same time after all.)

Tags: cooking, culture, leadership, management and supervision, rachel read, recent release

It's one of my favorite times of year. Fall is here, football is in full swing, school is in session for learners of all ages. And a bumper crop of new cookbooks is on bookstore shelves in preparation for the holiday giving season. I added several titles to my wish list, but my cookbook shelf was aching to make room for a few right away. After much deliberation,  The Family Meal: Home Cooking with Ferran Adria, Ruhlman's Twenty by Michael Ruhlman and Cooking in Everyday English: The ABCs of Great Flavor at Home by Todd English were added to my kitchen library.

Usually I do my cookbook reading with no ulterior motive—the promise of good food is reason enough for me—but a few lessons were illustrated so powerfully that I couldn't help but think about their application outside the kitchen, too. So, without further ado, three leadership lessons from these master chefs.

One. Adria's isn't the first cookbook to celebrate the traditional restaurant family meal, but his is perhaps the best glimpse I've seen into the practice. Each night before service at restaurants the world over, the team working that night sits down to share a meal. It's an all-hands-on-deck affair that's both practical (restaurant service is hard work, and you'd be hard pressed to work the line or bus the tables without a decent meal) and personal (it's hard to share food around communal tables without at least a little bonding). For at least 30 minutes every night, the team is together. Connected. On the same page. How does your team connect?

Two. Adria and Ruhlman's are both sophisticated cookbooks, but flip the pages of either and you'll find step-by-step photographs illustrating every step of every recipe. If you ask me, it's about time. Kid's cookbooks have benefitted from pictures for decades, but it's a practice that's pretty rare among chef's books. But when it comes to really teaching—to describing what to expect and what to look for and what to do—a picture works wonders. So often, I find that cookbook authors and leaders alike worry that they'll sound too controlling if they take their time to set the clearest possible expectations, but every time I talk with someone who's less comfortable in the kitchen, there's little that's more reassuring than clear, step-by-step directions. Where might you want to paint a clearer picture of your expectations (photos optional)?

Three. Ruhlman and English are among a growing group of chefs and cookbook authors who are writing at length about none other than salt. (Believe it or not, it's perhaps the most important and significant ingredient in your kitchen.) Once used as currency, salt is necessary for good health (in reasonable doses) and both heightens and blends flavors. It's the fundamental additive for bringing things together. At Allison Partners, we believe in another 'magic ingredient' that's often overlooked to keep everything running smoothly—the 15-minute meeting—but I've also seen other organizations with their own keys to bringing out the best in people. What's yours?

That's it for the leadership lessons. (Oh, yeah . . . the food looks pretty good, too. Time to spend some time cooking!)

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