Pre-Meal for Feb 25, 2026The Field Guide!!!

Happy Wednesday!

You know you’ve made something you’re really proud of when you get charged up to promote it—and I could not be more excited to share my newest project with you.

Since Unreasonable Hospitality came out, I’ve spent time with companies in every industry you can think of, from banking to security to healthcare to tech to entertainment to retail—and of course, restaurants and hotels. I feel lucky every day to be learning as much as I’m teaching; it’s been amazing to see all the creative ways people have found to bring the ideas from the book to life.

But some people had questions about next steps. While Unreasonable Hospitality made perfect sense to them in the context of a four-star restaurant, they wanted guidance on how to make it work in their own worlds, with their own teams and customers.

Answering those questions—and coming up with creative, hands-on exercises to help people brainstorm their own solutions—was the catalyst for Unreasonable Hospitality: The Field Guide.

Put another way: If Unreasonable Hospitality was the why, The Field Guide is the how.

As soon as I started writing, I knew I didn’t want this to be just any workbook. Yes, I wanted it to provide practical, hands-on advice for implementing the ideas from the book—but I felt strongly that a workbook about hospitality should be hospitable! I wanted to make a tool that would be as inviting and engaging and fun to use as it would be helpful.

So I reached out to a talented group of collaborators, including the brilliant designer Don Clark of Invisible Creature, and I couldn’t be more excited about what we’ve created together.

The Field Guide is richly illustrated and interactive, designed to function as a collaboration between us, both a collection of my best practices and an ongoing record of your thinking as it evolves. It’s part workbook, part journal—and if I do say so myself, I think it’s pretty cool.

It comes out on April 28th. To encourage you to pre-order (authors love pre-orders!) we’re planning something fun. Buy the book before it comes out, and you’ll become eligible to join the ninety-minute live fireside chat I’ll be hosting on May 6 at 12 p.m. EST. The inimitable Brian Canlis, my good friend and colleague, will moderate; bring any questions you’ve got, and I’ll answer as many as I can.

Register here, and we’ll shoot you the link to join the event the day before. I can’t wait to see your faces. And I really can’t wait to hear what you think of The Field Guide...

Have a good service,

Will

P.S. While I was getting ready to hit send on this, I got a note from someone who’d pre-ordered 1,000 copies (!!) To show my appreciation, I offered to do a private virtual session for him and his team. I don’t know how many people are planning to buy that many copies in advance, but if you’re one of them, let me know! I’d be happy to do the same for you and yours.