A Cook Or A Chef

I asked a friend, who is a cook, what the difference between a  cook and a chef was. Her answer was interesting. One of the differences she cited was ‘a chef has to be able to command a brigade of cooks & others’.

I googled it and the answer and it wasn’t particularly helpful but one of the requirements did refer to ‘managing others’.

I thought that was directly analogous to a business leader. It isnt necessarily our technical ability to do the stuff that will get us ahead but our ability to manage , lead and collaborate with others that will.

I well remember a previous chairman of mine who was incensed on leaving an internationally famous restaurant when he met the celebrity chef in the car park. He had very much enjoyed his meal and had assumed that the celebrity had personally cooked his meal.

Jack Welch reminds us that before he was a manager it was all about what he could do but when he became a manager it was all about what he could help his team do.

I would argue that this ‘celebrity chef’ had excelled. He had created a system and a customer experience that worked,  and worked well, without him having to man the frying pan.

Perhaps he might have chosen to park his car elsewhere.

Are you a cook or a chef?

Can your business work without you or do you have to be driving the frying pan 247?

So the questions for this week are;

• To what extent can my business operate without me?
• What systems / processes do I not delegate to my team?
• Why? What makes me think I am the only person who can do this?
• If you can’t take your own wife out for dinner because the business depends on you do you actually have a business or is it just a job?
• Where are you going to learn to do something about it?

If you need any help, reach out

Many successful business owners eventually hit a wall on growth and struggle to climb it alone. When you work with me you get a fresh perspective, a solid plan, and customised coaching so you can grow and scale your business safely and at speed.

To check whether I can help you on that journey https://calendly.com/iankinnery/canweworktogether