Jason Fried, Software biz kid talks about becoming a better cook by Adrian Chernoff

He begins with a quote from Thomas Edison “There ain’t no rules here, I’m just trying to accomplish something.”

Jason continues with, “I don’t build stuff that is real. I work in pixels. What I work with has no mass or weight.” That’s why he took on learning about how to cook.

“Cooking is a new way to use my hands.” He begins by purchasing gear, first by ditching all the old gear to start up and get pumped up. “Holy s**t there a lot of options” as he gets overloaded at Crate and Barrel. Jason purchased pots, pans, utensils, and a handful of books to start his journey. As a Pan Fan, he bought stuff from people who teach something, like a pan from Emeril Lagasse.

He learned through the experience of cooking companies should follow the leadership stance of a cooking show. Famous chefs teach, instead of keeping secrets. Chef’s share their secrets. Companies should follow this leadership pattern. Businesses can take advantage of learning’s from the world of food.

Companies should out share and do better than their competition. By taking on this vantage point 37signals moved from an internal dialogue to full disclosure of how they work and what makes up the dynamics of their business.

In closing: “Open your company up as much as you can!”

Jason Fried is the Founder and CEO, 37signals. He is also the co-author of Defensive Design for the Web

TAKE AWAY
To learn new skills means to get educated and apply the education with actionable experiences. Learning about how we learn in the world industry can be leveraged in another. Learning from cooking enabled 37signals to become more transparent and more communicative with customers. The punch line is to transition from an internal dialog viewpoint to an outward and exposed audience focus.

By guest blogger, Adrian Chernoff http://www.adrianchernoff.com, an innovation expert at Ideation Genesis. http://www.2idg.com