This is a story about a gutsy guy—a noodle bar owner in hyper competitive Manhattan.
A guy who blew up his dream of having a successful noodle bar after he opened the noodle bar and struggled. Then he did something interesting, and that interesting something—which you know we’re going to talk about—enabled him to create eight internationally recognized restaurants, numerous bakeries, a TV show and a foodie magazine of his own.
This gutsy guy could barely pay himself. He had trouble hiring and keeping team. He was stressed, and he was not happy.
He knew he could cook. He knew his food was wonderful. What he couldn’t figure out was why his restaurant wasn’t thriving. He couldn’t figure out what they were doing wrong.
He could have made some tweaks in his menu, blamed someone else for his troubles, or worked harder (though that was probably not possible).
Instead he looked inward and subjected himself to a brutal self-assessment.
Was the humble noodle bar of his dreams economically possible? Not if he wanted to pay his bills.
He changed course. They went into the kitchen and cooked each night as if it was his last meal. Unique ingredients and wild combinations. All the things that interested him. And guess what? They also interested his customers. The place filled. Critics began to rave. Awards and opportunities flooded him.
David Chang had created Momofuku.
For those of us looking for a business boost, what David did we can also do. It might not be everyone’s answer; but it is certainly the answer for some.
Instead of doing the usual thing—looking for external or technical things to change—David did the unusual. He questioned every aspect of his approach, including his methodologies, biases and deeply, deeply held assumptions.
He honestly challenged his beliefs and then summoned courage to act on what he learned. Now he discovered fresh ways of thinking about his goals.
David’s not the only one. Research done with high achievers surprisingly shows that self-awareness plays a major role in their achievement. They didn’t get their expected answers of talent, persistence, dedication and luck.
When faced with obstacles, these successful people subjected themselves to rather merciless self-examination that prompted reinvention of their goals and the methods by which they chose to achieve them.
Now I’m pretty sure that your idea—and mine—of a good time is not brutally beating up our every assumption. Not to mention acknowledging that they may have contributed to our lack of success. It’s easy to find pat ways to explain why things aren’t as we would like. Less painful too.
Yet, what we can learn from those who have gone before us and succeeded shows that periodic challenges of our assumptions, objectives and even our goals may push us farther than we thought possible.
Today David makes sweetbreads and duck sausage rice cakes with kohlrabi and mint. And it made him a star.
Let’s boost your success. Set time on your calendar this week for a little wicked examination of your assumptions, objectives and goals. They might be out-of-date or out of alignment with your customers wants.
Who knows what will happen? Your version of sweetbreads and duck sausage rice cakes with kohlrabi and mint?
Go forth and do great things,
Martha Hanlon & Chris Williams
P.S. Self-examination is a critical step in your success process. Check out this insight method Check out this method, too.