The most underrated business discipline is hospitality

I don’t remember the valuation of the deal. I don’t remember most of the presentations. I don’t even remember many of the people who were in the room. But more than 20 years later, I still have a candle from the hotel. I was in my early 20s working as an investment banker on a transaction in Paris. That may sound glamorous, but I barely saw the city. Instead, I spent my days in windowless conference rooms, reviewing spreadsheets and legal documents, and operating on too little sleep. Every evening, though, I returned to the same hotel. And as I walked through, someone would always greet me by my name: “Welcome back, Ms. Chang.” The staff anticipated what I needed before I asked. The room was always exactly as I expected it to be. There was a consistency, warmth, and ease that stood in sharp contrast to the intensity of my workdays. More than two decades later, I still have a candle and room spray carrying the hotel’s signature scent. I use them sparingly because every time I smell them, I’m transported back to that chapter of my life. Not because I was happy—I wasn’t. I was exhausted, stressed, and working 100 hours a week. But I felt taken care of. I felt known. And that’s why I believe hospitality may be the most underrated business discipline today. HOW DO WE MAKE PEOPLE FEEL? At a moment when nearly every executive conversation revolves around AI, automation, productivity, and efficiency, we’re asking important questions. How do we move faster? How do we scale? How do we do more with less? But we’re spending far less time asking a question I think is more important: How do we make people feel? Hospitality is often mistaken for something that belongs exclusively to hotels, restaurants, and travel companies. I think that’s a mistake. Hospitality isn’t luxury. It’s the discipline of making another human being feel understood, cared for, and valued. The organizations that do this wel