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September 21, 2007
Go ask Alice
I worked at an interactive firm in the late 90s. The company founder was ambitious and intent on growth.
When Web 1.0 finally took root and big-company money started arriving by the truckload, it was time to build a strategic plan. We had lots of ideas and the more we talked about them, the bigger they grew.
After several days' work, the plan was done. It was massive. The equivalent of a 12-page restaurant menu with small type. We'd wow 'em with the breadth of our unlimited abilities.
Of course, that was the problem. It was hard to explain any of it to people inside or outside the company. Lots of blank stares. That's what you get for complexity topped with verbose jargon, and that's largely what you deserve. The result: zero buzz.
The big planning document was a big a waste of time and effort. It was eventually scratched in favor of something simpler. A simple plan should have been the mission from the outset.
That's why people like Alice Waters build strong followings. The creator of the original "California cuisine," Alice always focuses on simplicity: use locally grown fresh food. Keep dishes simple but prepare them with passion.
Her focus is so simple that that it's grown into something of a revolution: the sustainable food revolution.
Alice is now trying to change the American food supply with another simple mission: give schools their own one-acre gardens, have the kids grow food, then cook it. The Edible Schoolyard project is a textbook example of the grassroots at work. If you don't know much about Alice Waters, here's a great primer.
Alice preaches that the mere act of eating something created from passion, from love, can change the life of anyone, especially kids who are fed a daily diet of factory-created food.
Quality can be built from the dedication to simplicity. When it's simple to understand, it's a lot easier to stand behind and evangelize.
Other blogs that reference Go ask Alice:
» Stonehenge Revisited... from Solutions Talk
Today's Notable Quote: Quality can be built from the dedication to simplicity. When it's simple to understand, it's a lot easier to stand behind and evangelize. - Ben McConnell, from the Church of the Customer Blog. Wally Wallington of Flint, [Read More]
Great story on Alice Waters. We used to live in the SF Bay Area, and we had the opportunity to frequent her wonderful restaurant more than once. Fresh ingredients, wonderful service - wow! I love her empowerment of school kids with her "garden and grow" concept. Thanks for sharing it!
My pleasure, Becky. I love food, and I see the restaurant industry as a great microcosm of how to and how not to conduct business.
One of my all-time favorite restaurants is in the Bay area: the Slanted Door. It's in San Francisco.
Same principles of simplicity and locally sourced and fresh food.
It can be a challenge to get in, but highly worth it.
This is a good point about simplicity - however it may also have been that the business plan (referred to) was the wrong format document to share clearly with staff and outsiders. It may also have just been a badly written plan.
Clarity of purpose can be achieved in multilple ways. A detailed business plan may still be needed but that is almost certainly the wrong document format for communications.
