One surprise creates a story people share. Systematic surprise creates trust. That’s what made Eleven Madison Park number 1 in the world. Not better food. Every top restaurant had exceptional food.
Will Guidara was on Oprah’s recent podcast talking about his philosophy of unreasonable hospitality. If you caught his keynote at Pavilion’s GTM2025 or read my newsletter about it, this conversation goes even deeper.
Listening to it, something landed differently this time.
I’m a sharer. Always have been. I don’t know any other way.
In some corporate environments, that wasn’t trusted. Sharing perspectives to make something better got misconstrued as positioning or having a personal agenda. Offering a different angle became “unsolicited advice.”
But this is what I believe: When you chase butterflies, they fly away. When you build something valuable and share it openly, the right butterflies come to you naturally. Not all of them, just the ones that align with your values and vision.
People tell me there’s something unexpected about my content – the depth, the openness, how it goes from strategy to action. They tell me they feel seen, empowered, like they can actually do this with or without my help. Last week someone said, “You changed the trajectory of my career.”
My passions come first: elevating the strategic value of marketing, using business as a force for good, ensuring diverse voices at every table. AI is the amplifier. It’s simply the means to that end.
Turns out, that attracts the right butterflies. That’s exactly what Will understood. His team spent the “foolish 5%” of their budget on experiences that created lasting memories. Not because it was efficient. Because it’s what people remembered.
In the AI era, everyone will have access to the same tools, the same playbooks, and the same “best practices.”
What they can’t copy is how you made people feel.
Maya Angelou was right. People forget what you said. They forget what you did. But they never forget how you made them feel.
See the comments for the link to Oprah’s podcast with Will Guidara.
If you want the B2B translation, I also put in the comments the link to my newsletter on building moats through unexpected experiences with AI.
Happy Sunday. ☕