Cooking Without A Recipe

Once I dared to say to my wife that she is the second greatest cook in the world. Many would agree that it is not a wise thing to do, but regardless I have said it. There is no doubt in my mind that the greatest chef in the world is my mom. After trying my mom's cuisine for the first time, my wife agreed with that statement. Without any modesty, everyone would agree as long as they could try my mom's kitchen mastery.

When my wife met my parents and tried my mom's cuisine for the first time, she wanted to know the recipe. She asked my mother to share it, and my mom simply answered that she didn't have it and that this was the first time she had made that dish. And possibly the last time. She was cooking without a recipe, but still, her mastery was evident and originality appreciated by everyone who shared the table. As the greatest artist making her art, my mom mixed flavors in so many unexpected ways.

For many, cooking without a recipe is like being stranded in the middle of the sea. Few people like that. Recipes are always the best option as we all like predicted outcomes. It's a map that shows us where we want to go and how to get there. But the problem with recipes is like with strategic frameworks. To make a dish, you have to have all the ingredients, measure the right amounts, and have the right conditions. At its best, the result will be exactly what you expected it to be, and that is the problem.

During my MBA studies, one of the guys got McKinsey's strategic framework templates and shared them with the rest of the class. We expected that we would kick ass by using those, and the truth is we didn't.

For the good part of my career, I was obsessed with strategic frameworks. Thought that all the magic was happening there. The more frameworks you know, the better you will be.

Still remember starting my career in advertising and thinking about what other agencies are doing to articulate their strategic point of view. Through time, I got exposed to many advertising strategic frameworks. To name a few: McCann's Demand Chain, Leo Burnett's Human Kind, TBWA's Disruption, Dentsu's Cross Switch, McCann's Truth to Meaning, Ogilvy's Brand World & Empathy at Scale.

No strategic framework has made anyone a great strategist as no recipe made a Michelin star chef. Yet, we are still obsessed with using new ones day by day. As I write this article, the advertising agency I work for is rolling out a new strategic framework. Other agencies are doing more or less the same.

It is no different in the world of business. Read the intro of the book "Your strategy needs a strategy" by Knut Haanaes and Martin Reeves. Seems that things are even more complex on the business side. Business leaders have difficulty choosing which strategic framework to use and when, as there are so many.

If we look at advertising, the truth is that it really didn't change much since its beginning, and all the advertising frameworks are identical in essence. We don't need more of them. We need to learn one thing that works. And the only thing that works in advertising is to cook without the recipe.

A piece of advice I would give to all strategists

Be like my mom! Do your strategies without any framework. Fall in love with the blank sheet of paper in your mind. Like an artist play with the information, meanings, insights. Combine them in ways no framework would allow you to do. After all, strategy is creative work. Don't listen to anyone who tells you otherwise. There will be more frustrations and pain as you will not enjoy the comfort of the framework. But that is a small price to pay for greater learning and being unexpected. In the end, great stories in life and advertising share that same quality.