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Ben Nadel at Scotch On The Rocks (SOTR) 2011 (Edinburgh) with: Guust Nieuwenhuis and Damien Bruyndonckx and Steven Peeters and Cyril Hanquez
Ben Nadel at Scotch On The Rocks (SOTR) 2011 (Edinburgh) with: Guust Nieuwenhuis Damien Bruyndonckx Steven Peeters Cyril Hanquez

Unreasonable Hospitality By Will Guidara

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On a recent episode of A Bit of Optimism, Simon Sinek and Will Guidara discussed Will's recent book, Unreasonable Hospitality: The Remarkable Power of Giving People More Than They Expect. As someone who builds digital products for a living, I'm always intrigued by the idea of improving customer experience (CX); so, I gave the audio book a listen. It is easily one of the best books I've read in years. And, frankly, it should be mandatory reading for anyone that works with other people.

Ben Nadel smiling and pointing and holding iPhone with Audible showing the book, Unreasonable Hospitality by Will Guidara.

While listening to this book, I found myself becoming overrun with emotion. Will would mention some small detail about how he made someone's lunch experience more memorable with a "dirty water dog" or about how he taught people to ask for help when they were struggling, and it would bring me tears. He taps into something so deep and profound and beautiful in this book. And, it left me with a longing for more: more human connection, more teamwork, more compassion, more understanding, more love.

I've always been a very customer focused product thinker. When Clark Valberg and I founded Epicenter Consulting years ago, we did so with a shared vision of extreme customer focus. We used to fantasize about how to make our customers feel special, coming up with ridiculous scenarios in which product specifications were delivered via helicopter and handed-off in custom-made briefcases set to a back-drop of pyrotechnics and rock music. We wanted our customers to feel the gravity of what we were building together.

Will Guidara takes that level of enthusiasm and a maniacal attention to detail and applies to every aspect of his business life. From his pre-meal ceremonies to the orientation of the merchant logo on the bottom of his plates to the wildly expensive gelato spoons that he has flown-in from Italy. He even encourages his employees to create "legends" for their customers: some small and custom-tailored detail or present or gesture or magic trick that will leave them with a tale that they can tell others in the years to come.

I think part of why this book made me so emotional is because it was validation of my own product outlook. Only, Will takes it to the umpteenth level and iterates on it for years—an endeavor that ultimately earns him the title of best restaurant in the world.

When I was looking Will up for this post, I discovered that he was a producer on The Bear. This is not surprising. So much of what's appealing about The Bear is the attention to detail and the inter-team dynamics. In that show, every employee in the restaurant is referred to as "Chef", from the bus boys to the washers to the waiters. It's a sign of respect; and a genuine acknowledgement that a successful restaurant can only ever be the result of a unified group effort.

At the very, very end of the audio book, Will includes an extra anecdote about a restaurateur that he was helping. He told this person that he has to decide if he wants to be a "player" or a "coach"; but that he can't be both. So much of what this book is about is Will's own evolution from player to coach; which is the only way that this approach to business can scale. This is something I haven't been able to do myself (evolve into a coach); but, this book has truly inspired me to keep working at it.

I can't recommend this book enough. I know that I'll be revisiting it regularly for years to come.

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I believe in love. I believe in compassion. I believe in human rights. I believe that we can afford to give more of these gifts to the world around us because it costs us nothing to be decent and kind and understanding. And, I want you to know that when you land on this site, you are accepted for who you are, no matter how you identify, what truths you live, or whatever kind of goofy shit makes you feel alive! Rock on with your bad self!
Ben Nadel