A Michelin-rated chef slapped me across the face. Not with his hand.
I had 50 EOS sessions under my belt at the time. Fifty. So I ran them clean. Guide open, every step in order; purity was the whole point. Follow it exactly, and the system works, and I never have to guess.
That morning I was four minutes into teaching a tool. His leadership team sat around the table. He runs his kitchen with an iron fist, and he was running that room the same way.
He stopped me mid-sentence and gave me the look.
“Put down the guide. You know your stuff. Trust yourself. Meet my team where they are.”
My hand went to my face like I had been hit. Nobody at that table moved.
That guide was my pacifier. Fifty sessions in, every ounce of my attention was on the page and none of it on the people at the table. I read off a recipe card and never once looked at the plate.
I had 90 pages in my hands and no idea what to do with the next 60 seconds.
So I closed it.
I asked a question I did not know the answer to.
Then I shut up and listened.
They started arguing with each other instead of nodding at me. He leaned forward.
I have never pulled out that playbook again.
1,500 sessions and counting.
The guide made me competent. The room made me an Expert EOS Implementer.
15% content. 85% facilitation.
You can be perfect, or you can be present. Pick present every time.
A Michelin-rated chef does not cook from a card.
He tastes.
Stay Curious,
JBS