I am a self-proclaimed foodie; I like to eat, but that’s where the expertise ends, kind of. I am not a cook, but I am learning; I am always asking questions while I watch various meals be prepared. Cooking to me is an art; if you mess up you can course correct by adding another ingredient to fix the mistake, and maybe make the dish even better than it would have been originally. On the other hand, baking is a science; if you mess up it is near impossible to fix the mistake as you could while cooking. You must throw it out; there is almost no course correction, you must start over.
In his book “The Principles of Scientific Management”, Frederick Taylor Winslow tells us that management is like baking. It’s scientific, and to be successful we should follow his principles. He reminds us that management is rooted in facts and evidence; as a leader you need to look at the situation, assess it and act. According to Winslow, management is not an art, it is almost formulaic and in many ways he is right, it is a science. But he is only partially right; the art comes in when we execute on what we have learned. What do we do? How do we do it?
Take music for example, though for the record I am also not a musician. There are twelve notes in music, (once again not a musician, I googled ?). Twelve notes is very specific and very factual, but the amount of music that has been constructed with such a limited amount of notes is mind boggling! Composing is a science, yet it is very artistic. Painting falls in the same category; you mix two colors to get the third but the way they are put together is art, no pun intended.
For me, science and art go hand in hand. Science is the foundation but the execution and love you put in it is the art, and both combined is magical mastery.
“Art and science have so much in common- the process of trial and error, finding something new and innovative, and to experiment and succeed in a breakthrough.”– Peter M. Brant
Have a great weekend.
Vijay