[2023-07-22] Saturday Synopsis #53 and recovery day 15
Today was another low-energy day. I spent the morning doing quiet activities while my husband painted the master bedroom and my daughter was out pursuing her own interests. Just before lunch, my son arrived for a visit. We were all together for supper—an easy affair of leftover homemade pizza. I always find it a treat when the four of us can be together for a meal. Had I been more energetic, I might have made a special dessert. Alas, I was not. But those days will come around again.
3 Ideas From Me
I didn't grow up using the mise en place approach, and I didn't learn it that summer in 1982 when I worked as a short-order cook in a restaurant. In fact, I've rarely used the strategy in the more than 40 years I've been cooking and baking. That's because I always believed that the routine of prepping and cooking simultaneously was more efficient than the tactic of prepping and cooking sequentially. After all, professional cooks like Rachel Ray and James Barber followed the prep-as-you-cook approach, and turned out seemingly amazing dishes in 30 minutes. However, I have found that while it may take me less time overall to prepare a meal using this model, it often leaves me feeling more harried and the kitchen in a greater state of disarray than when I use the mise en place technique. Inevitably, something should be going in the pot before I have it ready to throw in.
I took his message to heart, and never again merely signed an appraisal without adding a personal comment to thank employees for their contribution to the organization. In fact, this incident taught me the importance people place on positive feedback from their boss's bosses. For the rest of my career, I made a point of putting personal notes on anything that I knew would make its way to an employee, such as letters of offer. Employees would tell me how much it meant to them to receive a letter of offer with a handwritten note from me saying "I'm thrilled that you will be joining our team" along with a happy face.
In another job, my management team and I met with our branch's cohort of summer students at the beginning of the summer to determine their ambitions and again at the end of the summer to ascertain whether they had achieved those ambitions. The event was a great way for students to express their needs, for managers to take these on board, and for the management team to hear directly from students after several months about what had worked and what had not for the students. It was also an opportunity for the students to meet each other and thereby develop professional and personal relationships with their colleagues.
2 Quotes From Others
Your drudgery is another person's delight. It's only a job if you treat it that way. The privilege to do our work, to be in control of the promises we make and the things we build, is something worth cherishing.
~ Seth Godin
Each month, my kids and I have breakfast with a group of other dads and their kids. As each dad takes their turn going around the table speaking about their kids and what they’re proud of, I watch their kids. They perk up, their eyes wide open in anticipation as their dad shares why he’s proud. Their reactions are priceless, and my kids have the exact same response. The ‘pride exercise’ is the highlight of each breakfast and one of the foundational pieces at each monthly All Pro Dad Chapter Meeting. Every single dad and kid at the breakfasts love it. But part of me wonders, as great as this exercise is, how often do we do this when we are not at an All Pro Dad Chapter meeting? Do we let our kids know that we are proud of them enough? If we only do it once a month, then the answer is no. We may want to, but sometimes the busyness of life works against us and we don’t realize we could encourage our kids more. How great would it be if we did the pride exercise on a regular basis?
~ Jackie Bledsoe
1 Question For You
One definition of legacy is what someone feels, thinks and says when they hear your name. What are you doing today to build the legacy you want?
~ Tim Belber
