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Reading lists

Books to read if you love The Bear

Unreasonable Hospitality: The Field Guide

Working alongside Will Guidara is the ultimate masterclass in how to thoughtfully improve the lives of those around you. He is now sharing his truly remarkable gift with the world in this keenly observant and heartfelt must-read, for anyone looking to stand out from the pack.

Dan Levy, Emmy® award winning writer, actor, director, and producer of Schitt's Creek

Any organization would benefit from his thinking.

Will Guidara weaves heartfelt stories and keen observations to illustrate how purposeful, no-holds-barred hospitality satisfies our essential need to belong. An exceptional book for anyone or any organization aiming to excel at human connection.

Danny Meyer, CEO of Union Square Hospitality Group and author of Setting the Table

One of the five best management books I have ever read. Plus, it is the most engaging and entertaining – by a wide margin. This is, flat out, not a book to miss.

Roger Martin, writer, strategy advisor and management thinker

Will Guidara is one of the very best in the hospitality business, but this book is for everyone. His insights on how to be a great entrepreneur cut through the noise.

David Chang, chef and founder of Momofuku, and host of Ugly Delicious

Will gives us the best reason to be unreasonable—the people we serve. His approach to hospitality is novel, noble, and not at all exclusive to the restaurant industry. If you want to revolutionize the way you do business, you need this book!

Dave Ramsey, bestselling author and radio host

Making people feel welcome, accepted, appreciated, seen, known… what could be cooler than that? This is what Will has unlocked in this book: that hospitality is as thrilling and inspiring to give as it is to receive, both in work, and in life.

Christina Tosi, founder and CEO of Milk Bar

In this book, Will Guidara shows us how to lead and to serve at the next level by building a foundation of hospitality, and creating a people-first “working together” culture. It’s an inspiring book for businesses in every industry.

Alan Mulally, former CEO of Boeing and Ford

In dining rooms, in conference rooms, and in all corners of hospitality, Will Guidara has made a career out of going above and beyond, giving people what they want, even when they don’t know they want it. This book puts his story, and more than a few of his trade secrets, in your hands.

Guidara makes his nonfiction debut with an enthusiastic guide for leaders [and asserts] sage advice about leadership.

Will Guidara is the author of the New York Times bestseller Unreasonable Hospitality, which chronicles the lessons in service and leadership he has learned over the course of his career in restaurants. He is the former co-owner of Eleven Madison Park, which under his leadership was named the Best Restaurant in the World. He is the host of the Welcome Conference, a co-producer of the Emmy Award-winning series The Bear, and a recipient of the Wall Street Journal Innovator Award. He lives in New York with his wife, Christina, and their two children, Frankie and Sonny.

From the New York Times bestselling author, former co-owner of the #1 restaurant in the world, and co-producer of the Emmy Award-winning series 'The Bear' comes the much-awaited interactive guide to putting the principles of Unreasonable Hospitality into action in your organization. 
 
With his book Unreasonable Hospitality, Will Guidara issued a compelling invitation: "No matter what business you're in, you can make the choice to be in the hospitality industry." His lessons about service and leadership celebrated the one principle that never goes out of season: the human desire to be taken care of. 
 
If Unreasonable Hospitality is the why, then The Field Guide is the how--a step-by-step roadmap to applying those lessons, including: 
<ul><li>Building and leading your team with consistency, integrity--and yes, hospitality</li><li>Developing a culture of hospitality with five essential components--excellence, communication, collaboration, feedback, and repair--and the systems that will keep those values front and center</li><li>Creating bespoke gestures with the power to transform ordinary transactions into extraordinary experiences--as well as how to create a ready-made toolkit of easily implemented ones that feel bespoke.</li></ul> 
Featuring deeply personal stories, his own as well as those of readers he's encountered, the book is packed with practical exercises that are as relevant to the CEO of a Fortune 500 as they are to the ambitious intern at the front desk. Each can be done on your own, with your team, or company-wide at the annual retreat. 
 
Beautifully designed and illustrated in full colour, this delightful, participatory guide—meant to be marked up and discussed—will have you feeling like a kid about to crack open a new colouring book. You'll walk away inspired, with a power pack of specific, immediately actionable ideas to help you elevate the magic in what you do—for yourself, the people you work with, and the people you serve.

Will Guidara

Working alongside Will Guidara is the ultimate masterclass in how to thoughtfully improve the lives of those around you. He is now sharing his truly remarkable gift with the world in this keenly observant and heartfelt must-read, for anyone looking to stand out from the pack.

Dan Levy, Emmy® award winning writer, actor, director, and producer of Schitt’s Creek

Danny Meyer, CEO of Union Square Hospitality Group and author of Setting the Table

One of the five best management books I have ever read. Plus, it is the most engaging and entertaining – by a wide margin. This is, flat out, not a book to miss.

Will Guidara is one of the very best in the hospitality business, but this book is for everyone. His insights on how to be a great entrepreneur cut through the noise.

David Chang, chef and founder of Momofuku, and host of Ugly Delicious

Will gives us the best reason to be unreasonable—the people we serve. His approach to hospitality is novel, noble, and not at all exclusive to the restaurant industry. If you want to revolutionize the way you do business, you need this book!

Dave Ramsey, bestselling author and radio host

Making people feel welcome, accepted, appreciated, seen, known… what could be cooler than that? This is what Will has unlocked in this book: that hospitality is as thrilling and inspiring to give as it is to receive, both in work, and in life.

The Remarkable Power of Giving People More Than They Expect

THE NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER 
 
AS SEEN ON THE HIT TV SHOW 'THE BEAR' 
 
The inspiring, bestselling guide to the essential lessons in service and leadership from the former co-owner of legendary restaurant Eleven Madison Park. 
 
Will Guidara was twenty-six when he took the helm of Eleven Madison Park, a struggling New York City two-star brasserie that had never quite lived up to its majestic room. Eleven years later, EMP was named the best restaurant in the world. 
 
How did Guidara pull off this unprecedented transformation? 
 
Radical reinvention, a true partnership between the kitchen and the dining room – and memorable, over-the-top, bespoke hospitality. 
 
Guidara’s team surprised a family who had never seen snow with a magical sledding trip to Central Park after their dinner; they filled a private dining room with sand, complete with mai-tais and beach chairs, to console a couple with a cancelled vacation. 
 
His hospitality extended beyond those dining at the restaurant – his own team reaped the benefits of his leadership and lessons, learning: 
<ul><li>To deliver praise and criticism with intention,</li><li>Why the answer to some of the most pernicious business dilemmas is to give more – not less, and</li><li>That the magic that can happen when a busser starts thinking like an owner.</li></ul> 
Now in Unreasonable Hospitality, Guidara shows us that every business can choose to be a hospitality business – and how we can all transform ordinary transactions into extraordinary experiences. 
 
Featuring sparkling stories of his journey through restaurants, with the industry’s most famous players like Daniel Boulud and Danny Meyer, Guidara urges us all to find the magic in what we do – for ourselves, the people we work with, and the people we serve.

Will Guidara

Praise for Unreasonable Hospitality

Working alongside Will Guidara is the ultimate masterclass in how to thoughtfully improve the lives of those around you. He is now sharing his truly remarkable gift with the world in this keenly observant and ...

Any organization would benefit from his thinking.

Will Guidara weaves heartfelt stories and keen observations to illustrate how purposeful, no-holds-barred hospitality satisfies our essential need to belong. An exceptional book for anyone or any organ ...

Working alongside Will Guidara is the ultimate masterclass in how to thoughtfully improve the lives of those around you. He is now sharing his truly remarkable gift with the world in this keenly observant and ...

Any organization would benefit from his thinking.

Will Guidara weaves heartfelt stories and keen observations to illustrate how purposeful, no-holds-barred hospitality satisfies our essential need to belong. An exceptional book for anyone or any organ ...

Working alongside Will Guidara is the ultimate masterclass in how to thoughtfully improve the lives of those around you. He is now sharing his truly remarkable gift with the world in this keenly observant and ...

Any organization would benefit from his thinking.

Will Guidara weaves heartfelt stories and keen observations to illustrate how purposeful, no-holds-barred hospitality satisfies our essential need to belong. An exceptional book for anyone or any organ ...

Books by Will Guidara

Articles featuring Will Guidara

Books to read if you love The Bear

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