Unreasonable Hospital(ity)

Hey friends 👋🏻

I just finished reading my first book of 2026, and it’s called Unreasonable Hospitality. I picked this book because I was so impressed by the politeness and hospitality in Japan. If you haven’t read my newsletter about Japan, check it out. And it got me thinking-

What is it about hospitality that left me with such a phenomenal impression of Japan?

If I had to summarize this book into 3 takeaways out of so many good lessons, I’d say:

1. Your team needs to want the same thing you do in order to be successful

2. Anticipate people’s needs and go far beyond their expectations

3. Service is black and white, but hospitality is color (this is actually a quote from the book)

You’ll probably come across the first two takeaways in other books about personal growth and business. But the third one was new to me.

The author makes a clear distinction between service and hospitality. Service is about getting the right thing to the customer in a timely manner. Hospitality is about how you make people feel.

So if we apply this concept to our day to day clinical setting, getting the dose right or treating the condition a patient came in for is simply service. But have we ever stopped to ask a deeper question?

Will the patient leave the hospital feeling like they were cared for, or at the very least, heard?

Being a pain management pharmacist for four years now, I’ve had moments where it felt like I was just going through the motions. Patients come in with chronic pain, they’ve tried every medication, and nothing seems to move the needle.

But maybe, just maybe, we’ve exhausted our medical options, but we haven’t given our best attempt at hospitality.

Maybe there really isn’t another medication you can offer. But you can sit down, at eye level, and listen until your patient is done sharing.

Or maybe they’re having a bad day and lose their temper. And instead of trying to win an argument, you choose kindness.

PS: For residents who think you don’t know enough to care for patients, try aiming to provide the best hospitality to the patient you care for. The author attributed moving his restaurant from a 3 star Michelin rating to a 4 star rating to hospitality.

Thanks for reading 🙇🏻

SP