Making Avocado Juice with Oranges: The Everyday Reality of Managers

Note: This article was enhanced and refined with the help of artificial intelligence, based on the author’s original ideas.

Sometimes, a conversation that seems ordinary on the surface reveals a deeper managerial truth. During a support mission for a large company, a seasoned manager confided in me—with a mix of humor and exhaustion—that he was living through an almost impossible situation: achieving ambitious objectives… without the resources required to reach them. A frustration that, far from being unique to him, is shared by many. “They ask us to make avocado juice, but all we’re given are oranges,” he told me. A metaphor as ironic as it is accurate.

Beyond the anecdote, the urgency of this reality is now supported by alarming data. International studies show that this structural pressure is no longer an isolated feeling but a statistically proven trend. The DDI – Global Leadership Forecast 2025 reports that 40% of leaders have considered leaving their role due to overload, lack of resources, and the widening gap between expectations and the means provided. This figure, particularly troubling, highlights a managerial ecosystem reaching a critical point where exhaustion and demotivation become major risks. (Source)

Building on this alarming observation, it becomes essential for all managerial layers to acknowledge the depth of the issue. The real danger arises when practices, behaviors, and dysfunctions silently cascade from top management to middle management, then to operational teams—and back up again. Once this dynamic settles in, it is no longer a temporary issue; it becomes an implicit culture everyone ends up adapting to. And it is precisely at this stage that the phenomenon settles in for the long term and becomes extremely difficult to reverse.

Returning to the irony of oranges and avocados means returning to what truly matters: shedding light on a reality everyone sees but few dare to name. This metaphor, seemingly light, actually exposes an absurdity that has become commonplace: we keep accepting impossible recipes as if they might magically work one day. The real question is no longer “Why don’t we have the right ingredients?” but rather “When did we start accepting a recipe that can never succeed?” And what if, by normalizing unrealistic expectations, we had forgotten that a manager’s role is not only to do their best with what they have… but also to point out when the request simply makes no sense? A direct—almost blunt—way to bring our practices back in line with common sense.

A key step is first recognizing the phenomenon at the right managerial level and maintaining continuous awareness of essential prerequisites: resources, objectives, and timelines. Building this coherence—and especially maintaining it—is crucial, because trying to do everything by multiplying short‑term fixes only leads to burnout and scattered energy.

The tools to align strategy, operations, and execution already exist. The issue is not a lack of frameworks or methodologies, but rather that, despite knowing this, many still fall into counterproductive habits. They hesitate to challenge dynamics that push them to do everything, at any cost—a cost that ultimately takes the form of confused, demotivated, and less effective teams.

In the end, this is also a matter of managerial empathy: putting oneself in the shoes of frontline teams, understanding their real constraints, and recognizing what can reasonably be expected from them. Because ultimately, concluding means reminding ourselves of an obvious truth we too often forget: you cannot ask for avocado juice when all you provide are oranges. Reestablishing this coherence—simple, human, and logical—is likely the first step toward healthier, more sustainable managerial practices that are truly aligned with the realities of the field.

by Farid Yandouz

Important Notice: My book "Revitalize Managerial Practices: Engaging Stance, Key Dynamics, and Impactful Stepping Stones" is available on Amazon, exclusively through the following link: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0FF4CJZ58