Let’s prepare a stew.

To fix a good stew, you, naturally, must have a good recipe. Since there are numerous good recipes and many diverse differences in tastes, let’s comprise a committee to select the one recipe most wanted by the majority.

Now we have the best recipe, which amounts to a plan. We discover there are many steps to prepare the ingredients that flavor the stew to a great taste. For instance, someone should be selected to peel and dice potatoes. And then someone should be selected to prepare vegetables such as green beans, onions, carrots, corn, okra, tomatoes and anything else that would make the stew scrumptious. Then let us not forget the water and tomato sauce, which requires another person with a specialty in this area. Of course, seasonings such as salt and pepper add the zing needed to make the taste superb, so another specialist is a requirement.

But, you know, none of this group of people is necessary unless someone takes the chef position and ensures that tender meat is selected and placed in the cooking pot and cooked for the desired length of time and at the appropriate temperature. Otherwise, all of the prepared ingredients result in a soup instead of a delicious stew.

Of course, we would want all of the ingredients prepared by dinner time, but undoubtedly, one of these key people would be on vacation or at a business conference making a wait necessary.

Immediately, I realize why the stew turns out with better results if I take the leadership of the idea, monitor the preparation, ensure the ingredients are properly mixed in the cooking pot and the stove is turned on to the appropriate degrees. This works great if the stew is for a small household, but when the number of recipients begins to increase, so does the number of people involved in the preparation.

All of a sudden, becoming apparent is the magnitude of projects for business, government, agriculture, nursery and education, resulting in more people and departments being involved and correspondingly, the longer the project takes for completion.

Once again, I do not wish to, but I have to be patient.

Standard contributor Don Alexander can be contacted at dalexander@southernstandard.com