Making things better by keeping them simple...

"I will return tomorrow night with high expectations."
If you are a fan of Disney/Pixar, you would immediately identify where this quote is from...
...Anton Ego.

Ratatouille is a movie with many messages. The two that I would like to focus on are:
1) Simple
and 
2) Thank you

2024 is again a year that brings various questions about global trade. 
How will business adapt? 
With so many complex issues to navigate, what can business do to prepare?

A message that I garnished from the movie, Ratatouille, is to keep things SIMPLE.

Alfredo Linguini could have served Monsieur Ego some extravagant extraordinary complicated dish. After all, when Anton Ego publishes his review, the effects are everlasting!
However, what was chosen to serve was Ratatouille. (See my recipe below.) A relatively simple dish. Of course, the result was everlasting!

In today's supply chain environment, businesses are thinking about:
- Forced Labor: UFLPA (in the USA), S-211 (in Canada) and Modern Slavery Act (UK)
- CARM (CBSA Assessment and Revenue Management project) in Canada
- CBAM (Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism) in the EU
- US elections. Preparing for who takes office in January 2025 based on November 2024 elections. How will this affect your business?

There are so many other examples that can be provided and discussed. 
How will business remain resilient to the known and (dare I say) more importantly to the unknown upcoming changes?

KEEP IT SIMPLE.

Obtaining guidance, direction and advise regarding commercial responsibilities in the various arenas that business plays in is a way to partner with trusted trade advisors and limit the extensive need to pivot from one task to another by key associates focusing on running the business.

Who can help understand the best shipping lane to use from a cost and delivery timeline perspective?
How will a business know its requirements under new and upcoming regulations in various jurisdictions?

An aspect of keeping it simple is by partnering with key practitioners that already understand and can provide a recap as well as suggest guidance on how to implement any necessary business practices to align with all the new and upcoming changes in order for business to continue its momentum of fluid business continuity.

Alfredo needed Colette Tatou's understanding and support in aligning with the reality of the restaurant. Business need not be frightened by the complexity of the issues at hand nor should business run away from the possible costs in seeking guidance and assistance from a knowledgeable practitioner. 

The complexity and challenging all the changes without support is not keeping it simple and can lead to cost overruns that were not originally projected or thought about.


The other message from the movie is to be grateful and to say thank you. A colleague of mine, Ms. Kerri Chambers, suggested that I align one of my BLOG posts to Thanksgiving. An annual celebration when we focus on realizing how much we are all blessed with. Whether we celebrate in mid-October in Canada or the end of November in the USA (never too early or too late to mention even if this BLOG is being written in January), the festivities may be enhanced by surrounding oneself with family and close friends but the gratitude extends far beyond that.

After experiencing a meal that brought back so many pleasant memories, Anton Ego immediately acknowledges that he needs to send his "compliments to the chef". From a renowned food critic that is a huge and significant compliment!

One of the key methods of navigating supply chain complexities and new regulations is to understand the resources available to untangle the complexities and align with viable and possibly even simple solutions. Thankfully there are practitioners that are defined as experts and can support all sorts of business pain-points and assist to develop strategies in navigating and resolving these arising business hurdles.

Partnering with an expert does not mean there is an internal business failure. It means that the business is recognizing where support is required and provides the ability to navigate a required task which will hopefully result in identifying efficiencies, cost savings and increased revenue. To that end, the practitioner is providing support that can bolster the foundation of the business, enhance key relationships and increase the partnerships to effectively result in growing the business.

Thanksgiving provides a forum to recognize the resources available to individuals, families, communities, etc. 
These resources can be compared to the external resources available to business in navigating trade complexities.

I guess looking at the two messages from the movie Ratatouille that I wanted to focus on, we can combine the two to state that we should all remember to state:

THANK YOU FOR KEEPING IT SIMPLE!

Ratatouille recipe:
- 1 or 2 Italian tomatoes
- 1 zucchini
- 1 medium onion
- 1 small eggplant
- braided mozzarella (spiced)
- goat cheese
- olive oil
- parmesan cheese
- 3 eggs
- salt, black pepper, garlic powder
- sesame seeds

Thinly slice the tomatoes, zucchini, onion and eggplant.
Also slice the mozzarella and goat cheese 

In a deep baking dish, coat the bottom with a tablespoon of olive oil.
Arrange the slices vegetables in the dish standing and encircle the dish with the vegetables.
Between each set of vegetables place a slice of cheese.
Eggplant slice, tomato slice, goat cheese slice, onion slice, zucchini slice, mozzarella slice.
Continue until the vegetables and cheese encircle the entire pan. Create a new circle in the middle to fill the complete pan. 
For large pans, feel free to slice more of the vegetables and cheese.

Sprinkle salt, pepper and garlic powder for taste.
Beat the eggs and pour over the entire dish.
sprinkle some sesame seeds all over.

Bake covered for about 45 minutes at 350 degrees Fahrenheit.
Uncover and continue to bake for about 20 minutes at same temperature.
Serve immediately.

(Picture shown is before the ratatouille was baked and it served 4.)

ENJOY!!!

Don't forget to give your compliments to the chef!

Location: Montreal, QC, Canada

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