Okay, here’s the question of the day. Is your team more like a good margarita or a bad margarita?
Come on…if you drink at all, you’ve had a bad margarita, and you may have had more than one too many good margaritas.
The marg that doesn’t taste good uses cheap tequila, is watered down, or one that is way too strong might fall in the category of a bad margarita. But the good ones? The one you go to that Mexican restaurant for, even though you don’t really like the food there, because their margaritas are so amazing? That’s a great margarita. We have one place near where I live in Texas that has dangerous shaved ice margaritas, and no, I’m not a fan of the food.
I know it’s a little bit of a stretch in a leadership blog, but every once in a while, you have to have some fun. And here’s the fun. I want to know your favorite margarita recipe and what your secret ingredient is in business and how that relates. Tell me in the comments below [and you can check out mine down below as well].
Here are four ways that a good margarita recipe relates to business.
First of all, top shelf tequila usually reduces your hangover. Top shelf talent reduces growing pains and employee workplace issues later on. Invest in the top shelf talent (and the top shelf tequila).
Second is valuing contrasts. It’s a terrible idea to clone all of the people in your organization or all of the ingredients in your margarita. Just like you need the sour of lime juice and the sweet of agave syrup (all combined ahead for you in margarita mix), you need balance on your team. Having a contrast between different skills, different personalities and different points of view is great for the balance of your team.
Third is accepting differences. Now I like my margaritas on the rocks with salt on the rim, but I have zero judgment for people who don’t want salt or who prefer their margarita frozen. We have to get to the place where we can all enjoy working together, even if we’re different.
And finally, there are a lot of different things you can add to margaritas. One that’s popular here in central Texas is the twist of turning it into a Mexican martini, which means that you’re adding some jalapeno spice to your margarita and then serving it in a martini glass. You can add a little more oomph to it and a little more sweetness by adding Cointreau or Grand Marnier. And then you can also use infused tequilas to give it a little bit of a different flavor. The thing with business is you have to be willing to try new things sometimes. And that’s exactly the same as putting a little bit of a different twist on your margarita. Who doesn’t like a party?
I hope this has been fun. I hope you’ve had a good laugh thinking about who’s the tequila and who’s the lime juice in your company. Don’t forget to share your margarita recipe.
FOR A SINGLE MARGARITA:
- 1 1/2 ounces silver tequila
- 1 ounce orange liqueur (Cointreau, Grand Marnier or Triple Sec)
- 3/4 ounce freshly-squeezed lime juice
- optional sweetener: agave nectar or simple syrup, to taste
- ice
- lime wedge and coarse salt for rimming the glass
FOR A PITCHER OF MARGARITAS (16 SERVINGS):
- 3 cups silver tequila
- 2 cups orange liqueur (Cointreau, Grand Marnier or Triple Sec)
- 1 1/2 cups freshly-squeezed lime juice
- optional sweetener: agave nectar or simple syrup, to taste
- ice
- lime wedges and coarse salt for rimming the glasses
