When You Don't Have the Right Stuff

If you have read even a fraction of my newsletters, you know that I love food. Like, more than the average Joe. Not only do I love food, but I also really like cooking. It’s my creative outlet.

Creative does not mean that I make up my own recipes. I generally start with a solid recipe from a reputable source. (Seriously, there are A LOT of bad recipes on the internet! Beware.)

My routine for dinner usually starts with me deciding on a protein first. That way, if it’s in the freezer, I can thaw it so I’m ready for whatever tempts my tastebuds for dinner.

Although I have been experimenting with non-meat proteins (including tofu) recently, I thawed some shrimp for dinner just this week. I decided to make a simple grain salad with a recipe I found in one of my cookbooks.

The instructions were short, which is exactly what I needed this particular evening. Short recipes usually mean more prep than cooking and less mess in the kitchen. Perfect on a night when I didn’t want to spend too much time cleaning up the mess I was bound to make.

The recipe that I decided to use called for quick-cooking barley. I did not have barley on hand, but I had farro. A fine substitute. I put the farro in a saucepan and got it going.

Next, I realized that, in my first glance at the recipe, I saw feta. When I actually read the recipe (after committing to the farro), I saw that it called for “marinated feta.” Well, I didn’t have marinated feta so I would have to make my own. I put some feta in olive oil with dried oregano, fresh parsley and a few red pepper flakes for a little spice.

The next item in the recipe was an apple—cored, halved and sliced thin. It did not say what type of apple, but there was a photo with the recipe. It had some sort of red apple—Fuji, Gala, McIntosh…I don’t know. It turns out I only had Granny Smith apples. I knew they would complement the other ingredients.

I combined my farro, homemade marinated feta and apples with a cider vinaigrette. Then topped that with my pan-seared shrimp. The dish was outstanding!

Even though I did not follow the recipe to a tee, I was able to adapt it with the resources I had on hand to produce a great finished product.

There will be times when there is a playbook to follow but you won’t have all the ingredients. (Beware: there are LOTS of bad playbooks on the internet.)

Maybe you didn’t get the hire you think you should have gotten. Perhaps you have a resource at your disposal that is not listed in the playbook.

It may not be clear how the pieces are supposed to come together. How will you get from product ideation to market validation? From product-market fit to market dominance?

There is no reason to muddle through these things and make a big mess that you'll later have to clean up. Like an experienced cook, a seasoned business leader can help you get to a favorable outcome with the right ingredients. If you need a business “sous chef”, drop me a line.

Katherine Hunter-Blyden?is a CMO Partner at TechCXO. She is a senior marketing executive with P&L management experience. As an expert in strategic plan development, product management and customer acquisition, Katherine helps businesses meet their goals with data-driven, quantifiable results.