Lessons for a father - The Perfect Salad

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A good salad is a piece of art. All the ingredients need to come together to bring out that perfect taste.  It is the diversity of the ingredients - the colors, the tastes, the halves and the fulls that turn the salad into an experience and that is where the art lives.

The perfectly made salad can be analogous to the functioning of our teams. Both at home and at work, different thought processes and personality types, working towards a common goal, can lead to the creation of a sense of harmony that is nothing short of a piece of art. 

Similarly to food, however, the final state should be kept in mind. As a team, we must have a very clear understanding of our goals. The goals might change over a period of time, but different components cannot be pursuing different goals while being a part of a bigger whole.

As with food, we must respect and acknowledge that, for example, tomatoes and spinach will taste different. Diversity can be our biggest asset. When it works, if allowed to work with the right ingredients and quantity, it is powerful. When it does not work, it might end up leaving a very bad taste.

Our salad, or leadership, therefore is an attempt to bring the ingredients of experience, knowledge, common sense, good judgement, purity of deed and heart, our faith and a dash of good old circumstance or opportunity into our bowls of professional and familial lives.

Let us all make incredible salads then. Let us make full use of all the ingredients that we have been presented with. Let us all make sure that we do not lose sight of a dash of fun on the side!

What are the ingredients of your perfect salad (team and people wise)?