The Causal Loop Diagram Of Cranberry Sauce Omission
Posted by Michael Dattilio on Wed, Nov 24, 2010 @ 08:00 AM
Okay, this is not the standard or recommended use of causal loop diagrams, but given the season and the growing crisis of missing cranberry sauce, I've decided to spend 10 minutes to analyze the problem.
Seems like every year, we all sit down to a table full of good vittles at Thanksgiving, and the canned cranberry sauce sits alone in the cold fridge. Using the power of systems thinking and refrigerator magnets, I've created a solution that you can post on your ice box and avert T-day tragedy.
Purists may scoff at the above diagram since it's not fully connected, closed or otherwise linked to the universe. That's okay, those folks will complete the diagram at the kitchen table while the rest of us sleep through the football games in preparation for dessert.
Let me walk you through the model above, starting at bottom right:
1. As "Time Until Dinner" decreases, "Stove Use" increases due to the 7 types of root veggies we have to prepare in addition to the turkey and gravy.
2. As "Stove Use" goes up, "Refrigerator Use" goes down because all the raw food has been taken out and cooked, so not as much need to go into the fridge.
3. As "Refrigerator Use" goes down, "Stove Use" goes up just because I said so.
4. Back to "Stove Use" - as it goes up, "Refrigerator Use" decreases and "Roasted Turkey Smell" increases. This is where the Cranberry Sauce's demise begins to take shape...
5. As "Refrigerator Use" decreases and "Roasted Turkey Smell" increases, "Cranberry Sauce (CS) Awareness" decreases.
6. As "Cranberry Sauce (CS) Awareness" goes down, "Likelihood Of CS On Table" also goes down. It's a sad day for the Cranberry Sauce Advisory Board.
There's another whole model if the canned cranberry sauce has not been chilled and is put in the freezer, but I'm still working through that one...
Two things usually trigger the afterthought of the cranberry sauce. The first is when it's time to clean up and people start putting leftovers back into the ice box. Suddenly, "Cranberry Sauce (CS) Awareness" skyrockets because it's the only thing left in the Norge, therefore quite visible upon re-opening the door. The second is sometimes at the end of the meal, those of us who need to know when the next bite is scheduled to come our way ask "When is dessert??". Because dessert is sweet and so is CS, someone knocks themselves on the forehead and says "We forgot the CS again!"
So, in good Systems Thinking form, we look for leverage points to influence the outcome. Here are mine for this complex holiday issue:
A. Serve the cranberry sauce as a cleverly disguised appetizer. Cut it into cubes, place on toothpick with cubed Spam and serve with chipotle sauce. The latter will sound so cool that people will forget the first two ingredients. Trendy.
B. Before the meal, mix the cranberry sauce with vodka and ice in a blender, serve with a lime wedge and you have a Cape Cod slushee. A couple of those and you won't care that the CS doesn't make it to dinner. Or anyone else for that matter...
C. Instead of bread, stuff the turkey with the unopened can of cranberry sauce. This serves the dual purpose of getting the CS on the table and the explosion of the can can replace your pop-up timer.
I suggest you print this out and post it on your refrigerator, magnets won't hold your laptop up there very long.
May all of you have a Happy Thanksgiving and "Remember The Cranberry Sauce"!