Businesses are Recipes

This was one of those dots-that-have-been-swirling-around-upstairs-finally-connected kind of thoughts that I just came across earlier today as I shared parting words with Nick (taking a few days to kick it with the fam in LA).

As far as I'm concerned, the world of business has no rules. None. Lots executives choose to run their businesses with similar practices, frameworks, and methods, but in this great country there is no mandate, no "set way" of conducting business (ok ok so we all pay taxes, use the same accounting principles, obey the law... we're all on somewhat of a level playing field but you get my drift).

Businesses are recipes. Take... banana bread for example. One person might use 2 bananas. One might use 3. The bananas could be ripe, or still green. Varied amounts of sugar, flour, and other essential ingredients. Also important is the how the bread's made- how many minutes in the oven, at what temperature, and so on. Some banana bread recipes result in fluffy, moist, deliciously baked bread. Some... well... don't.

A business is the same. It's the sum of all of its parts and components- policies, people, products... You can look at ten companies in the same industry, selling the same types of products (sometimes even the same products), and their internal structures, cultures, managers, and P&L statements almost always look very, very different. AND... only one of those ten companies is #1 in their segment.

I think the point is...
- Figure out the recipe you enjoy making
- Keep the recipe easy to understand
- Decide what's going to make your recipe different and worth trying. Once you figure that out - stick with it!
- Better ingredients, better business!

Now if only I had some bananas....