Just Tell Me What You Want To Eat

Tell me and I shall execute

Whenever I tell people I went to culinary school after college, their first response is “wow, you must be a really good cook!”

The ironic thing is, “what should we eat for dinner?” is my absolute least favorite question in the world.

It’s not that I don’t know how to cook. I think I cook my signature dishes pretty well, thank you very much. And it’s not that I don’t enjoy cooking because when I cook, I get in the zone. It’s just that I don’t know what to cook.

If I was living by myself, I could live off of rice, over easy eggs, soy sauce, and sesame oil with a side of kimchi everyday. But I have 3 other humans to feed, all 3 have different tastebuds, what they want to eat in that moment will depend on their moods, and all 3 are picky in their own way lol. (Shoutout to my husband who will also cook and save me from meltdowns on days my brain simply cannot function.)

What does make it very easy for me though is when they tell me what they want to eat.

“Can we have salmon and rice tonight?” Absolutely!

“What about donkatsu curry for dinner?” Gladly!

“Oh I feel like an Italian sandwich for lunch.” Coming right the f up!

There’s something about being given a direction, a nudge towards the right path, if you will. You don’t have to tell me how to make the sandwich or what you want in it. I can figure all that out. You just have to tell me what you feel like eating or what type of cuisine you feel like eating. And then, I can execute.

I realized that this translates very seamlessly into my work life.

I am not good with a blank slate. My strengths are in execution. They are not in coming up with a plan, starting with a blank piece of paper, or putting together processes. Some people are great at those skills, and I need them in my work life. But me? I’m no bueno when it comes to those things.

Let’s take events, for example. I’ve done plenty of events in my lifetime to know what I’m good at and what I’m not. If my executive were to say “can you plan a team event for next quarter?” that would give me anxiety. Mostly because my mind can come up with over a hundred different ways we could have a “team event”, not because I don’t know how to plan one.

Over time though, I’ve learned to ask the right questions to narrow down my executive’s expectations. Give me some sort of direction, and I can run with it.

What is the purpose of the event? The “why” matters, so tell me why you want to have this event.

What outcome are you hoping for? Are we trying to build morale? Is this just team building? Do you want everyone to feel energized? Are we celebrating?

When were you thinking of having this? After the product launch? Combined with a hackweek? After performance reviews? Before or after the summer when people go on vacation? Is there a RIF (i.e. layoff) or some sort of secret thing that’s going to happen that I don’t know about that would affect the event date and type of event I put on?

Just give me a little bit of direction, and then you won’t have to worry about it at all. You’ll just have to show up.

It’s a blessing and a curse to be able to come up with hundreds of ideas to someone’s one request (it’s not just with events for me, it’s with gifting, meeting cadences, travel planning, etc.). It shouldn’t be that hard, but for some reason (anxiety?) I make it hard (not on purpose, it’s just the way my brain operates, wahhhh helpppp!).

But I think this is also what makes me good at what I do. I want to make sure that whatever I am tasked with is executed to the best of my ability because I care (maybe too much?).

I want the best possible options and outcomes. I want people to leave an event with positive memories. I want my executive to reflect back to the time when the weeklong Japan office visit was executed flawlessly. I want coworkers to look at their company swag and not want to donate or throw it out. I want my executives and their direct reports to feel like the meeting cadences make sense, and meetings are effective, helpful, and a good use of their time.

I’m not going to always get it right because all executives are different, their expectations are different, and what they mean when they use certain adjectives to describe their vision is different. But as long as I had some direction and tried my best, that’s really all that matters. (I’ve come a long way since needing to make sure everything was always perfect. Yay me for growing! Lol!)

Here’s a picture of what my mind looks like at any given moment (in case not obvious, I’m on the right). If you’ve been following me for awhile, you know this is my favorite meme because it so perfectly depicts the life of an Executive Assistant.