Will Guidara: Unreasonable Hospitality

Will Guidara is the former co-owner of Eleven Madison Park, which under his leadership received four stars from the New York Times, three Michelin stars, and in 2017 was named #1 on the list of the World’s 50 Best Restaurants. He has co-authored four cookbooks, was named one of Crain's New York Business's 40 Under 40, and is the recipient of WSJ Magazine's Innovator Award. He is the author of Unreasonable Hospitality: The Remarkable Power of Giving People More Than They Expect*.

We expect hospitality from a restaurant or hotel, but we often miss opportunities for this mindset at work. In this conversation, Will and I discuss effective leadership as an act of hospitality, not only for the organization and team — but for the leader themselves.

Key Points

Service is black and white. Hospitality is color.

Hospitality elevates service not only for the person receiving it, but for the person delivering it.

Hospitality is a dialogue, not a monologue. With employees, this means giving feedback continuously.

When offering criticism, make a charitable assumption. The message is still the message, but the context matters.

Giving attention to your top performers does a lot to invest others in their work.

Make it cool to care.

Resources Mentioned

Unreasonable Hospitality: The Remarkable Power of Giving People More Than They Expect* by Will Guidara

Interview Notes

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