Everybody has to touch the stove once

You can tell your kids not to touch the stove. You can stand by the stove and ensure they don’t touch it. Unless you plan on standing by the stove 24 X 7, eventually you’ll have to trust your kids not to touch it. When they do touch the stove, then they’ll never touch it again. Wisdom is gained through learning first hand what works and what doesn’t.

Touching the stove doesn’t work for most people. The same goes with leadership and accountability in business. As long as the house isn’t going to burn down, accept that touching the stove is a necessary part of growth for all of us.

You can pretend that you know not to touch the stove just because you are so damn smart, but you probably touched the stove, just like everybody else. I know I did. In fact, I had to touch all four elements and stick my head in the oven before I was completely sure that it was a bad idea. And then of course there was the barbecue lessons. My eyebrows still aren’t at 100%.