Industry Magazine Commercial Kitchen Spring 2016 | Page 16

THE FREAK FACTOR:
Discovering Uniqueness
by Flaunting Weakness
By: David Rendall, Author
of The Freak Factor

WE DO NOT BELIEVE IN OURSELVES UNTIL SOMEONE
REVEALS THAT DEEP INSIDE
US SOMETHING IS VALUABLE,
WORTH LISTENING TO, WORTHY OF OUR TRUST, SACRED
TO OUR TOUCH.
– e.e. cummings
THE most common approach to self
improvement is to build on strengths and fix
weaknesses, usually with special attention
to fixing weaknesses. This is prevalent at
work where annual appraisals are focused
on overcoming our apparent limitations.
Similarly, in homes and schools, parents
and teachers expect children to excel in
all academic subjects, athletic activities
and social skills. Those who are lacking
in any particular area are confronted
with their flaws and given strategies for
improvement.
The obvious goal of these remediation
efforts is to foster success by producing
well-rounded people. However, do these
efforts really work and is being well-rounded
a worthy or realistic goal? My experience as
an individual, professor, parent and leader
indicates that efforts to fix weaknesses
are ineffective. Furthermore, I believe
that the goal of being well-rounded is
both undesirable and impossible to attain.
So what is the alternative? In this article
I’ll share a four-step process for getting
better by embracing your weaknesses and
amplifying them, instead of fixing them.

SPRING 2016

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