Hell's Kitchen, by the celebrity chef Gordon Ramsay, is into it's eleventh series. It is strangely compelling due to the blend of the volatile Ramsay and the car crash-worthy screw-ups of the contestants, who vie for a high-paying, high-profile job with the English chef. Hell's Kitchen also strangely tells a lot of things about how business works in general, even though seemingly the kitchen world has nothing in common with the business world. It does however, and it's this:
The importance of communication
Hell's Kitchen shows that communication is key for a successful kitchen brigade. Any member needs to be able to tell the others how far out he or she is, versus the other elements of the order. The show also shows what happens if communication breaks down: dishes arrive at the pass too late, or too early. If meat station needs to rush, because fish is already up, you may end up with raw meat.
Same for the business world, communication is key. While the effects are not as immediate as inside a kitchen brigade, the process when doing a project, following-up a business operation are still applicable.
And it's not so much that communication is important - we figured that - but Hell's Kitchen shows a myriad of reasons and causes why communication breaks down, and which apply to business as well. People sometimes have personalities that are more sedate. Some people are tired. Some people turn inwards when confronted with errors. Some people play politics and stop talking to sabotage the process. And some people don't communicate because they are plain dumb.
Of course Gordon Ramsay always calls his contestants on it. Often very violently.
Preparation and knowledge
Prep work for each dinner service is often given less than a minute of air time on the show. And usually it is part of the show's punishment for losing. But the after effects when prep work is done incorrectly are highlighted on the show. It shows you that in business the old adage still applies, failing to prepare is preparing to fail.
Preparing also means picking up the knowledge to do your job. How often do you see on the show contestants running around clueless, or getting cursed at and then not knowing what to do. Or making stupid mistakes in the first place. And then Gordon takes their heads off, often followed by throwing them out of the kitchen.
Leadership and authority
Hell's Kitchen is about people, about groups and teams. Some people naturally take leadership, others follow. And everybody is supposed to listen to Chef Ramsay. However the show is at its most compelling when people don't accept the leadership of others.
"How's this guy telling me what to do?"
"Leave me alone and let me do my job."
"Stop whining and do what I say."
Of course contestants are not allowed to talk back to Chef Ramsay, and if they do it always ends badly for them.
In business too authority and leadership comes into play. We have seen businesses fail because leadership is not taken, or taken incorrectly. We have seen leadership not being accepted for various reasons: perceived capability or incompetence of the other; straight up dislike or even hate; genuine lack of leadership skills. All those reasons are on display in Hell's Kitchen.
Hell's Kitchen is a microcosm of human nature. It is an analogy for business life. It shows the importance of communication, preparation and leadership. It however doesn't show that while blowing up might work for Gordon Ramsay and his kitchen brigade - and it may in fact be the number one reason people watch Hell's Kitchen in the first place - it may work out differently in the office.
Just saying.
