CHAMBER COMMON READ
For our inaugural Common Read in 2026, we’ve selected Unreasonable Hospitality: The Remarkable Power of Giving People More Than They Expect by Will Guidara. This book offers some powerful insights into leadership, service, culture, and connection. Guidara offers some great lessons and personal experiences that extend beyond the hospitality industry and apply to any organization that serves people.
The purpose of the Common Read is simple: By reading the same book, we create a shared experience that encourages conversation and strengthens relationships. The Chamber’s strength comes through individuals coming together to form a whole. We hope this program becomes a solid resource for professional development, primes more business discussions, and helps build unity across our Chamber and the business community.
Chamber members, and anyone in the community who wishes to participate, are invited to join. Throughout the year we’ll offer opportunities to discuss the book and share insights during gatherings such as committee meetings and networking events. You can also share reflections on the Chamber’s Common Read webpage, and we’ll feature select thoughts in the Chamber newsletter. We’ll also send invitations to join the read and share ideas through social media.
The Common Read will run through December 31, 2026, with a new book announced each December for the following year. Our hope is that this becomes a consistent gathering point for learning and dialogue year after year.
You can obtain a copy of the book in the format that works best for you. Hardcopies are available through your preferred bookseller, such as Amazon, or directly from the Ogden-Weber Chamber. We have copies available at our office. Digital and audio versions are also available through Audible, Spotify, and most online platforms.
ABOUT THE BOOK
Chefs at the finest restaurants in the world had long been celebrated for being unreasonable about the food they served. At Eleven Madison Park, they set out to discover what could happen if they were just as unreasonable about how they made them feel.
Will Guidara was twenty-six when he took the helm of Eleven Madison Park, a struggling two-star brasserie that had never quite lived up to its majestic room. Eleven years later, EMP was named the best restaurant in the world.
Today, every business can choose to be a hospitality business—and we can all transform ordinary transactions into extraordinary experiences. Featuring sparkling stories of his journey through restaurants, with the industry’s most famous players like Daniel Boulud and Danny Meyer, Guidara urges us all to find the magic in what we do—for ourselves, the people we work with, and the people we serve.
WHERE TO BUY
Let us know how you liked the book
COMING SOON: Chamber Leadership Library