Turning a middling restaurant into a world leader

What does it cost to be exceptional at something? And is that price worth paying? How do you know when competitiveness becomes calling—or when it just becomes noise?

Will Guidara grew up in restaurants, watching his father balance being a Hall of Fame dad while caring for Will's mother, who developed quadriplegia after a brain cancer diagnosis. At 12 years old, a single dinner at The Four Seasons changed everything. That night sparked a journey that would take him from Cornell to working for legendary restaurateur Danny Meyer, eventually transform Eleven Madison Park into the #1 restaurant in the world. But this isn't a story about climbing to the top; it's about what happened after.

Will opens up about the night he came in dead last on the World's 50 Best Restaurants list and how that became the catalyst for completely reimagining what excellence could mean. He shares the legendary stories behind the restaurant's most magical moments. Then COVID hit, allowing Will to rethink his next steps in the New York restaurant scene.

Miles and Will explore the danger of tying your entire identity to your work, what it means to welcome people truly, and why small gestures matter more than grand productions. This conversation is about hospitality as a philosophy for life—turning toward people with curiosity, being fully present, and remembering that excellence and empathy can live in the same room.

In this conversation, you'll learn:

• How to Turn Adversity Into Your Greatest Teacher Instead of Your Biggest Enemy
• How to Know If Competitiveness Is Serving You or Destroying You
• How to Create Unreasonable Hospitality in Any Relationship or Work You Do
• How to Recognize When Your Identity Has Become Too Wrapped Up in What You Do
• How to Be Intentional and Creative in the Pursuit of the Relationships That Matter
• How to Give Yourself Grace to Feel Disappointment Before Jumping Into Cheerleader Mode
• How to Create Margin When Everything You're Invited to Feels Meaningful
• How to Make People Feel Seen With the Smallest Gestures
• How to Evaluate Opportunities Using Three Simple Questions

Welcome to Human School, where we learn what matters most.

Miles Adcox

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What We Discuss:

00:00:00 Intro - Welcome to Human School with Will Guidara

00:01:36 Why We All Still Need Praise and Affirmation No Matter How Much We've Accomplished

00:04:06 Criticism Is Not a Bad Word - Why We've Given Negative Connotations to Helpful Things

00:10:27 How Hospitality Could Actually Heal the Division We're All Feeling

00:14:01 How Will's Dad Became His Hero While Caring for His Mom and Running Restaurants

00:16:36 The First Time Will Went to The Four Seasons and Fell in Love With Fine Dining

00:18:00 Why Understanding the Higher Purpose of Your Work Changes Everything on Hard Days

00:21:20 The Email That Changed Everything - Being Ranked #50 on the World's 50 Best List

00:26:10 Why Leaning Into What Never Changes Is the Answer When Everything Is Changing

00:29:16 The Dream Weavers - Hiring People Whose Only Job Was Turning Details Into Memories

00:31:49 The Night They Became the #1 Restaurant in the World in Melbourne

00:47:08 Why They Immediately Closed the Restaurant to Rebuild It Into Their Dream

00:49:41 How COVID Gave Will the Gift of Deciding What to Do Next Instead of Just Reacting

00:52:05 The Conversation About Margin - Why It's So Hard to Create Space in a Full Life

00:55:05 Why "No" Is Not a Bad Word - Learning to Protect Your Time and Energy

00:59:36 Knowing There Will Be a Day When No One Cares Who You Are

01:05:21 The Reminder That You Hold the Flashlight

01:10:20 Becoming a Producer on The Bear

01:13:00 What Will Is Working on Now - A Season of Going With the Flow

01:17:03 The Three Buckets for Saying Yes

01:20:10 Will's Dad's Advice on Finding Inspiration Everywhere