My grandmother made the
best fried chicken.
It was perfectly seasoned, crispy— but not overdone—and when she made it, you couldn’t resist no matter your health goals! The recipe was coveted by my mother and aunt; however, they could never seem to manage the perfection my grandmother did. They tried and tried again- NEVER able to get it JUST right.
Many years later, in college, my cousin and I asked my grandmother to have a cooking class with us to show us how to make her fried chicken so we could document her recipes- we knew this lasting legend southern cook would not be able to grace us forever. During the course of this, we learned that she left out one ingredient that wasn’t in the recipe she gave to her daughter-in-laws.
It was
THE final touch. It’s what made her fried chicken
PERFECT.
She
purposefully left out that one last touch for her daughter-in-laws— which made all the difference.
Why do we think?
- So no one could compete with her?
- So everyone would still come to her house because it was the best?
- Because she wanted her sons to love her cooking more than their wives?
Who knows.
But when it came time to teach her granddaughters— there was no holding back. No secrets.
Why do I share this story with you?
It reminds me of work.
When we are younger in our careers— we want everyone to think we know what
we are doing— even when we don’t. When we are younger— we often
compete for the next step. In business— we want to
protect our intellectual property.
When we have been around a while & we are more accomplished— we want
others to learn. We want to see
others prosper. Maybe its because we now have
confidence or its still all about us and we just simply want to see
our legacy
live on.
My mother tells this fried chicken story a lot. And, as she does a lot of things, she finds the humor in it. All those years trying to get it right. All those years my grandmother would just smirk at her attempts to do so. Listening and watching, knowing that it wasn’t how long she fried it or how long it soaked in milk beforehand. Just smiled. Never telling her why. Walking away while her daughter-in-laws scratched their heads, confused.
Today, at work, if you see someone struggling- or trying to figure something out- don’t just smirk & smile. Offer a helpful tip or show them how to do something to make it easier. We all have our tricks of the trade- and teamwork is about working
for the team. Not one’s self. And next time- it could be you trying to figure something out.
I loved my sweet grandmother- and while this story has been quite funny around our dinner table from time to time- it’s not one that I would recommend at work.
Don’t be afraid to work yourself out of a job. That’s the only way you will be truly ready for the
next one.
