Twenty Day Challenge, Day 16 - Use Analogies

"An analogy is a figure of speech that creates a comparison by showing how two seemingly different entities are alike, along with illustrating a larger point due to their commonalities."

Inventor Thomas Edison believed the keys to invention success were imagination, persistence, and analogies. 

Imagine linking cooking and volleyball. You're stuck? 

Chef Roland Henin, Thomas Keller's mentor, said that cooks cook to nurture people. Coaches coach to nurture people, to help teams go where they cannot go alone. 

You may have heard that "revenge is a dish best served cold." Proving yourself and your team is more like lobster or the Danish pastry, Kringle. It taste great hot or cold. 

Thomas Keller discussed the 'disciplines of success' during the cooking process. 

Organization. "Organization speaks for itself." You know it when you see it. "It is the difference between failure and success."

Efficiency. Efficiency builds execution. Practice at a higher tempo. Use that most valuable resource...time. 

Critical feedback. Understand how our input improves others' output. "It's the critical feedback that we learn from the most." He focuses on the restaurant customer who is not happy...how can we improve their experience? Growth... understanding... self-analysis. 

Repetition. "Repetition makes reputations." John Wooden marveled at how Bill Walton never tired of repeating the same footwork and moves that produced greatness. "Make gnocchi every Sunday...you'll have it in the freezer for convenience meals." Make the gnocchi. 

Rituals. Great habits build consistent performance. As Aristotle said, "We are what we repeatedly do. Excellence, then, is not an act but a habit." We make our habits and our habits make us. What habits make us?  

Teamwork. "Without me being part of that team, being efficient, they couldn't do their job (server, chef, bartender)." Unless the twelfth player on the team is punctual, committed, challenging the starter, then the team suffers. Volleyball is a collective experience. Do you play on the team or for the team? 

All cooking occurs at the combination of time and temperature. Do you want to be an exceptional player? You put in both the time and the intensity needed to excel. 

Use "tools of refinement." In cooking that includes:

In volleyball that includes numerous types of practice equipment. 

Coaching is the ultimate refinement tool, along with practice. "Repetitions make reputations." 

Analogies Summary:

• Analogies help growth and development.
• Coaches nurture. 
• Some dishes taste great hot or cold.
• Study and understand disciplines of success.
• Use tools or refinement to sharpen your game.