Restaurateur Will Guidara wrote a book in 2022 called Unreasonable Hospitality; perhaps you’ve read it. If you haven’t read it, you should go watch his TED Talk here where he discusses the topic of great hospitality.
In the book, Guidara outlines his road to success as a restauranteur who made a middling brasserie in New York City, Eleven Madison Park, into the best restaurant in the world. He did it not through only molecular gastronomy but through outstanding—“unreasonable”—hospitality. As he says, “our reason for being [is to] make people feel seen… to give them a sense of belonging.” Most people would think restaurants are to make people feel fed, but as Guidara says, “food, service, and design are simply ingredients in the recipe of human connection.”
If you've read his book or if you've watched the TED Talk, it’s hard not to imagine the parallels between his story and the advancement profession. Whether you’re a marketer, fundraiser, advancement operations guru, or alumni or parent engagement professional, our profession revolves around people and forging their connections with our schools.
Guidara tells a pivotal story about serving hot dogs to a group of foodies so they wouldn’t miss a quintessential New York City experience, and I imagined all the ways in which I could apply his theory to my practice: craft the perfect, handwritten invitation to visit campus, picnic on the fire escape of a dormitory a donor loved and lived in, or curate a dinner with a favorite teacher or professor. It isn’t hard to see how the theory of “unreasonable hospitality” could catch fire in an advancement context. It’s even more fun to imagine what that level of hospitality would do for our engagement and fundraising metrics.
What struck me most, however, was what he said about his chef. The easy part of his story was retrieving a hot dog from a cart; it was easy to fill a need for diners to execute an incredible experience. What was hard, at least at first, was convincing his colleagues to join him on that journey. It’s difficult to tell a chef at a four-star restaurant to serve a “dirty water hot dog,” as he calls it. The chef doesn’t want a hot dog in a fine dining establishment.
In my advancement practice I felt like I was constantly trying to get a four-star chef to serve a hot dog—whether it was the faculty member I was asking to meet with a donor or encouraging my colleagues or even board members to try something new. Ideas are easy and inexpensive, but execution is often difficult and expensive, either to the budget or to your personal capital on campus as you affect change.
As seasons around the world are shifting, my challenge to you is twofold. First, how can you take the theory of “unreasonable hospitality” and apply it to your advancement practice, regardless of the role you’re in? And second, with equal importance, how can you ask others to join you?
My bet is that few advancement people are daunted by the idea of curating unique and compelling experiences for major donors, but instead are hamstrung by budgets, lack of staff, or personality conflicts from other departments. As we think through this next season, I invite you to adopt a new mindset and encourage your colleagues to join you in a journey that could transform your practice and help you exceed goals.