Will Guidara made his name in the hospitality industry as the co-owner of Eleven Madison Park, transforming it from a "good" New York restaurant to a 3 Michelin star establishment that was ranked number one on "The World's 50 Best Restaurants" list in 2017.

In his new book, Unreasonable Hospitality: The Remarkable Power of Giving People More Than They Expect, Will shares his personal memoir and manifesto, outlining his business management philosophy on the art of service.

Together with Martin Reeves, Chairman of BCG Henderson Institute, Will discusses how to be intentional in the pursuit of relationships with both the people you work with and those you serve, and the impact of digging deeper to explore new creative approaches that turn ordinary transactions into extraordinary experiences.
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About the BCG Henderson Institute
The BCG Henderson Institute is the Boston Consulting Group’s think tank, dedicated to exploring and developing valuable new insights from business, technology, economics, and science by embracing the powerful technology of ideas. The Institute engages leaders in provocative discussion and experimentation to expand the boundaries of business theory and practice and to translate innovative ideas from within and beyond business. For more ideas and inspiration, sign up to receive BHI INSIGHTS, our monthly newsletter, and follow us on LinkedIn and Twitter.

Unreasonable Hospitality with Will Guidara

Will Guidara—an elite New York restauranteur and author—talks about his storied career as a leader in modern luxury dining, delivering service that transforms a meal into a magical experience.

Will Guidara

On this 305th episode of Take Flight Weekly, I pull back the curtain on the 10 lessons that shaped me the most in 2025. I'm the President of Jameson Sotheby's International Realty, I coach elite-level producers across dozens of markets, and I continue to build my own business. That combination gives me a front-row seat to what separates the 3% from the 97%.

These are the real patterns that separate the people who grow from the people who stay stuck.

The 10 Patterns That Separate the 3% From the 97%
→ Lesson 1: Vision Is an Emotional Destination
A true vision is a feeling. It's the emotional state you want to experience three years from now—clarity, control, energy, confidence, margin.
→ Lesson 2: An Extra 0.25% on Every $10M in Production Is $25,000
Elite producers understand the compounding effect of precision. Micro improvements stack, scale, and matter.
→ Lesson 3: Is Planning Actually Procrastination?
Too many advisors hide behind "planning" because it feels productive. But planning without execution is avoidance. Planning becomes procrastination the moment it delays action.
→ Lesson 4: The 3% Are Willing to Fail to Learn and Grow
Failing in public is the entry fee to elite performance. The 3% don't fear failure. They fear stagnation. Most optimize for safety. The elite optimize for growth.
→ Lesson 5: The Basics Will Always Work. Less Is More.
Top performers master the basics at a higher level. When business gets noisy, the elite simplify. Excellence is built through subtraction, not addition.
→ Lesson 6: The Next Frontier Is Marketing Your Hyper-Local Market
Advisors who master hyper-local expertise will own the next decade. The buying public chooses location first. AI is indexing geography at a micro level. Build a brand tied directly to location.
→ Lesson 7: Only 4% of People Receive Two or More Handwritten Notes Per Year
Authenticity stands out. A handwritten note has the highest open rate in the world. Low cost. High impact. Underutilized.
→ Lesson 8: If You Don't Plant, You Will Not Harvest
Input always precedes output. You cannot take a season off from marketing, database management, and relationship nurturing and expect predictable revenue. Keep planting during your busiest months.
→ Lesson 9: The Top 1% Are Obsessed with Reaching Their Goals
Not committed. Obsessed. The top 1% live in complete alignment with their outcomes. Their habits, calendars, and relationships match their goals. Elite performance is engineered.
→ Lesson 10: Rightsize Is My Word for 2026

Rightsizing is about stripping away clutter. It's about aligning your business, commitments, team, and inputs with your emotional destination. It's not about shrinking. It's about recalibrating to grow in the right direction.

Here's my promise heading into 2026: I'm going to keep doing the work, connecting the dots, and bringing you the truth about what separates elite producers from the 97%. You show up and do your part, and I'll show up and do mine.

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✈️ Take Flight Weekly, Episode #305: The 10 Patterns That Separate the 3% From the 97%

Monday Morning Pep Talk - First Impressions

Why do we procrastinate?  Find out why in this PODCAST.   I discuss how procrastination is really an argument has with itself.

Monday Morning Pep Talk, JUST DO IT!

In this PODCAST, I cover the 7 characteristics of a True Champion and how that relates to business.

Monday Morning Pep Talk- The Mind of a True Champion

In this podcast, I discuss the one of the most important questions you are going to ask yourself as you drive towards your goals.  Are you Committed or Are You Interested?

Monday Morning Pep Talk - Are You Committed or Are You Interested?

So to correlate that to self development, meeting our goals or higher levels of success is our “computing issue”.  So today,  I have 5 simple, easy to execute, low cost and high impact SUCCESS HACKS that you can implement this week.

Monday Morning Pep Talk - 5 Success Hacks

Jim Miller is a success mentor and life coach who guides top real estate brokers from around the country while managing 2.3B+ in sales production as Designated Managing Broker with Jameson Sotheby’s International Realty in Chicago, Illinois.  He is also recognized as a top real estate coach to top Sotheby's International Realty brokers in 35 luxury markets.

✈️ Take Flight Weekly, Episode #305: The 10 Patterns That Separate the 3% From the 97%

Ask Jim Miller

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