Wanna read “Unreasonable Hospitality” With Me This Spring?

There’s a book I keep recommending to every founder, creative, and business owner I work with.

It’s not exactly a business book. But it gets at something I’ve been trying to articulate for years — something about the difference between doing good work and making people feel something.

The book is Unreasonable Hospitality by Will Guidara. And if you haven’t read it yet, here’s a little about it and an invitation…

What the book is about (no spoilers)

Will Guidara ran Eleven Madison Park — a restaurant in New York that went from good > great > eventually, the best restaurant in the world. That last part sounds like marketing mumbo-jumbo, but it’s not. It was literally voted number one on the World’s 50 Best Restaurants list in 2017.

It didn’t win because the food was the best. It won because of the way it made people feel.

Will draws a line early in the book that I’ve been thinking about ever since. He says service is a transaction — you do your job well, the client gets what they paid for, and everyone goes home satisfied. Hospitality is something else entirely. It’s the feeling someone gets when they realize you were paying attention. That you noticed. That you actually cared.

He tells a story about a table of guests who had just flown in from Europe and mentioned offhand that they hadn’t yet had a New York hot dog from a street cart. His team went and got them hot dogs. From the street cart. And served them on a silver platter in the middle of a fine dining experience.

Say whaaat?

That’s an example of the unreasonable he’s talking about.

The book is full of stories like this. About what happens when you stop asking “what do we have to do?” and start asking “what could we possibly do?”

For those of us who work with clients — who build brands, shape businesses, guide people through transformation — that question changes everything.

Why host a book club now

I’ll be honest with you: I’m doing this for selfish reasons.

I’m going to attend the Unreasonable Hospitality workshop in London with Story22 and I want to be super prepared for that session. But I’m struggling to imagine what the heck are my “silver platter hotdogs” for my marketing business???

So for 2 weeks, I’m bringing together a small group of interested, curious cats to read this book together and actually talk about it. I’ve read the book, but I don’t want to teach anything. I simply plan to facilitate a real, curious conversation with a small group of people who are serious about the work they do and how they do it.

What the cohort looks like

Two virtual sessions hosted on Zoom

Session 1 — Tuesday, May 5 11:00 AM ET / 10:00 AM CT / 4:00 PM BST

We’ll discuss the first half of the book — Will’s origin story, the distinction between service and hospitality, and what it means to build a culture where yes is the default.

>> Register for Session 1 here

Session 2 — Mon, May 11 10:30 AM ET / 9:30 AM CT / 3:30 PM BST

We’ll finish the book and talk about what it all means for the work we do — the places where we’re already living this philosophy and the places where we could go further.

>> Register for Session 2 here

Each session is 60 minutes and we will end on time, scout’s honor.

Who this is for

• You’re a founder, business owner, independent coworking space owner / operator, or creative leader. You’re actively building a business that serves clients.

• You care deeply about how your clients experience you — not just what you deliver, but how everyone feels in the process.

• You read books like this voluntarily (or you’ve been meaning to) and you like talking about serious ideas with serious people.

• And you can commit to reading (or listening to) half the book between now and May 5 and the other half before May 11. It’s a fast read. Most people finish it in a weekend.

How to join

I’m not going to run applications or background checks, so everyone be cool.

Register in the Zoom links above for the session(s) you can attend. It’s designed for you to come to both, but I completely understand the Maycember reality.

“I wish I had time to read a book” 👀

Since this is my book club, I’m making the rules: You don’t have to read the book to join. If you don’t have time, don’t like reading, forget, whatever — it’s no big deal. You don’t need a permission slip to opt out of the homework. I’ll provide enough context and recaps that you’ll still be able to participate in the conversation.

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One more thing

If you’re coming to London in June, my hope is that the people who’ve been part of this little book club community will get to walk in already knowing people!

For now: get the book. Read it. And I’ll see you in May.

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The cohort is free and offered by personal invitation. Spots are limited to 15. If someone you trust sent you this link, send them an extra-nice thank you note.