One of my favorite restaurants in the Seattle area is the Golden Goat or as I like to call it IL Capretto D’Oro in Woodinville, Washington. I like the restaurant for a number of reasons, but one of the most important reasons is Jeff Boswell the owner. He is a special guy who is a creative and personal chef. His visits after the meal to your table are very often as memorable as the meal itself.
When I think about what it means to be “excellent” in the workplace, I often relate the idea of excellence to the restaurant business. Many of you know I grew up in the business and after the dot bomb did a stint cooking at a French restaurant. So the subject is close to my heart.
Jeff recently sent out a mail with quotes from a blog (not identified ) that really caught my attention and I thought was fitting to share with you. Fitting because of the way Jeff discusses wine.
Good day,
Before I get started on the subject of this note, I wanted to share with you some snippets from a wine blog I occasionally read. It’s a discussion of tasting wine, directed at the relatively inexperienced wine consumer.
…understanding wine and describing its attributes (and sometimes flaws) is within the grasp of most who appreciate its pleasures. It does, however, require a lot of time, tasting, recording notes and experience.
Wine is a complex beverage, containing hundreds of volatile aroma compounds. Though many have been isolated and correlated to certain flavors, not everyone perceives them in the same way.
With any project, business, endeavor… there are similar problems and challenges. “Wine is a complex beverage, containing hundreds of volatile aroma compounds.…” Almost every project I have ever worked on was just like that.Many small pieces all needing to come together as a vision, a end product, a work item.
I have learned from Lifehacker and many other blogs that in the world of work there are lots of ways to get things done, but there is not one way to get things done. Each approach is based on the perception of the person completing the task.
One person’s licorice may be another person’s tar or smoke. The sooner you realize this, the sooner you begin to trust your own palate and gain confidence in your abilities to assess the components of wines.
I get the sense that I have been guilty of pushing those around me to do things my way. Not because it is the best way to do something, but because I have found some success in doing things a certain way. When working with others it is important that each person has a palate… a palate that if they can be trained; can be trained to make an impact in each project.
It’s crucial to taste, taste, taste. There’s no substitute for tasting wine. You can read about it and listen to others describe it, but you have to taste wine and listen to what it is saying, that is, be open to the aromas and flavors it has to offer. The better the quality or authenticity of the wine, the more it has to say.”
Taste, taste, taste.I have tried a lot of things that help me to organize and execute. You need to try lots of things and keep the things that work. As I read more about wine, the people who make it, and those who drink it I find that wine requires a lot of trial and error. I am no expert. I know what I like and I know what works for me. When you find something that is working write it down. Build habits around it and try and adapt it to your needs.
A historic wine lover who is a great example of this is Thomas Jefferson. As I understand it Jefferson was a student of the wines he drank taking detailed notes and sending his favorites as gifts. I have no doubt that not everyone shared his passion for Bordeaux.
Find processes that work for you then strive for goodness and Ship it.
