…when they don’t communicate. I’ve been thinking about that saying a lot recently. It’s often used as a justification for one person doing all the work. Maybe it’s my project coordinating experience, but I find myself wondering why it has to be that way. Sure, you can have just one cook make the broth, but if you have many cooks at your disposal and you’re obliged to make use of all of them, what then?
When there are too many cooks involved, the broth will get spoiled because:
– too much or too little of an ingredient was added (background/cultural differences)
– the right timing for each process wasn’t followed (bystander effect)
– the cook who typically does pastries now finds themselves at the stovetop (lack of expertise)
– too many people at the same place, at the same time, trying to do the same thing (redundancy)
Asides cooking, I also enjoy dancing and listening to music. In my perspective, the one thing they have in common is that the best results are borne out of effective coordination. There are different elements involved and depending on how they are put together (what, when, where, how & who), it can either end up as a disaster or a masterpiece.
So going back to the kitchen, imagine if the cooks all mentioned what they were doing as they did it? Maybe that would help, but what if the interpretation of how the broth should turn out is not the same across board? One cook might think the recipe needs a tablespoon of salt, while another thinks it needs a cup of salt. Two distinct outcomes and you might end up with the cooks fighting each other.
How about this: before starting the broth, the cooks all come together and decide on the type of broth that will be made. They go over the recipe to make sure they all agree on what should go into the broth and if they have all the ingredients available. Then comes the process. Everyone agrees on what they need to do, where, and at what time. E.g. Cook A chops the vegetables at the counter from the 5th minute, Cook B goes to the stovetop and adds the agreed amount of salt and spices at the 20th minute, while Cook C checks the meat roasting in the oven at the 25th minute. After going over all that, then they start to make the broth and at each step of the way, they carry each other along by communicating what they are doing.
That way, you should end up with a great broth, cooks that aren’t fatigued, and appreciative customers.
differentshadesofbrown 