For those who might not have caught it on the news wire, I won the HRU annual Chili cook-off!  You see I’ve figured out the secret code to winning.  I’m the boss, if they don’t vote for me, I don’t let them out early before the holiday weekends!

But seriously, I do make some good chili!

It’s funny when you have a Chili Cook-off, everyone really believes their recipe is the best.  It’s a lot like leadership.  Have you ever met two people who thought that ‘great’ leadership was the same thing?!  I’m doubtful.  You see leadership is like chili, everyone believes they have the best recipe for success!

Here’s how I won.  I was going against all guys.  Guys like their chili spicy!   Half my workforce is female, they don’t like their chili as spicy as the guys (I literally had guys sweating and looking in pain while eating their chili!).  All I had to do to win was to be the least spicy option!  I had to bland leadership to win.  Don’t go right ditch, or left ditch, just keep that puppy in the middle of the road, and I win.  Easy.

Leadership isn’t that easy.  As soon as you think you have the winning formula, someone young sexy new hire brings in her white bean chicken chili and changes up the entire game!  You’re not suppose to have chicken in chili!  How dare you come in and mess up the status quo! That’s what happens right?  Your great leader of a year or two, becomes yesterdays news.  No one cares about who won last years Chili Cook-off, they only care about who won this year.

By the way, I made the same chili, exactly, now for three years.  My Chili leadership style is consistency.  Sure I love trying the new hot and sexy recipes.  I love white bean chicken chili.  But when push comes to shove, a giant pot of traditional chili tends to satisfy the masses.  Puts them into a food coma.

I wonder what your chili recipe says about your leadership. Are you constantly changing it up, looking for new recipes?  Are you all vegetables and no meat? (I don’t even know what that means, but it made me laugh!) Are you one of those weirdos from Cincinnati who puts spaghetti in their chili?  Are you right about now wondering how I just correlated making chili with how you make yourself a leader?

We decided come January/February when the heart of winter is kicking us in the teeth here in Michigan our next Cook-off will be soups.  I’ve got that one in the bag as well – Mrs. Sackett has some great soup recipes!