Cooking Up Success

If you’ve read The Compound Effect, you know I’m a big fan of the Tortoise and the Hare fable.
Why?
Because the story is a great example of how a success principle, when applied consistently, can lead to real success.

I recently heard a fun adaptation of the story that I think you will enjoy as much as I did.

It goes like this…

The Tortoise and Hare, both known for their culinary expertise, were invited to battle it out in Iron Chef Stadium.

The race began…

Early in the competition, it was clear the Hare was significantly ahead of the Tortoise. (Are we not surprised?) The audience was amazed at the speed with which the Hare mixed ingredients and poured them into baking dishes, tossing the mixing bowls aside to move on to the next step.

The Tortoise was making progress but was, seemingly, well behind. It wasn’t that he was going slower than the Hare, but rather that he took the time to carefully clean each bowl, pan, and utensil and return them to their proper place after use. The audience agonized over his routine.

It wasn’t looking good for the Tortoise…

Then, about halfway through the competition, things began to change. The Hare wanted to make one of his secret sauces, which required mixing raw eggs with Tabasco sauce. However, he could not find a clean mixing bowl. He looked around until he finally found a dirty one that had been kicked under the counter. He tried to quickly clean it with a paper towel, but the previous ingredients had already hardened.

The Hare spent a few minutes chipping away at the hardened mixture in the bowl, finally leaving it to soak in the sink. He looked for another bowl. When he found one that appeared easy to clean, he took it back to the sink to rinse it out. However, he couldn’t get it under the faucet because the other bowl was in the way. He removed the soaking bowl from the sink, spilling soapy water on the floor in the process.

Once he had a clean bowl to work with, the Hare mixed the two ingredients together and then headed over to the stove to pour them into a sauce pan. However, all the sauce pans were dirty. He grabbed the least dirty pan and headed back to the sink to clean it. On the way, he slipped on the water that had been spilled …. and went crashing to the floor.

All this time, the Tortoise had continued to work as before, cleaning each item after use and putting it back where it belonged. He finished the competition on time with a culinary masterpiece—and a clean working area.

The Hare, on the other hand, had spent the last half of the competition trying to chip hardened food off bowls and pans. He had to work extremely fast to even complete his meal, skipping several things he had planned because he ran out of time.

The Tortoise wins again (didn’t see that coming, did you?

The moral of the story is this…
If you want to go faster, slow down.
Some of the things that seem to slow you down are the very things that let you work faster in the long run.

When you find yourself under a deadline, remember that doing one thing at a time and staying organized as you go takes less time. Keep yourself focused on a single task at a time. Spend time organizing your workspace, your key contacts, and your calendar. It might feel like a waste of time in the beginning, but when you get busy these are the very things that will let you operate at peak efficiency.

What do you slow down and do so you can increase the speed of your efficiency and output? Share your thoughts in the comments below.