Flour, Frosting, and Forecasts

Cooking up a business strategy with baking analogies

As a part-time hobby baker and a full-time strategist, I often find myself whipping up parallels between these two passions of mine. For a baker with a dual obsession for frosting and analytics, picture this: I am baking a fancy cake for a birthday party, and suddenly, my inner strategist takes over, meticulously planning, preparing, and executing every step like it’s a corporate takeover! And on the flip side, when I am strategizing at work, I organically channel my inner baker, bringing a sprinkle of creativity, a dash of high-level thinking, and a generous dollop of research.

I decided to write a blog about mixing these ingredients together and bake up a delicious comparison between baking and business strategy. So let’s dive into a world where planning, preparation, execution, and adaptation are the secret ingredients to success in both the kitchen and the boardroom.

First things first.. Requirements gathering and knowing your audience
Whether you're baking a cake or crafting a business strategy, understanding your audience and gathering their requirements are the crucial first steps. Just like how a cake designed without considering the birthday person's preferences could flop dramatically, a business strategy that ignores customer needs is destined for failure. So, whether you’re donning a chef’s hat or a business suit, remember: it’s all about knowing your audience and nailing those requirements.

However, when opinions clash, that’s where your negotiation skills shine.
I recall my negotiations with a client who was very tight on budget and was hesitant about paying for a whole expensive bottle of red food coloring, but still wanted a red velvet cake.
I often run into similar sticky situations at work, where customers’ demands clash with my team’s grand plans and vision. My strategy? Channel my inner diplomat to strike a balance and negotiate a win-win. Creative alternative solutions are my secret weapon. Take the red velvet cake debacle, for instance. The client wanted a red cake but balked at the idea of paying for an entire bottle of red dye. So, I explained to them the health concerns with the red dye and proposed a pink velvet cake using beetroot juice. Voila! The client was thrilled, felt cared for and felt like a VIP. Plus, I got to feel like a culinary genius and a master negotiator all at once!

If I have to categorize requirement gathering, I would split it into 3 phases: understanding needs, detail orientation, feedback and adaptation.

Understanding needs

Before even cracking an egg, a baker needs to know who’s eating the cake. Is it a sugar loving 5-year old or a gluten averse grown-up? This means asking the right questions about flavors, dietary restrictions, and favorite colors etc. Let’s face it, a pink cake for a ten-year-old boy who’s all about cars might not hit the mark.

Detail orientation

Once you know your audience, it's time to gather the specifics. Vanilla or chocolate? Buttercream or fondant? How many layers? etc. etc. This is where detailed notes and sometimes even sketches come into play. Think of it as a cake blueprint. It’s just like how after identifying the audience, businesses gather detailed requirements. What features do customers want in the product? What pain points need addressing? This involves creating user personas, defining use cases, and drafting detailed product requirements documents.

Feedback and adaptation

This phase is all about checking in with the client before the final bake to ensure the design meets their expectations, and being ready to make changes if they suddenly decide they hate sprinkles. Just like how we conduct beta tests and gather feedback before the final product launch, being agile enough to make necessary adjustments.

Then comes the implementation stage.

First thing to consider when you get down to implement is - Ingredients and resources. Just as baking a cake requires specific ingredients like flour, sugar, eggs, and an oven (because a cake baked in a microwave is a crime against desserts), executing a business strategy demands various resources—tools, technology, personnel etc. Before diving in, it's crucial to identify and gather all these necessities.

Plan: Choosing your recipe wisely is key. A solid recipe, er, business plan, covers everything from your target market to your investment risks. It helps you identify potential roadblocks and develop contingency plans. Think of it as your secret weapon against the rising cost of eggs and the unpredictable whims of fickle customers. So, before you preheat the oven on your strategic vision, make sure you've got a recipe for success.

Integrating business functions like engineering, support, marketing, sales, and operations is crucial for ensuring your strategy doesn't turn into a hot mess. If you just throw all the ingredients in the oven without any rhyme or reason, you're gonna end up with something that's barely edible, let alone delicious. The same goes for your business strategy. You can't have marketing doing their own thing, sales doing their own thing, and operations running around like headless chickens. You need to get everyone on the same page, working together towards a common goal. Sure, it takes some work to get all those different functions aligned, but it's worth it in the long run. When you've got a well-oiled machine where everyone is pulling in the same direction, that's when the magic happens. Your strategy will be rock solid, and you'll be able to execute it with precision and efficiency.

Remember, a well-executed strategy is like a perfectly baked cake: everyone wants a slice, and no one leaves the table disappointed (unless they're on a diet).

Then comes taste testing and feedback

Seeking feedback is like taste-testing your cake creations, except you're not just asking if it's moist enough, you're also finding out if it's trendy enough to be the next Instagram sensation. Just like tweaking your recipe based on whether the client prefers more cinnamon or less nutmeg, gathering customer feedback and analyzing performance metrics and survey results helps refine your business strategy.
Running a taste panel with your customers is like figuring out if your strategy is hitting the sweet spot or if it needs a pinch of innovation and maybe a sprinkle of extra customer care. Timely customer input can go a long way in ensuring you're delivering something that's truly satisfying to your audience. Because, let's face it, just like a cake that's too dry, a business strategy that falls flat is nobody's idea of a good time.

Now let me highlight the three essential virtues that serve as game changers in both baking and strategy: “Research”,"patience and timing" and "adaptability and innovation". In my experience, mastering these virtues isn't just advantageous, it's essential for achieving excellence and staying ahead in a dynamic world.

Research

Remember, if you want to be great at the strategy world, you need to be a research ninja. Understanding your audience is like having a superpower. Who are your customers? What do they want? Do they want budget-friendly solutions or premium services? You’ll need to bust out the surveys, focus groups, and market research reports. When I am playing a baking wizard, I often channel my inner Sherlock Holmes. I try to sleuth out the latest trends, see what my fellow creative bakers are doing, and try to find eggless substitutes for recipes to cater to my vegetarian clients. I also try to concoct my own unique recipes to offer something unique and interesting that aligns with my client’s interests.

Sometimes clients may not have a clear idea of what they want, unlike when they do have a specific vision. Use these moments when clients are uncertain but still seek a positive experience and solutions from you. This is your opportunity to leverage creative ideas and explore unique solutions.
I've got a secret stash of unique cake ideas and recipes just waiting for that ideal "surprise me" request from a client. I leverage these opportunities when clients are uncertain yet eager for a positive experience and solutions from me. In business strategy however, you may not always encounter a customer asking for a strategic plan with a "surprise me" approach. Nevertheless, having a secret stash of ideas is invaluable because you never know when an opportunity might arise to use it.

Patience and timing

Patience and timing are crucial in both baking and business strategy. It's like waiting for your cake to rise without peeking in the oven every five seconds or hitting refresh on your analytics dashboard every minute.
For bakers, it's an exercise in zen-like patience. You meticulously follow the recipe, resisting the urge to open the oven door and peek at your masterpiece in progress. And let's not forget the cooling phase, waiting for that cake to chill out while you resist the temptation to frost it prematurely.
As a strategist, it's a similar waiting game. You plant the seeds of your brilliant strategy, knowing full well that Rome wasn't built in a day and neither is your market dominance. Just like a perfectly baked cake, you know that good things come to those who wait and occasionally resist the urge to panic-bake another strategy on top of the first.
So, whether you're staring at your oven or your business timeline, remember: patience isn't just a virtue, it's a survival skill in both the kitchen and the boardroom.

Adaptability and Innovation

Adaptability and innovation are like the secret ingredients that turn a bland dish into a culinary masterpiece or a complicated feature into a sought-after solution provider.
In the kitchen, it's all about experimenting with new recipes and techniques. Your grandma's apple pie recipe may be a classic and a keeper, but how good does it taste with just a pinch of chili powder in the mix or what if you substitute apples with mango or sprinkle rock salt on top ? Now all of a sudden you're the talk of the town with a brave new dessert! Innovation does taste good, after all!
Similarly, in business strategy, it's about staying ahead of the curve. You don’t want to always follow the trends; you want to lead the pack. When the market shifts like a souffle in the oven, you should adapt and pivot like how chefs do in a high-stakes masterchef competition.

And there you have it—baking and business strategy. Two worlds colliding in a cosmic dance of flour, frosting, and forecasts. Just like baking, strategy is equal parts science and art. You need to understand the technical elements, like SEO and analytics, but you also need to tap into your creative side to make it truly engaging and memorable.
So whether you're kneading dough or negotiating deals, remember to whisk away doubts, bake with gusto, and always leave room for a little innovation in your recipe for success. But remember, at the end of the day, succeeding in either the kitchen or the business strategy sphere comes down to one key ingredient: passion. If you don't genuinely care about what you're creating, it'll be painfully obvious to anyone who consumes it. So whether you're whipping up a souffle or a strategic business plan, make sure you're putting your heart into it. Your audience (and your taste buds) will thank you!