{"id":2472,"date":"2025-09-25T10:30:00","date_gmt":"2025-09-25T00:30:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/digitalbbq.au\/?p=2472"},"modified":"2025-09-23T13:14:27","modified_gmt":"2025-09-23T03:14:27","slug":"the-tale-of-pickles","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/digitalbbq.au\/index.php\/2025\/09\/25\/the-tale-of-pickles\/","title":{"rendered":"The Pickle Paradox. A Burger Shop Fable"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Every great burger starts with a simple plan. The order is taken, the ingredients prepped, and the grill fired up. It\u2019s straightforward enough. Deliver what the customer asked for, no more, no less. But in this particular kitchen lurked a shift manager named Pickles, whose approach to project management (and burgers) was\u2026 let\u2019s just say unconventional.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Pickles fancied himself an innovator, a culinary genius destined to revolutionise fast food. Unfortunately, his ideas were about as consistent as a broken deep fryer. His job was to oversee operations, keep things running smoothly, and ensure the team delivered exactly what the customer ordered. Instead, he turned every burger into a chaotic experiment that left both customers and staff scratching their heads.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Gluten-Free Debacle<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

The saga began with a special request: a gluten-free lettuce-wrapped burger. No bun, just meat, toppings, and greens galore. Simple, right? Wrong. Midway through preparation, Pickles swooped in like a condiment tornado with a \u201cbrilliant\u201d idea. What if we swapped the lettuce wrap for homemade sourdough bread?<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cHomemade?\u201d the head chef stammered. \u201cWe don\u2019t even have a sourdough starter!\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cNo problem,\u201d Pickles replied breezily. \u201cJust make one. Oh, and it has to be ready by tomorrow morning.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The team scrambled to research sourdough recipes while simultaneously juggling orders for fries, shakes, and regular burgers. By the time they finally baked something resembling edible bread, the original bare-burger vision had morphed into a carb-loaded catastrophe, and the customer hadn\u2019t even asked for it.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Wrapper Woes<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

Next came the wrapper issue. The original order specified no wrapper at all, rather a minimalist masterpiece served au naturel. But Pickles couldn\u2019t resist adding flair. \u201cLet\u2019s design a custom wrapper!\u201d he declared during a mid-shift huddle. \u201cSomething sleek, modern, maybe with our logo on it. Customers love branding.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

No one dared point out that designing, printing, and testing custom wrappers wasn\u2019t part of the original scope, or that none of them had any graphic design skills. They cobbled together a rough prototype using printer paper and duct tape, only to discover it fell apart under the weight of the burger. Meanwhile, the patties sat waiting on the counter, growing colder by the minute.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"
I bet you thought I’d put in a regular old project management swing comic, didn’t you?<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Sauce Wars<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

Then there was the sauce situation. The customer had explicitly requested BBQ sauce, a classic choice. But Pickles decided BBQ was too pedestrian. What this burger needed was a \u201csecret sauce.\u201d Never mind that no one knew what went into said sauce or whether the customer actually wanted it.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The team spent hours concocting various iterations in the back room, tasting spoonfuls of dubious mixtures until someone accidentally created something edible. Problem solved? Not quite. Turns out they also needed bottles to put the sauce in. And labels. And someone to clean up the mess.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

By the time the secret sauce was sorted, the grill was stone cold, and morale was lower than a smashed avocado.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Topping Overload<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

As if the previous disasters weren\u2019t enough, Pickles decided the toppings needed a revamp. Two became three, three became five, and before long, the burger looked like a salad bar exploded on top of it. When the team suggested borrowing toppings from another successful burger recipe, Pickles balked. \u201cToo basic,\u201d he sniffed. \u201cWe need more.<\/em>\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

More toppings meant more prep work, which meant fewer resources for other tasks. Yet Pickles refused to budge on deadlines or budgets. Every new addition sent the team spiraling further into chaos, leaving them wondering how they\u2019d gone from flipping burgers to performing culinary acrobatics.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Moral of the Story?<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

There\u2019s nothing worse than a Pickle who gets emotionally invested in a burger they\u2019re supposed to be managing. Scope creep isn\u2019t just frustrating, it\u2019s destructive. Each unnecessary change drains time, energy, and sanity, leaving the final product unrecognisable from the original order.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

If you don\u2019t manage changes effectively, you\u2019ll end up serving a monstrosity that satisfies no one\u2014not the customer, not the team, and certainly not the bottom line. The solution isn\u2019t heroics, it\u2019s discipline. Document each new requirement, assess its impact on time, money, and quality, and get buy-in from decision-makers upfront. Otherwise, every extra topping becomes your problem, and the burger never leaves the grill.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Back to Reality<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

Sound familiar? If Pickles\u2019 antics struck a nerve, it might be time to brush up on your project management skills. Books like Project Management for the Unofficial Project Manager<\/a><\/em> offer practical advice for avoiding these kinds of kitchen nightmares. From clarifying expectations to managing scope creep, the lessons are universal and are essential for anyone tasked with keeping projects (or burgers) on track.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

So next time you find yourself tempted to add \u201cjust one more thing,\u201d remember: Sometimes the best way to impress a customer is to give them exactly what they asked for. Anything else is just asking for trouble, and possibly indigestion.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Every great burger starts with a simple plan. The order is taken, the ingredients prepped, and the grill fired up. It\u2019s straightforward enough. Deliver what the customer asked for, no more, no less. But in this particular kitchen lurked a shift manager named Pickles, whose approach to project management (and burgers) was\u2026 let\u2019s just say unconventional. Pickles fancied himself an…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":2473,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"advanced_seo_description":"A burger fable about Pickles the shift manager shows how scope creep, overpromising, and poor change management derail projects.","jetpack_seo_html_title":"","jetpack_seo_noindex":false,"jetpack_seo_schema_type":"","_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_feature_clip_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":false,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2},"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false},"categories":[80],"tags":[138,69],"class_list":["post-2472","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-food","tag-project-management","tag-thoughts"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":1332,"url":"https:\/\/digitalbbq.au\/index.php\/2023\/10\/03\/crafting-the-perfect-burger\/","url_meta":{"origin":2472,"position":0},"title":"Crafting the Perfect Burger","author":"Ryan Lenihan","date":"3 October 2023","format":false,"excerpt":"Following on from my recent post about reclaiming work-life balance, I've decided to share a bit more of my personal life with you all. And what better way to kick things off than with a BBQ post? After all, this is DigitalBBQ! I Make Burgers I recently got my hands\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Food"","block_context":{"text":"Food","link":"https:\/\/digitalbbq.au\/index.php\/category\/personal\/food\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/digitalbbq.au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/10\/burgerMontage_.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/digitalbbq.au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/10\/burgerMontage_.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/digitalbbq.au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/10\/burgerMontage_.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/digitalbbq.au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/10\/burgerMontage_.jpg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/digitalbbq.au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/10\/burgerMontage_.jpg?resize=1050%2C600&ssl=1 3x"},"classes":[]},{"id":2000,"url":"https:\/\/digitalbbq.au\/index.php\/2024\/05\/09\/lean-management-in-design-and-construction\/","url_meta":{"origin":2472,"position":1},"title":"Lean Management in Design and Construction","author":"Ryan Lenihan","date":"9 May 2024","format":false,"excerpt":"The first subject I studied as part of my Masters was lean management. I had only ever heard about lean management in a negative context, whenever I had heard people speak about it, they were talking about companies cutting staff to the point teams had to work steady overtime to\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Team Building"","block_context":{"text":"Team Building","link":"https:\/\/digitalbbq.au\/index.php\/category\/team-building\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"Architect, engineer and teamwork with blueprint from above on a building or contractor project. Bui","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/digitalbbq.au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/04\/architect-engineer-and-teamwork-with-blueprint-from-above-on-a-building-or-contractor-project-bui.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/digitalbbq.au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/04\/architect-engineer-and-teamwork-with-blueprint-from-above-on-a-building-or-contractor-project-bui.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/digitalbbq.au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/04\/architect-engineer-and-teamwork-with-blueprint-from-above-on-a-building-or-contractor-project-bui.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/digitalbbq.au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/04\/architect-engineer-and-teamwork-with-blueprint-from-above-on-a-building-or-contractor-project-bui.jpg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/digitalbbq.au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/04\/architect-engineer-and-teamwork-with-blueprint-from-above-on-a-building-or-contractor-project-bui.jpg?resize=1050%2C600&ssl=1 3x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/digitalbbq.au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/04\/architect-engineer-and-teamwork-with-blueprint-from-above-on-a-building-or-contractor-project-bui.jpg?resize=1400%2C800&ssl=1 4x"},"classes":[]},{"id":2049,"url":"https:\/\/digitalbbq.au\/index.php\/2024\/06\/13\/implementing-lean-solutions-for-engineering-workflow-transformation\/","url_meta":{"origin":2472,"position":2},"title":"Implementing Lean Solutions for Engineering Workflow Transformation","author":"Ryan Lenihan","date":"13 June 2024","format":false,"excerpt":"In my previous posts, we explored the challenges faced by engineering teams working with offshore design support offices and how lean principles can help streamline workflows. This week, we'll look at specific lean solutions we implemented that can transform engineering workflows and achieve better outcomes. Streamlining Information Flow One major\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Team Building"","block_context":{"text":"Team Building","link":"https:\/\/digitalbbq.au\/index.php\/category\/team-building\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"Launching production line","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/digitalbbq.au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/06\/launching-production-line.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/digitalbbq.au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/06\/launching-production-line.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/digitalbbq.au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/06\/launching-production-line.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/digitalbbq.au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/06\/launching-production-line.jpg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/digitalbbq.au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/06\/launching-production-line.jpg?resize=1050%2C600&ssl=1 3x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/digitalbbq.au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/06\/launching-production-line.jpg?resize=1400%2C800&ssl=1 4x"},"classes":[]},{"id":1261,"url":"https:\/\/digitalbbq.au\/index.php\/2023\/09\/21\/navigating-the-maze-information-management-in-the-common-data-environment\/","url_meta":{"origin":2472,"position":3},"title":"Navigating the Maze: Information Management in the Common Data Environment","author":"Ryan Lenihan","date":"21 September 2023","format":false,"excerpt":"Today, I'd like to share a portion of a recent conversation that came to me through the week. It's a real-world scenario that many of us in the AEC industry might find familiar, revolving around the challenges of managing files in a common data environment (CDE). Part 1 - WIP\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Digital"","block_context":{"text":"Digital","link":"https:\/\/digitalbbq.au\/index.php\/category\/digital\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/digitalbbq.au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/08\/Picture1.png?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":2080,"url":"https:\/\/digitalbbq.au\/index.php\/2024\/07\/04\/digital-twins-and-client-collaboration-getting-it-right\/","url_meta":{"origin":2472,"position":4},"title":"Digital Twins and Client Collaboration \u2013 Getting It Right","author":"Ryan Lenihan","date":"4 July 2024","format":false,"excerpt":"Just like Crocs or Carhartt, digital twins are all the rage right now, offering a new way to simulate, monitor, and optimise physical assets. But here's the catch: not every client needs\u2014or even wants\u2014a digital twin. There's a lot of buzz around digital twins, but the key is to align\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Digital"","block_context":{"text":"Digital","link":"https:\/\/digitalbbq.au\/index.php\/category\/digital\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/digitalbbq.au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/07\/hospital.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/digitalbbq.au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/07\/hospital.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/digitalbbq.au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/07\/hospital.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/digitalbbq.au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/07\/hospital.jpg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/digitalbbq.au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/07\/hospital.jpg?resize=1050%2C600&ssl=1 3x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/digitalbbq.au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/07\/hospital.jpg?resize=1400%2C800&ssl=1 4x"},"classes":[]},{"id":1342,"url":"https:\/\/digitalbbq.au\/index.php\/2023\/10\/12\/ai-adoption-and-digital-transformation-in-the-aec-industry\/","url_meta":{"origin":2472,"position":5},"title":"AI Adoption and Digital Transformation in the AEC Industry","author":"Ryan Lenihan","date":"12 October 2023","format":false,"excerpt":"The Architecture, Engineering, and Construction (AEC) industry is undergoing a significant transformation, driven by the adoption of Artificial Intelligence (AI) and other digital technologies. Today we explore the importance of embracing these technologies, the challenges faced by the industry, and the various digital technologies emerging in the AEC sector. Importance\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Digital"","block_context":{"text":"Digital","link":"https:\/\/digitalbbq.au\/index.php\/category\/digital\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"artificial intelligence (ai) and machine learning (ml)","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/digitalbbq.au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/10\/artificial-intelligence-ai-and-machine-learning-ml-.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/digitalbbq.au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/10\/artificial-intelligence-ai-and-machine-learning-ml-.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/digitalbbq.au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/10\/artificial-intelligence-ai-and-machine-learning-ml-.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/digitalbbq.au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/10\/artificial-intelligence-ai-and-machine-learning-ml-.jpg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/digitalbbq.au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/10\/artificial-intelligence-ai-and-machine-learning-ml-.jpg?resize=1050%2C600&ssl=1 3x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/digitalbbq.au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/10\/artificial-intelligence-ai-and-machine-learning-ml-.jpg?resize=1400%2C800&ssl=1 4x"},"classes":[]}],"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/digitalbbq.au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/09\/beef-burger-2025-03-23-23-45-40-utc.jpg","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/digitalbbq.au\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2472","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/digitalbbq.au\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/digitalbbq.au\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/digitalbbq.au\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/digitalbbq.au\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2472"}],"version-history":[{"count":5,"href":"https:\/\/digitalbbq.au\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2472\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2483,"href":"https:\/\/digitalbbq.au\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2472\/revisions\/2483"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/digitalbbq.au\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2473"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/digitalbbq.au\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2472"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/digitalbbq.au\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2472"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/digitalbbq.au\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2472"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}