Forks, or finding focus & purpose

"Forks," the seventh episode from the last season of The Bear, was the best single episode of television last year, according to the podcast The Watch. The Golden Globes and all the awards that The Bear garnered in January back that up. (Because of the delay in strike timing, the Emmys won by The Bear were all for its first season from 2022, we'll see if the wave continues into the next awards cycle.) The Bear has been my favorite show of the past few years, as someone who loves food, and resonates with the intricacies and challenges of pulling off a creative act.

In "Forks," the combative cousin Richie gets sent to stage at a high end restaurant, challenging his sense of self, his work ethic, and his place in the restaurant ecosystem. The title of the episode comes from the fact that Richie's first and only task to start is to polish forks to perfection. He finds, though, that in working with people, in connecting with the rhythms and the minute details that create magical experiences, in leaning into relationships, he can connect with his own best qualities, and his sense of purpose. It's a meditative, heartening, joyful look at discipline and the power of transformation.

In a short scene during a montage in "Forks," there is a shot of Richie getting ready for the day, dressed in a suit (he wears suits now) and reading a book – Will Guidara's Unreasonable Hospitality. Published in late 2022, Unreasonable Hospitality is Guidara's recounting of his life and work in the restaurant industry – specifically, working with chef Daniel Humm and leading Eleven Madison Park in New York City to being named the best restaurant in the world.

From a creative and management perspective, there is a lot to like in the book, and Guidara's easy-to-read style is emphasized by liberal bolding of key ideas and concepts around intentionality in all things, management, service delivery, and building a following. A lot of it can be distilled down to a line delivered by the chef of The Bear, Carmy – "You have to care about everything more than anything."

But Unreasonable Hospitality also doesn't rely on the notion of a singular hero, instead emphasizing the importance of building a team that is confident, supported, and empowered to take ownership of their areas. Guidara talked up his team members in interviews, and when he was cautioned that it might mean they would get poached, his response was that it was good to have successful graduates out in the world, carrying their methods and intentions out more widely.

As I am working with boards and leadership teams, there were also two sections from Unreasonable Hospitality that I wanted to highlight. The first is from a section titled "Slow Down to Speed Up" where Guidara reflects on the culture of urgency and crisis that they had created in their pursuit of excellence – culminating in a chef rushing in one evening, convinced they were 2 hours late for their shift, when in fact they were 10 hours early.

Guidara writes, "If you aren't tending to your own needs, you can't help those around you. Pride and ambition motivated us to push—to tweak, to optimize, to work harder, demanding more of ourselves and those around us each day. But you can't pour endlessly from your own pitcher without ever stopping to refill it. So, with some deliberation—and even a little sadness—Daniel and I decided we needed to slow down." That must resonate with leaders and teams, especially having come through the last few years of having greater demands and often, less time and fewer resources to deliver with. Even in the best of times, nothing can be on fire all the time.

The other is from a section titled "Return to First Principles," and this is one of those incredibly relevant practices. Nearing the pinnacle of acclaim, Eleven Madison Park had put together a sprawling, complicated menu that had a whole backstory about New York, and it had been destroyed by the New York Times restaurant critic.

In response, Guidara reflects, "It was time to get back to basics. Daniel and his team made unbelievably delicious food; my dining room team was as good as any in the world at spreading joy through Unreasonable Hospitality. And so, in reaffirming our superpowers, we rediscovered our nonnegotiables, landing on a simple, elegant phrase I posted above the time clock so every one of us would see it, every day: "To be the most delicious and gracious restaurant in the world.""

That simplicity, that clarifying lens is so critical in moving forward with intention and paring away excess to be the best, most focused version of yourself or your organization. It's a practice organizations should come back to as they evolve. When I'm in doubt, I go back to my own first principles – Show up. Do good work. Make life interesting.

All this is not to say that everything in Unreasonable Hospitality is applicable in all industries – this is high-end, expensive dining after all, and the luxury and care provided to customers does rub up against moves for more community-centered fundraising, and for community co-creation. Context matters, but the focus on intention, on listening and understanding to deliver the best versions of your vision, that is always an exciting and motivating prospect. Richie found it in "Forks," and I hope you find it too.