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Unreasonable Hospitality, and What It Reinforced About Leadership, Building Products, and the Wedding Industry

As I wrap my first year as CEO of The Knot Worldwide, I’ve spent time reflecting on leadership, culture, and what it truly means to build products and experiences that matter.

One of the books I recommended our entire company read last year was Unreasonable Hospitality by Will Guidara. While it’s framed through the lens of fine dining, it’s ultimately a lesson in leadership, intention and the human side of excellence. The more I reflected on it, the more it aligned with the work we do at The Knot Worldwide—and with the work wedding professionals do to serve couples every day.

Excellence is the Starting Line, Not the Finish

One of the book’s core ideas is simple but challenging: technical excellence is expected. It earns trust—but it’s not what people remember. That resonated deeply with me.

At The Knot Worldwide, our teams work hard to build reliable, scalable, high-performing products. That foundation matters. Wedding professionals depend on it, and couples trust us with one of the most meaningful moments of their lives. But excellence alone isn’t the experience.

What people remember (and what creates loyalty and trust) is how supported, understood, and cared for they feel along the way. That’s true for customers, partners and employees alike.

Leadership is about Designing for Care

What struck me most in Unreasonable Hospitality is that extraordinary moments weren’t accidental. They were the result of leaders who intentionally designed environments where people were empowered to notice, care, and act.

As leaders, we don’t just set strategy—we shape how products get built and how teams show up for the customers they serve. The systems we design, the behaviors we reward and the tone we set all determine whether care can scale.

At TKWW, that means continually asking:

• Are we deeply listening to wedding professionals’ needs?
• Are we building products that make their businesses easier to run?
• Are we empowering our teams to think creatively about how we serve, not just what we ship?

Care doesn’t happen by chance. It has to be built into how we build.

Culture Shows Up When Things Get Hard

Weddings are emotional, high-stakes, once-in-a-lifetime moments. Building and running a global technology company isn’t so different. In both cases, pressure reveals culture.

How leaders show up when things don’t go as planned matters far more than how they show up when everything is smooth. Over the past year, I’ve been reminded that leadership isn’t about having all the answers—it’s about modeling calm, clarity, respect, and accountability, especially when things are hard.

People feel that. Teams feel that. Customers feel that.

One Year In

As I reflect on my first year as CEO, Unreasonable Hospitality reinforced something I believe deeply:

Leadership isn’t about control or perfection. It’s about intentional generosity—toward your team, your customers, and the people you serve.

When we lead with care and build products with purpose, we don’t just create better tools or better events. We build trust. We build loyalty. We build moments that last.

And in an industry built around once-in-a-lifetime experiences, that matters more than anything.

Thank you to the teams, partners, and wedding professionals who make this work meaningful every day.

Photo: Kir2ben