Tis the season to barbeque.  Throwing your favourite meat onto the grill with your favourite sauce or marinade is one of summer’s delicious traditions.  Close your eyes and picture a perfectly marbled steak sizzling away to just the right temperature, smothered with a marvelously matched sauce and seasoning, savory smoke billowing lightly into the air, now breath in through your nose – do you smell it?

Ahhhh yes, that’s one of the great scents of summer.  But why is it that your neighbour’s BBQ always seems to smell better than yours?

The great thing about barbequing is that you don’t have to be a great cook to cook a great meal.  That is, if your meal is basically meat.  There are, however, some people who are magicians with the grill – grilling miracle makers they are.  I have met those special people who can cook anything on their BBQ.  And it tastes just that much better than if it’s done in the kitchen.

I just bought a new stainless steel BBQ: 55,000 BTU, 5 stainless steel burners, 625 sq. in. of primary cooking surface, 875 sq. in. overall cooking space, a porcelain coated warming rack, solid stainless steel cooking grids, 10,000 BTU side burner and a 15,000 BTU rotisserie burner.  That’s a serious BBQ.

You know who are serious barbequers?  Winnipeggers.  Winnipeggers BBQ 12 months a year.  They BBQ in the winter when it’s 40 degrees below zero.  It’s just something they do.  The BBQ is positioned close to the back door.  They throw on the parka and a set of boots, zip out to flip the meat and then race back inside.  That’s commitment.  Some would say that’s truly Canadian.

So what does BBQ have to do with leadership?  Well, I was speaking with a high-level business leader today who was recently appointed to the board of a large regional organization.  I was congratulating her on her appointment.  I asked how it came about.  She indicated that she was asked to join, but did not really know why because the organization has nothing to do with her industry.  She then said something that immediately caught my attention,

“I guess they wanted someone who is willing to BBQ some sacred cow.”

Brilliant.

Every organization needs someone, or ‘ones’, who are willing to BBQ some sacred cow.  They are the ones who are willing to question everything.  They are the ones who do not subscribe to the adage, “If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it.”  What they do subscribe to is, “Don’t settle for good if it can be better, and don’t settle for better if it can be best.”

Sacred Cow Slayers are driven by curiosity, courage and a commitment to relentlessly move forward.  “Good-Better-Best” is their battle cry.  They are appalled by apathy, critical of complacency, maddened by mediocrity, and repulsed by resignation.  They question everything.

Sacred Cow Slayers could very well be seen as trouble-makers in an organization.  They can be that lone dissenting voice that one more time asks, “Why we do it this way?”, or “Why can’t we try this?, or “What would happen if we changed that?”.  You certainly wouldn’t want your entire team to be Sacred Cow Slayers, but neither would you want your team devoid of Sacred Cow Slayers.

It’s time to celebrate the Sacred Cow Slayers in our midst.  They are the catalyst for change in an organization.  Their motto is: “What if…?”  They will empower you to progress.  They will save you from complacency.  If only Blackberry had more Sacred Cow slayers things would look very different for them right now…

Let this BBQ season be an encouragement for you to savor the Sacred Cow Slayers in your organization.  Don’t marginalize them.  Don’t get irritated by them.  You need them desperately.  Sure, you don’t need to do everything they suggest, nor question everything they question.

However, I have no doubt you would do well to let them stir things up a bit.  Let them be a catalyst for controlled and calculated change.  It’s time to think a little bit more like Winnipeggers – anytime is a good time to BBQ.

Maybe it’s time for you to BBQ some sacred cow?