Polishing Forks?

I’ve been thinking about a moment from The Bear... yes, the show that hits close to home for anyone who's ever tried to do something with excellence while under pressure.

There’s this scene where Richie is polishing forks. He's going through the motions as quickly as he can, just checking the box. Garrett sees it and stops him. Not gently. And then he highlights a secret ingredient that we rarely talk about. 

Take a minute to watch the clip before you read any more.

Go ahead… watch it. I’ll wait for you.

Okay, so now that you've watched the clip, you know that polishing the forks isn’t about silverware. It’s about three things: personal standards, SELF RESPECT and clarity about your unique contributions. 

Polishing the forks is a reminder that excellence lives in the details. When you model care in the small things, you set the tone for pride, consistency and trust.

I've been finding ways to slip this into my keynotes and workshops because we all have “fork moments.” Things that feel small or repetitive or... yes, I'm going to say it... tasks that feel beneath us. But those responsibilities are often where greatness lives. Culture is built in those moments. Self respect is upheld—or lost—right there.

So if you lead a team, how do you shift your mentality... and even more challenging... how do you help your team members actually care about the forks? And how do you do it within the confines of today's culture, when burnout is rampant?

I know there's a lot to this, but for the moment, lean into the whole idea of prioritizing respect: 

1. Show YOURSELF self-respect. Take pride in your work. In who you are. In your unique contributions. Get up.... get dressed... and go get 'em.

2. Give the client the respect they deserve. None of us are 100% all the time, but when you have people counting on you, you've gotta dig deep.  

3. Remind your team members to respect each other—and themselves. 

We're not done here... so tune in next week for more about this. Until then, whether you’re plating five-star meals or leading projects, I hope you’ll choose to polish the forks this week.