What Can Go Wrong in an Idli?

What Can Go Wrong in an Idli?

Idli, a humble dish which originated in southern India, is a ubiquitous breakfast food across India. These savory steamed cakes made of rice and lentils are a favorite across all sections of the population in India. Key reasons for its popularity are – great taste, easy to make, quick to serve and being steamed easy on the stomach.?Numerous restaurants across India churn out millions of Idlis daily, and given the simple and easy preparation, one can expect Idlis to turn out tasty each time they are made. And yet, I was completely disappointed when I had Idli at a restaurant on a recent road trip. Which made me wonder, what can go wrong in an Idli?

Our jobs condition us to focus on outcomes because results can be easily used to measure our progress. ‘One is only as good as the results one delivers’ – we hear lot of such phrases at work. There is no doubt, excessive focus on results does put excessive pressure on people. Out to prove one’s worth, one is more susceptible to cut corners (knowingly or unknowingly) to achieve the results.

This is not to say outcome is irrelevant. Outcomes are the only thing that ultimately matters in any organization. However, more important thing to consider is how do we ensure we keep producing the desired outcome consistently? Excessive outcome focus can result in process relegation.

It is advisable to think about the outcomes when one needs to attain extraordinary or breakthrough results. But not all outcomes of our jobs must be breakthrough. Those parts of our jobs that are routine and transactional in nature require a pronounced focus on processes that we can trust to produce good outcomes consistently. Well-designed processes are measurable and repeatable. If a result is bad, one can adapt the process to improve the outcome. A focus on processes encourages experimentation and innovation leading to continuous improvement. This guarantees a good outcome. With robust processes, one obviates the need to worry about routine or repetitive activities. It allows you to focus on more important aspects of your job. Quality, in addition to being defined by technical parameters is defined by the customer. It is defined by meeting the customer requirements and as being ‘fit for use’. Constantly linking process improvement efforts to the ultimate customer satisfaction goals can substantially enhance quality of outcomes.

No wonder the most famous verse of the Bhagwad Gita translates to – Focus on the actions (process) not on the fruits (outcome). Only way to reduce the impact of randomness on the outcomes is to have robust processes. In the long run, that is the only effective way to avoid dishing out bad Idlis.

Ravi Kanaskar

IT Leader, Enterprise Architecture, Oracle HCM Cloud Architect

2 å¹´

Avinash - very well written. You have the flair for explaining things with in a simple manner. Keep it up! This is such a simple yet profound concept. A batsman would become an all time great if he simply made 40 runs at 100 strike rate each and every time he goes to bat no matter what format. No need for double and triple centuries!!

Nikhil Damle

INLPTA & ABNLP Certified NLP Trainer | Catalyst Coach | Founder @Iridium | Ex-Morgan Stanley VP | LinkedIn Top Voice (NLP, Large Group Facilitation & Leadership Development Coaching)

2 å¹´

Glad you have started writing Avinash! There are a lot of ideas in that brilliant mind of yours that I hope you put to words! Thanks for sharing this, and look forward to many more!! ??

Sharmila Malekar

Founder, Project EarthCalling | Circular Economy Enabler | Afforestation | Waste Management | Recycling | X MarComm, Branding

2 å¹´

Very relevant… Delivering quality performance Consistently matters … in this case had the eatery streamlined or even monitored its processes churning out soft idlis would be consistent. And the key is how does one ensure consistency. In this case the eatery seems to have lost its customer focus too as they have ignored feedback from a customer that may help them stay relevant in the long run

Benaifer Kapadia

Leadership | Sales | Marketing | Strategy | Hospitality | People

2 å¹´

Very well explained Avinash Kanaskar. After all simplicity is the final achievement! We need not re-invent the wheel every time.

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