Bacon Inspires Boldness and Makes Things Better
I don’t know who looked at pig belly and said, “Lets rub that with salt, fry it, and eat it,” but I’m thankful. Maybe it was the same person who said, “You can eat those brown things that drop out of chickens.”
History:
Bacon’s history dates back thousands of years to 1500 B.C. The Chinese cured pork bellies with salt, creating an early form of bacon….” (Bacon Scout)
I love the Chinese.
Better:
Bacon makes everything better.
Would you prefer broccoli cheddar quiche or broccoli cheddar BACON quiche? I rest my case! Frankly, I don’t know what broccoli is doing in there in the first place.
Macaroni and cheese is good. Mac and cheese AND bacon is better.
Dates are good. Dates wrapped with bacon are better.
Hamburgers are good. Hamburgers with bacon are better.
Be like bacon. Make everything better.
If you’re NOT a leader, start making things better and you’ll get a chance to lead.
Confusion, faultfinding, and tearing down aren’t leadership talents. But noticing strength, creating clarity, and building-up are.
Boldness:
Bacon inspires boldness. Forget about using carrots to motivate. I’ll do anything for bacon.
I’m not a fan of green food, but I’d try bacon braised greens.
I read a frittata recipe that included butternut squash, bacon, kale, and goat cheese. Any frittata with bacon is worth a try. Remove the bacon and I’m out. (Don’t you love how “frittata” rolls off the tongue?)
Be like bacon. Inspire boldness.
Making people timid isn’t a leadership talent. What takes teams farther? Timidity or boldness?
Show up today to make something better.
Show up today to inspire boldness.
Bonus material:
7 Ways to Instill Confidence in Those who Lack Boldness
12 Ways to End Fear and Inspire Boldness
No. when there are moral and ethical problems – they need correction… not boldness.
Maybe it takes boldness to correct moral and ethical problems?
How about boldness in not torturing and destroying the planet by meat consumption?
That’s bold.
This is great. Thank you.
🙂
While not a bacon eater myself, this post definitely resonated with me. In thinking about leadership from the positive perspective, part of your job is to highlight the strengths of others, and to some degree make them palatable to others (thinking of that person who is crucial to your team but doesn’t relate well to others). So be like bacon (or spices), make things better.
Thanks Stephanie. Yes, make interactions better. One of the challenges of leadership is navigating personalities. 🙂
I DO love how ‘frittata’ rolls off the tongue! We just got back from Italy, and one of my favorite things was to sit at a sidewalk cafe with an espresso or Aperol, watching and listening to Italians speak.
Thanks Glen. Welcome home. We also love the sound of Italian. French is beautiful as well.
Frittata sounds like a I want one!
Hi Dan, I just wanted you to know that you are not alone in your love for bacon-it does make EVERYTHING better! I did have to take a moment to think about what are the brown things chickens drop and people eat. Unfortunately, my mind didn’t go to eggs first-it’s still early for me. 🙂 Great post!
LOL… that’s hilarious. I suppose I could have said “white.” But I think natural eggs are usually brown. But I could be wrong.
Now that I think about it. The use of brown was a fortuitous accident. 🙂
Dan,
Great post as we produce 3 Billion strips of bacon every year. So this resonates with all our managers. Thanks for the great metaphor.
Thanks Bill. That’s a lot of bacon!! My love for bacon is why I don’t go to breakfast buffets. 🙂
I will forward this post to my daughter Diana and her husband Todd. They passed trays of bacon at their wedding reception. What a tasteful way to kick off a life together! As we say around here, “Everythings better with the pig.”
This was a difficult post for me to read. I found myself having to re-read whole sections as my mind would drift off thinking about bacon. Was that the point? Distract us from the negativity so that we focus on “strength, creating clarity, and building-up”? Although you may have been quite hungry while writing this post, I feel that your inspiration did not lack in developing an imaginable metaphor. I agree completely. What purpose do we serve as leaders if we are not making things better? The purpose of leadership is for the betterment of tomorrow, and if we are stuck in our current situation and tearing it down we will be too preoccupied to build it up. I will forever let people know that I will try my hardest to be a bacon leader.
Ever have green beans cooked in bacon grease drippings? I rest my case.
Excellent post (like always), Dan. Great analogy and lesson to take with you.