5 creative recipes I learned from Gordon Ramsay

A few months ago I was at my father’s house and spent 2 hours completely hypnotized by “Kitchen Nightmares” thanks to Gordon Ramsay. Let me add that I never watch TV, so this was totally out of character for me. Gordon was amazing! Yes, I’m calling him Gordon now, I kinda feel close to him now that I’m writing an article about his process. Deal with it!

Gordon has gone from working in a kitchen, producing stunning meals for his customers to something much more conceptual, psychological, human and holistic. But more importantly; after yelling and screaming at them for days, they all absolutely love him.

I thought “That’s exactly what I try to do with MY clients!” (minus the yelling, screaming, and expletive-filled rants, of course!). As a graphic designer, I began my career by producing design elements, creating logos, banners, flyers, etc, etc. But after several years and steps, I’m now taking a much more global approach. And, like Gordon, I try to create a real positive relationship with my clients. So I analysed his process to see how it could serve mine. Are you hungry?

1) Sit tight, be nice, ask questions and… get personal!

I noticed that I already had this first step in common with Gordon; try to get the maximum amount of information from your client from the outset. Gordon chats to waiters, checks out the kitchen, samples every dish; you too should be “taste-testing” their products, websites, marketplace, everything. Be personable and connect with the team; understand their relationships, issues, and strengths. It’s time to read between the lines!

Food Fact N°1
A banana holds the daily amount of glucose needed for your brain.

2) Report time: No concessions. No friends.

This is the hard part; it’s time to clearly (and perhaps brutally) evaluate the situation. What is or isn’t working. Factor in the biggest issues and the elements they haven’t considered yet. Even as one of the best chefs in the world, Gordon couldn’t fix a restaurant business by simply improving their pasta sauce, right? Well, it’s the same for you; having a better logo, or homepage won’t fix a broken business. You need to take a holistic approach and sometimes that starts at the foundations of the business. They need to hear it all. Expect this to be very painful for the team. It sounds hard, expensive and probably feels like they never did anything right or need to completely start over. And ultimately, this is why you’ll leave this kind of meeting without any friends :)

Food Fact N°2
Tomatoes are full of lycopene and zeaxanthin, two substances associated with cognitive performance

3) Establish a proposal plan together

At this stage Gordon usually takes some time-out with the boss and has a heart-to-heart discussion to help them understand what needs to change. If your client doesn’t listen it could be time to fire your client (topic of another article coming soon)! But if they’re open to your ideas, the next step is to work with them to build a plan. Together or not at all. Gordon doesn’t just show up with a new menu and expect miracles, and neither should you!
The clients are the true activators of the plan, so they need to be part of the process. Don’t just send a proposal with a dollar amount at the end without establishing trust. The client needs to be (and feel) involved from the beginning or sooner or later, the project will fail. Building a plan together is also the best way to be sure they accept all of your terms, because just sending a proposal will create more negotiations and add time and tension.

Food Fact N°3: Raw carrots will give you a steady level of blood sugar your brain needs to function optimally.

4) Execute and explain, explain, explain…

So now that everyone is aware of what has to change, and you’ve established a plan with the whole team; it’s time to get to work! Execute the plan but be sure to explain each step of the process. Explain every single choice you made during the planning process. This step is essential; after pointing out the specific issues, you need to provide solutions for each one and meticulously explain how that’s going to be executed. If you just order someone to do something your way, they will either refuse or won’t do it with any joy or accuracy. If you explain how and why as well giving individuals room for some creativity, they will complete the task happily and efficiently.

Food Fact N°4
Whole grains like brown rice are filled with vitamins and magnesium, which also improve cognitive health.

5) Give them some time to regroup and improve.

Well done, the project is complete. Your client should be satisfied; together you solved their major issues and brought their project to the next level the hard way, but also the most efficient way. Now is the moment to gently walk away and give them some time to use and enjoy their new “baby”.

Food Fact N°5: The antioxidants in hot cocoa protect brain cells from oxidative stress.

Be sure to come back a few weeks later to get some feedback and data. And this is also a great chance to create a new partnership to enhance the project with add-ons or simply an analysis of the new data to further improve the product. This isn’t because it wasn’t good in the first place, but because companies change, users too, and you will always have new challenges and higher goals to reach!

Cue: Emotional finale where the whole team cries and Gordon dishes out big hugs to (almost) everyone!

See you next week!
And please “recommend” the article ;)

Adrien

Creativity and talent teamed up to ensure the quality of these articles

Adrien is the founder of Creatives Without Borders and a creative designer working all over the world. If he isn’t climbing one of the 7 summits or running a marathon, you’ll probably find him consulting about UX & UI for tech startups somewhere between Montreal, New York and Paris. www.adriencolombie.com

Christy is a talented writer and educator based in Busan, South Korea. She is involved in research for the Korean HIV and Aids Prevention organization. When she is not baking elaborate birthday cakes for her friends’ kids at 3am, she is organizing the (2nd) largest LGBT event on the peninsula. And she has a cat named 여름이.