kitchen chaos

I was discussing a project with a colleague over e-mail and mentioned that there were too many people involved in it--the proverbial problem where "too many cooks in the kitchen spoils the soup." He wrote back something quite insightful:

"Do you know what professional chefs do when there are literally too many cooks in a kitchen?  They give everyone specific tasks to do.  One person is assigned the entree, another does the sauce, another does dessert, another picks wine, another does the side dish, another may be asked to leave.  Each station cook gets to do their own thing.  The master cook makes sure everyone is being productive.  You need to be the master chef instead of a cook."

I think I'll go make a 7-course meal now.