In the REAL World ...

This last weekend, I enjoyed a concrete example of the real world when the 5 finalists for Next Great Baker were told by Buddy that he's ashamed of the lack of quality in their work. The premise of the show is that a dozen bakers began the competition for a full-time spot in the bakery, as well as other prizes. The problems began with the first episode, when it became obvious that if this is the best the country has to offer, we're in sad shape in the bakery business! The finished products were (being kind) amateurish, unpolished, and unprofessional. If I had ordered any of the products during the many weeks of the show presented by some of the winners of the on-going competition, I would have asked for a full refund.

Really: that bad.

Buddy laid it on the line for the 5 finalists: their best work was an embarrassment to Buddy and the reputation of his business. I agree. None of the cars resembled the Chevrolet Cruze, and one of the finished cars looked like a lump of cake air-brushed silver, with wheels that literally fell off, plopped on top of a much-too-small, butt-ugly layer cake that had red/blue fondant streamers falling off the sides. One of the bakers, directed to make a cake for the client, used rice cereal treats for the car and styrofoam for his "cake." Another one of the contestants, one who made it to the finals, only made the rear end of the car!! In her presentation, it appeared that the vehicle was at the point of impact in a head-on collision, and I'm doubtful that is the image Chevy wants the consumer to have of its product line.

When Buddy offered the bakers the chance to redeem themselves with their "best" bakery product to off-set their awful cakes, believe it or not, he was handed burned Snickerdoodle cookies and everyday chocolate chip cookies! When I go to a bakery and ask for the best the pastry chef can do, I don't want either Snickerdoodle or chocolate chip cookies: I can bake those in my own kitchen. I want something over the top, incredible both in appearance and taste, something that I could never make for myself. If I screw up Snickerdoodles or bake everyday chocolate chip cookies, what am I doing in the Next Great Baker competition???

We want the best the pastry chef has to offer, not burned basic cookies!

Buddy wants the Next Great Baker, not a counter-worker in a hardware store who wants to learn how to become a baker because it looks like so much fun! Buddy needs someone who can become an integral part of an existing business, not a person who has limited skills and/or experience, but tries really hard. Believe me, if you could have seen those final presentations to the client, you would NEVER hire any of the final five bakers to make even a child's birthday cake! Buddy put his reputation on the line with a client, and a really poorly baked and decorated cake cannot be passed off to anyone as anything other than failure.

In the real world, no one cares how hard a worker tries if s/he fails to complete the task in an acceptable manner. Donald says, "you're fired"; Buddy puts it, "get in the box truck." No excuses; no explanations; no apologies: either do the job or don't do it, but if you fail to perform -- you've failed. It's time to move on.

Your assignment: make the connection to my world: the classroom.