I’m not exactly sure when I first read the Pot Roast story; however, I believe it came from a Chicken Soup for the Soul book. According to Forbes, “Chicken Soup For the Soul began in 1993 when motivational speakers, Jack Canfield and Mark Victor Hansen, decided to incorporate 101 inspirational stories that they and other speakers used in their talks into a book.” Whether it’s a true story or just a parable, I often find myself pondering the valuable message contained within, especially when deliberating how to best engage and equip emerging generations.
Unearthing connections to previously shared ideas in posts such as Walk a Mile in Someone Else’s Shoes, Generational Remix and Appreciating Differences, the lesson from what Kibbe terms “The Pot Roast Principle,” is the same, and that lesson is that we should all be willing to ask questions and challenge assumptions. Now, for someone with my personality style who has no qualms of Just Being Curious, asking questions and challenging the status quo isn’t a stretch; however, there is a unique balance in continuing to use practices that are sound strategies and creating new procedures which embrace current innovation and changing cultures.
When considering learning strategies for emerging generations, there is a need to reject the mentality of Why Do I Need to Change and instead embrace that perhaps a remix of the old and the new might be an optimal approach to creating flourishing multigenerational organizations. You can read the Pot Roast story by clicking here for a more thorough grasp on the lesson, but Kibbe offers, “The truth is about what happens when we don’t ask questions, especially simple questions. When we just make assumptions. I love this story for many reasons. It reminds me that persistence is a virtue. It reminds me if I don’t get an answer right away, keep asking. It also reminds me that it’s not a good idea to do something just because everyone else is doing it. Not that everyone cuts the ends off of pot roast. But don’t we sometimes do things without thinking about why we do it?”
Using the Pot Roast Principle as a foundational beginning for not making assumptions and a willingness to ask questions, I lean into several of the Five Habits of a Flourishing Life including the Habit of Awareness, the Habit of Growth, and the Habit of Resilience. Understanding ourselves and others, such as personality type, appreciation language, or working patterns, allows our eyes to be open to how God designed us with a variety of approaches to life. Being aware of areas where we might need to grow and develop, allowing ourselves to take on the perspective of someone else, and digging with persistence until we find the best answers leads to creating relational equity within our personal and professional relationships. This investment then ripples out into our organizations and communities and moves us on the continuum towards flourishing and away from floundering.
Don’t we all desire to be a part of a flourishing organization, regardless of which generation we were born into, and shouldn’t we do everything within our power to equip those coming behind us to flourish as well? When we choose to accept the lessons taught through stories like the Pot Roast Principle and create a Generational Remix, we might just find ourselves where we desire to be. As Pollak states in her book The Remix, “The choices we make in our workplaces can impact the very feelings people have about our shared society. If we can get every generation feeling valued and pulling in the same direction at work, we can do this on a larger scale.”
So, whether you are attempting to create the best educational environment for emerging generations in higher education or are leading an organization with thousands of members, investing in strategies like Appreciative Inquiry in efforts to create a Habit of Awareness can lend itself to erasing any festering intergenerational resentment and insecurity which not only benefits the entire organization but also enhances individual careers.
Are there any stories like the Pot Roast Principle that have emerged repeatedly in your life to remind you of the lessons that God is continually attempting to teach you, or have there been times when you have challenged assumptions and the result been positive? Please feel free to share in the comments below.
References:
Flourishing @ Life 
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