Hunger is the Best Sauce

I was working with a leadership team planning a set of new service offerings for their business. In our innovation session, we were exploring a wide range of ideas on how best to serve customers’ future needs.

I asked the question, “what is it that our customers crave that they can’t get anywhere else?”

This reminded me of a proverb that I’ve seen attributed to Miguel de Cervantes Saavedra: “Hunger is the best sauce in the world.”

The proverb is used when it’s time to nourish hungry hikers, a family, a sports team, or an army. But, it applies to everyday nourishment that feeds our businesses.

This wise proverb applies to the many myriads of things that we are currently hungry for. Knowing what will satiate us is vital in achieving what our customers and we crave most.

• Are you hungry for a minimum viable product or service?
• Are you hungry for a more engaged team? More team belonging? Fewer silos?
• Are you hungry for a more vital brand?
• Are you hungry for more of the right kinds of customers?
• Are you hungry for an aligned leadership team?
• Are you hungry for a clear direction and vision? For for the right innovation?

You strive to fulfill what you’re hungry for because, either consciously or subconsciously, you know your business needs it. Just like an expectant mother craves what she craves (pickles with ice cream, a 12-ounce steak, a spinach smoothie, etc.), she does so because the wisdom of her body tells her this is the nourishment she and the child in her womb needs.

If you’re hungry for more of the right customers, the sauce could be a more satisfying brand and marketing story.

If you’re hungry for more engaged employees in your business, the sauce ingredients should include your values and purpose.

If you’re hungry for a more united leadership team, the sauce is to come to the common ground of your vision, purpose, and actionable values.

Of course, you could be hungry for hundreds of things, which you can’t consume all at once. Asking yourself what your team, your company, and your customers need most are maybe the most important questions you can ask and answer.

Once you know your cravings, commit to making the recipe to satisfy that hunger. If you need to, hire the right chef, a catering service, or servers to help. I promise your business and team will be better when fully nourished.