Page 16 - FEB 2021 Digial Edition

bbq lessons
Lessons from
Vegetabee
Soup
few lessons from the everyday, vegetable soup.
Variety of Ingredients
A great vegetable soup is going to have a variety of ingredi- ents. Perhaps, back in the day, this was just a hearty way to use what was harvested from the garden. Something differ- ent than the normal use of vegetables and yet, something amazing. I love thinking about the origins of food and why people did what they’ve done with what they had. Many of our great recipes were simply born out of what was in the cupboard, the field or simply because it was all they had. Regardless, vegetable soup is one of those dishes made with a variety of ingredients. Each vegetable and seasoning bringing to the bowl its own uniqueness. You choose each for what it has to offer the overall dish.
The individuals we hire are much like this. Each come to the office, different than the others, yet they bring a set of skills, personality and ideas to make it a better place. In many cases, a company will hire someone to fill a gap, never really investing in the person to see if it is a right fit for both parties. They need a warm body, and this is as far as it goes. If the person leaves, then they will be replaced with another. I read a line which has stuck with me through the years but cannot remember the author. It simply read, “Companies made a mistake when they changed from ‘The Personnel Department’ to ‘Human Resources.’ They went from looking at the person to looking at people as just an- other resource.” Like ingredients in a vegetable soup, peo- ple bring their own uniqueness to the business.
Blending of Flavors
Corn, broccoli, carrots, potatoes, and much more go into a great bowl of vegetable soup. Then you must add your stock after you’ve chosen which one to use. Let’s put in some water, then some spices and seasonings just to take it to another level. As we mentioned above, each ingredient is unique, but when they come together, they begin to mari- nade. The flavors from each of ingredients start to blend together, creating a delicious new flavor. Although you can
Vic Clevenger
Chimney Cartel
victor0568@gmail.com
It’s that time of year and no I am not referring to the holi- days. It’s soup and chili time of the year. As temperatures begin to drop our craving for a bowl of warm soup (and hot chocolate) goes up. There is nothing like curling up on the couch wrapped up in a blanket sipping a bowl of vegetable soup while the cold envelopes the outside. There is some- thing comforting about this and for many, it just takes you back home to a time once forgotten, until this time of year. Perhaps you are using your mother’s or grandmother’s recipe, thinking of a time you made it with her and smile. Perhaps you are teaching your son or daughter how to make this comfort food from scratch so they will connect with their past while growing the future. Whatever the rea- son, a great bowl of vegetable soup always seems to hit the spot this time of year.
While preparing to make some for my family, I began to think about all it takes to put it together. The more I thought about it, the more lessons for business and life I began to see. I was reminded of some of my favorite au- thors and teachers who looked at the simplest of items to teach the most profound of lessons. We’ve all heard the lightbulb analogy from Thomas Edison (when ask about his failures, he simply said, those aren’t failures, just 2000 ways it didn’t work. “All I need is one way”). So here are a
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