Every Time!
Malaysian Flatbread (Roti Canai)[i]
‘Roti Canai, a very popular flatbread in Malaysia, has topped the list of the best breads in the world. The pan-fried bread took the first spot in the Taste Atlas list of the Top 50 Best Breads from around the world [with a score of 4.9/5].’[ii]
Did you know that the smell of fresh bread makes 89% of people HAPPY?[iii]
I venture that if it were fresh Roti Canai wafting over our olfactory receptors – yes, in our noses – that 89% might be 99%.
Bread has an extraordinary success rate at making people happy.
Me too. I am amongst the 99%!
As a student at Rhodes University in the then-Grahamstown (Makhanda) I regularly dropped past Paula’s Bakery at 4am on my way home from some outing… it was impossible not to be drawn towards the steaming ovens by the fresh-bread magnet.
Imagine if our thinking, choices and subsequent actions were as extraordinarily successful at producing productive outcomes as fresh bread does happiness?
I bring you tasty tidings, we can.
The current edition of the Notes (#4/24) tackles the third element of the Influential Leadership System’s intellectual foundation, namely, Social Agency, which is our capability to:
[1] think (critically),
[2] choose (smartly) and
[3] act with (productive) purpose.
So, having already covered critical thinking and making smart choices we are ready to act, for action, for the doing, to bake Roti Canai.
If you refer to the infographic above, and the linked endnotes you will find there is a set way in which the best Roti Canai are produced.
What you will also notice is that the recipe goes beyond ingredients:
What is the size of the party to be fed?
How hungry are they?
How long does it take to prepare the dough?
How long does the dough need to bake?
How long does it take in-between for the dough to rest?
What are the ingredients? Must they be high-quality ingredients?
How are the ingredients prepared?
What utensils are needed?
What sort of oven is needed?
What temperature should the oven be set at?
You have the idea…
What is clear from the #1 bread winner, is that to consistently produce a winner, the complete process must be replicated exactly each time.
Any deviation from these and the bread is likely to be stillborn or a flop.
If the best dough stays in the tray, it looks perfect, everything is ready, but there is no follow through, then there is no Roti Canai.
It is no different with Leadership and its processes.
Imagine that the final element of Social Agency is having the oven ready, but we do not.
Whatever we have done until now counts for little if we do not complete the process.
While we acknowledge that human behaviour is a great deal more complex than baking delicious bread, it is for this very reason that we must have a ‘leadership recipe and process’, which includes our Social Agency.
The final act is that we must act, based on our critical thinking and smart choices.
It is through our actions that we produce the delicious bread—the productive leadership outcomes.
Our learning this week from the three-part Leadership Weekly Note series on Social Agency is that:
We must satisfy all three elements (as depicted in the infographic below).
We secure the best outcomes when we:
- Think critically AND
- Make smart choices AND
- Act on these.
If you want to eat the best bread, and share it with those who also crave the best, follow the right recipe every time.
You too will make 99% better off!
Regards,
Colin @ Karoo
We Activate Apex Skills!
Leadership Weekly Note: 0424.220124
e: colind@karoo.world
Follow The Karoo Influential Leadership on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/KarooInfluentialLeadership
