Debbie,
Bec and I went out to eat with my brother Brian and his son Aaron this past
weekend at a place none of had eaten at.
It was a local bar and grill that we had heard good things about, but
never went to. I ordered one of the
specials off the blackboard, a jumbo eggplant parmesan hero. As we sat waiting for the food, the table
next to us received their order, a couple of oversized cheese steaks and a very
tall hamburger. Like a bunch of cartoon
characters, we all did a group double-take and laughed at their portions, while
they sat there in shock. Then, our food
arrived and we were now the ones in shock and they were laughing at us. My “jumbo” sandwich was enough to feed a
family of four. In my head, this was
not “Man versus Food”, but “Wayne versus Food.”
Have
you ever bit off more than you can chew?
I do not necessarily mean directly to a gluttonous portion of food
sitting on the table, but either taken on a task that was too large or taken on
too many different tasks at the same time.
Like the dinner before, it looks tasty, smells good and makes you feel
like you are up for the challenge. I
have worked with people, interviewed potential candidates and scoped out
projects, where the person in front of me is excited about the opportunity
before them. In the case of an
interview, you can see what they have done in the past and compare it to what
you expect them to be able to do to evaluate if they can handle the job. Yes, in some cases, you can spend the time to
train them; while in some cases you do need the expertise and want them to hit
the ground running. There are cases
where the person wants to prove him or herself.
As leaders / managers, we need to make sure that not only the projects
succeed, but that the each person involved succeeds as well. Stretching one’s ability is important, when
there is success, it brings with it the confidence and the desire to tackle
newer, bigger solutions.
Look,
sometimes, our eyes are bigger than our stomachs. Sometimes, we find that need a balance by taking
on those challenges. Sometimes, we fail,
which is OK, provided that we learn something from the experience and learn how
to tackle the situation better the next time.
Sometimes, we succeed beyond our own expectation.
My
brother ordered the cheese steak. He cut
off a section, about a quarter of the sandwich, and slowly ate that. He knew up front that he was going to take
this home and enjoy it a few more times.
In my mind, there was no way this meal was going to get the better of
me. The hero and I had a staring contest, similar to two pugilists in the ring
before a fight. The bell sounded (in my
head) and I opened with a jab. Like a
cartoon brawl, everyone at the table tried to see how the battle was raging and
when the cloud dispersed, Wayne was victorious!
My brother was in shock, my nephew was laughing at me and Debbie and Bec
knew what they were in for later. Yes, I
had done this “brave” thing before and overeaten, so a night of complain,
unremitted moaning and bad sleep due to uncomfortable “bloating” was
ahead. I smiled, for the moment. I had climbed the food version of Mount
Everest, then “rolled” out of the building.
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