We live in a world which is information-rich and wisdom-poor, I've heard it said. It seems obvious, once someone else puts it in words. We can somehow
feel that this is true. I've also recently been reminded that there is a pattern: results are based on habits, which are based on actions, which are based thinking, which is based on information. In short, when you want different results, you need to change the information. That's true, but you also have to participate in the rest of the chain in order to see the process provide the fruits you're looking for.
I've been learning, over the last several months, a concept I already knew but hadn't applied to my life as a new business owner, which is, "find someone who has what you want, find out what they did, and do that, and you can have results like theirs." It makes sense, right? It isn't as easy as these few words make out.
An illustration:
- My mom makes the best pesto. I've raved over it for years, and she makes it for me when we visit because she knows that it makes me happy.
- I wanted to "wow" the other couples at our Friday night Bible Study with my culinary skills. I was bringing a salad with my Aunt's garlic-lemon dressing, and wanted to use the "under promise and over deliver" concept and also bring pesto.
- I texted my mom to ask for the recipe.
Mom responded with a set of directions which were a bit vague, but made enough sense that I bought ingredients and made a start. I'd learned to make the garlic-lemon dressing this way, so I knew I could make this work. As I alternated between adding things to my food processor and squinting at the tiny characters on my phone, I realized that my result didn't quite match my expectation. I had the information and was trying to apply it. My wife suggested that I consult this publicly searchable global database that I have at my command for better directions. Why didn't I? Because I knew I had the right information from the right source. I just needed to adjust how I was applying it in order to get the results I desired. I knew I needed to take the information and change both my thinking and my actions. That's exactly what I did, and now that I've gotten the results I want this first time, I know, based on my experience with the salad dressing, that next time I will be able to do this much more quickly, without as much mess in the kitchen, and that my result will eventually be exactly what I want without need for any stumbling. I'll have created a habit which will always lead to those results.
The other couples at Bible Study made the appropriate sounds of appreciation, which are nice to hear. What proved the thing, though, is when they went back for more. This was the end result of success I'd been looking for. Not only was it good, it was good enough for a second helping.
Next time, I'll bring French Silk Pie. THAT one I've got dialed in like you can't even imagine.
I asked my mother, about 20 years ago, to show me how she made biscuits. I knew, from years of observation, that her results varied from mediocre to incredible. That's probably because she learned with no measuring devices and a wood stove. She showed me as follows:
ReplyDelete1. Fill a bowl with self-rising flour. How big a bowl? Depends on how many biscuits you want. How full? Just the right amount.
2. Hollow out the center of the flour and pour it full of buttermilk. How much buttermilk in how big a hollow? Until it looks right.
3. Grab a big handful of lard and work it into the buttermilk until you pull in the flour. Don't work it too long or the biscuits will be" tough". A big handful??
4. Roll out the dough on a floured surface. I did not ask how thin.
5. Bake in a hot oven until done. How hot? How long? I think you are getting the picture by now.
Moral: Don't mess up art with too much precision.