The Pursuit of Excellence: Books From The Bear: Season 2

Like many fans of The Bear, I, too, was enamored with the theme in Season 2 of the pursuit of excellence. Season 2 follows Sydney and Carmy as they struggle to open their restaurant (an Italian Beef joint morphing into fine dining). We watch the characters face one obstacle after another, be both compelled and repelled by people who are supposed to be their emotional touchstones, and challenge themselves to work harder and reach higher than they ever thought they could. Throughout the season, several guests appear like senseis to gently guide characters toward excellence.

The cool thing about excellence is that watching someone pursue it is enthralling. I remember a quote from Fred Rogers about his television segments which showcased people doing different jobs. Rogers' producers wanted to micro-manage the content, dictate the messaging, and pre-plan the shots. Mr. Rogers objected and offered this simple yet profound direction: "Just show the people loving their work."

Everything is revealed through the simple act of loving the work. We love watching people love their work, and we incidentally learn a lot from them in the process. The Bear is meta in that way: characters aspire to excellence in their work through watching others love their work.

Each character's pursuit of excellence included important inspirational books. We at Threaded took notice, of course.

Sydney & Coach K

The character Sydney studied Coach K (Mike Krzyzewski) to hone her skills as a leader. She studied:

• In Leading with the Heart: Coach K's Successful Strategies for Basketball, Business, and Life, the legendary Duke University basketball coach discusses his philosophies and strategies for success, leadership, and teamwork.

• In Beyond Basketball: Coach K's Keywords for Success we gain insights into Coach K's core principles and values that have guided him in his career and personal life, presented through a series of keywords and anecdotes.

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The lessons that Sydney learned from Krzyzewski's was that when the pressure is on and the outcome looks dire, push through with your strongest effort and don't give up. ("Just keep drilling.") Sydney also learned (in an interview clipped in the show) that teamwork is a non-negotiable. Assemble a good team, listen to them, and figure out a solution. And of course, keep "drilling" when the pressure is on. Coach K's advice serves Sydney in Season 2's final episode when the kitchen loses a key player (IYKYK) and she steps up and manages the chaos. With Richie coming in clutch, Sydney leads the team to complete their opening night's service successfully.

Richie & Forks

I watched Episode 7, "Forks," several times, each time struck, awed, and inspired by Richie's transformation. Richie reluctantly stages at the most excellent restaurant in Chicago modeled after the two-star Ever led by the fictional Chef Terry. The episode begins with Richie bitterly polishing forks and receiving reprimand from the lead back-waiter for his bad job, bad attitude, and bad language. The episode progresses and things get worse for Richie. He is 45 years old and losing at life.

He has reached a "fork" in his road and must choose the direction he will go. He can stay the same or change.

Richie's surprise encounter with Chef Terry is the nudge he needs. Her gentle warmth and easy manner is inspiring. (Leaders don't have to shout from the center of the room.) Chef Terry embodies excellence. She shares a story about rebounding from failure and says, "It's never too late to start over." She easily discusses the lessons her tyrannical father taught her and says, "It turns out, I like standards." When Richie asks why she peels mushrooms, a seemingly mundane and thankless time-waster, she says, "I think time doing this is time well spent." She peels them so her customers know someone spent time on their dish. It's a symbol of "respect."

Small Gestures

Small actions that speak volumes to customers is the theme of two books in this episode: Setting the Table: The Transforming Power of Hospitality in Business by Danny Meyer of Union Square Cafe and Will Guidara's book Unreasonable Hospitality: The Remarkable Power of Giving People More Than They Expect. I read Unreasonable Hospitality first and loved it. Since then, I've recommended it to several friends.

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It's the story of how Guidara took Eleven Madison Park to the best restaurant in the world through "unreasonable hospitality," going above and beyond to personalize the customer's experience and alchemize the already damn-fine restaurant into something beyond magical. The book looks at how to make things better, and then make them better, and then better. It inspires readers no matter their industry to strive for excellence, to look at how small gestures speak volumes about your core ethic and why people love being recipients of extra attention.

Connections

The reason Richie's personal transformation in "Forks" was so powerful for me was that eventually, Richie learned that practicing excellence is profoundly satisfying. I connected with Richie's desire to do something important really, really well. It feels good to make people feel good. (Isn't that also why we love Ted Lasso?) Sharing joy with others, whether it's happening across a table, around a Christmas tree, in the checkout line--wherever--reminds us that humanity is inherently good, and connection is the antidote to loneliness, even if the encounter is brief.

That's the spirit of The Threaded Traveling Book Project. We exist to connect over our most meaningful books. We share stories of the stories that changed us. We're like a message in a bottle, only better.

Which of these books will you Thread forward?

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