Unreasonable Hospitality by Will Guidara is the most practical business book I’ve read in a long time.

Military leaders often learn leadership quickly because the stakes are so high. Hospitality leaders learn service the same way—through repeated contact with reality, day after day. Restaurants, it turns out, are a tremendous proving ground for leadership, culture, and service.

Here are a few of my favorite ideas:

1) On praise and criticism

(A lot of this overlaps with parenting advice and The One Minute Manager.)

• Praise in public; criticize in private.
• Praise with emotion; criticize rationally.
• Praise and criticize the behavior, not the person.
• Praise is an affirmation; criticism is an investment.
• Share praise up the chain of leadership so senior leaders can affirm positive behaviors from another angle.

2) On culture

• Culture is a moving average of a team’s behaviors and conversations.
• One of the best ways to influence culture is through short, frequent, live meetings. Restaurants hold “pre-meal” meetings to rally the troops every day.

3) Make it cool to care

In high school, it’s uncool to care. The cool kids wear nonchalance like armor. The real world doesn’t reward not caring—yet some people never unlearn this behavior. Counter it by praising people who show passion and go above and beyond.

4) Perspective has an expiration date

Journal regularly. As a leader, you can reread older entries to remember what it feels like to be in your teammates’ shoes.

5) Watch your costs

• Raindrops make oceans.
• You can deliver hospitality through thoughtful, bespoke gestures—you don’t need luxury to be hospitable.

/end of review

Like I said, great book. If you want a taste of the core concepts before picking up a copy, check out this interview with the author.