Optimizing Thanksgiving with the Wall Street Journal

by Nicole Weston, Posted Nov 19th 2005 @ 8:09PM

turkey Leave it to the Wall Street Journal to call in some consultants for perfect Thanksgiving. When you have four consulting firms working on your dinner, the newly streamlined process should go off without a hitch. Reduce the holiday to its crucial elements, stick them in a power point presentation and get ready to enjoy the holiday with the following strategies:

Strategic Intent – What do you want from your holiday? As Jacob Hale Russell asks, are you having a nontraditional meal because your guests want it or because you want to be perceived as different or innovative?
Complexity Reduction – Outsource non-critical dishes to guests. Keep the main components of the meal in-house.
Empower Employees – Put those extra family members and houseguests to good use. Motivate these unpaid minions by using “pride building” strategies and letting them run their own tasks.
Burner theorem – Optimize the number of side dishes by utilizing, but not overwhelming, cooking resources. Don’t roast everything. Try sautéing one or two of your sides.
Innovation Fulcrum – Concentrate on the most crucial elements of the holiday, also known as the “core product line.” Surveys show that this includes turkey, stuffing and gravy.