How to Build a Business Like a Chef, Not a Cook

In my consulting journey, working with talented, aspiring, and ambitious startups, partnerships, and founders, I’ve observed that many adopt the mindset of a cook rather than a chef.

The difference between the two is this: A cook follows instructions, while a chef experiments with different ingredients and techniques to create new dishes—or even an entirely new menu.

There are two approaches to becoming an outstanding entrepreneur or organization, whether you’re just starting or have been in business for years. Everywhere I’ve worked, I’ve transformed systems and approaches—many of which are still in use today. Change happens when we can assess a situation and derive our own meaning from it. We see this with institutions and organizations like Google, Facebook, and others.

The key difference between a chef and a cook entrepreneur lies in perspective. A cook follows existing menus and step-by-step guides, relying on established tools. This is why many businesses fail within 3–5 years. A chef, however, creates policies, menus, and tools from scratch, developing new frameworks without prior guidance.

A chef walks into the kitchen without a fixed menu and crafts new flavors from available ingredients. A cook arrives with a predefined list based on existing recipes. Cooks build businesses on established systems, so when those systems fail, their businesses do too. But businesses with a chef’s approach thrive because they experiment, developing new “menus” without relying on old blueprints.

The most powerful businesses create systems that others depend on. When Microsoft’s Windows OS once crashed, countless airlines and services ground to a halt—yet a few kept running because they weren’t fully reliant on it.

Consider Huawei and Google: When Google denied Huawei access to its smartphone OS, Huawei didn’t adopt the cook mindset—it became a chef. It built its own platform, HarmonyOS, which proved more sustainable and efficient than Android in many ways. By reshaping the mobile OS landscape, Huawei secured domestic dominance before expanding globally—a strategy common among Chinese industry leaders.

Whoever creates the menu controls the taste of the food—and how it’s served. If we aspire to change the world, we must adopt the chef’s approach. We are shaped by our passions but defined by our positions—what we design.

To build an effective, system-driven business with leverage, you must create something others depend on. Microsoft, TikTok, and others dominate because entire ecosystems rely on them. TikTok, for instance, has faced regulatory challenges yet remains unshaken in the U.S. market—because it invented a recipe without following a prewritten guide.

Startups and entrepreneurs who embrace this chef mindset don’t just adapt to change—they define it and control its systems. People often ask why I never bring notes or flyers when I speak. The reason is simple: The environment (the “ingredients” available) shapes my topic (the “menu”). From there, I craft the recipe—the message—in real time.

#changingfromacooktochef #beingachef,notacook