How Do You Eat an Elephant?

I was having a conversation with a friend the other day. She was very concerned because she hadn't been able to work for a while, and the bills were piling up. She was panicking about how she would pay for them.

I said to her, “How do you eat an elephant?”

She said, "What has that got to do with anything? I don’t know how I am going to pay my bills, and you are talking about eating elephants?” or words to that effect.

I said, "You eat an elephant, one bite at a time. You need to have a plan for how you will pay your bills."

I’ve often used this metaphor in my career to highlight the critical importance of strategic planning.

I recall a favorite party trick from my university days. We would challenge people to take on a dare. It went something like this:

Eat this Salada cracker. It's a dry, salty biscuit, about five centimeters square. If you can finish it in thirty seconds, I'll give you (x). Whatever (x) may be.

Most people think this is a breeze and put the whole cracker in their mouth. The problem is that the cracker is so dry and salty that it sucks all your saliva up, and you can barely chew, let alone swallow.

The trick is to take a couple of bites, chew, and swallow them in pieces.

My friend and I sat down and worked out a plan to repay her bills. The most urgent ones were paid first, and the least urgent ones were paid last. Some could be paid in stages, although they might have gained some interest. This offered a workable solution and brought her peace of mind.

What does the saying teach us, and where did it come from?

The origin of this saying or metaphor is not really known. It is credited to Desmond Tutu. What it teaches us is two things: planning, patience, and teamwork.

Setting goals is key in business and personal life. It helps you build a meaningful, satisfying, and successful life. Setting goals helps us achieve success.

This blends well with another one of my favorite sayings:

“If you don't know where you are going, any road will take you there.”

Sometimes, the road chosen may not be the most direct, safest, or most effective or efficient. So it is with (metaphorically) eating the elephant. A big project needs careful planning. This helps achieve the goal effectively.

"Rome wasn’t built in a day."

You won’t eat an elephant (or complete a big project) without patience. Often, we jump into tasks, thinking we can finish them quickly. As time passes, our frustration increases, and to “just get the job done," we often try to take shortcuts.

The same is true of any big project. Dividing the tasks into bite-sized chunks is more efficient and more effective.

Practice what you preach.

I have always been a list maker. Being OCD helps in this regard. For example, I dislike doing the housework. It is a necessary evil. I beat it by making a list of everything I need to do:

• Dust the bench in the family room.

• Clean the kitchen benches.

• Clean the bathroom.

• Vacuum the floors, and so on.

You still have to do the work. But checking things off as you go can inspire you to finish the job. You can also track your progress by breaking down the task into smaller parts.

Setting a plan to achieve a goal is what’s required to eat an elephant. Bit by bit, bite by bite, you make possible what at first seemed impossible. Giant elephants are best tackled by eating them one bite at a time. Just ask Desmond Tutu!

[Author’s note: No elephants were eaten to create this story. 😊😊]

Till next time,

Calvin