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The Fastest Tortoise: Winning in Industries I Knew Nothing About—A Life Spent Figuring It Out
Amazon Best Seller in Nonprofit Management & Leadership, and Oil & Energy Industry
Life lessons from an investor who forged his own path to success
Through their entertaining conversations, Ken Hersh and his interviewer, best-selling author Steve Fiffer, recount Ken’s improbable life journey, both personally and professionally. And what a journey it has been! Knowing nothing about the energy industry, Ken ventured in and ultimately helped pioneer an investment methodology that built one of the country’s most successful private investment firms and has been copied by dozens of firms to become the dominant means by which capital flows into the domestic energy industry. As a fearless young capitalist, he never shied away from raising his hand. He says, “I viewed every opening as a gaping opportunity. The uncertainty kind of excited me.”
The Fastest Tortoise is about not just weathering the unknown but embracing it and thriving. Structuring his story around “Ken-isms” that define his personal and professional philosophies—such as “yellow lights don’t turn green,” “be uncomfortable,” and “feed the ducks while they’re quacking”—Ken demonstrates how to approach a volatile world.
Ken’s path, from planting his flag in an industry where an investment model had to be reinvented, to creating a culture in which colleagues and staff felt like family, to pursuing a second career in the nonprofit sector, gives leaders and entrepreneurs of all stripes ample examples from which to draw valuable lessons, inspiration, motivation, and confidence. With his honest, in-depth tales of the ups and downs of his business and personal dealings, we get an inside look at how this optimist has successfully navigated life and business.
Life lessons from an investor who forged his own path to success
Through their entertaining conversations, Ken Hersh and his interviewer, best-selling author Steve Fiffer, recount Ken’s improbable life journey, both personally and professionally. And what a journey it has been! Knowing nothing about the energy industry, Ken ventured in and ultimately helped pioneer an investment methodology that built one of the country’s most successful private investment firms and has been copied by dozens of firms to become the dominant means by which capital flows into the domestic energy industry. As a fearless young capitalist, he never shied away from raising his hand. He says, “I viewed every opening as a gaping opportunity. The uncertainty kind of excited me.”
The Fastest Tortoise is about not just weathering the unknown but embracing it and thriving. Structuring his story around “Ken-isms” that define his personal and professional philosophies—such as “yellow lights don’t turn green,” “be uncomfortable,” and “feed the ducks while they’re quacking”—Ken demonstrates how to approach a volatile world.
Ken’s path, from planting his flag in an industry where an investment model had to be reinvented, to creating a culture in which colleagues and staff felt like family, to pursuing a second career in the nonprofit sector, gives leaders and entrepreneurs of all stripes ample examples from which to draw valuable lessons, inspiration, motivation, and confidence. With his honest, in-depth tales of the ups and downs of his business and personal dealings, we get an inside look at how this optimist has successfully navigated life and business.
344 pages, Kindle Edition
Published March 28, 2023
48 people are currently reading
220 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 10 of 10 reviews
August 11, 2023
Delightful read. Hersh tells his story with remarkable honesty, vulnerability, and self-awareness. As a Dallas icon, I devoured his story and its many characters. My favorite part of the book was hearing how he started and scaled a durable (and extremely successful) investment firm with NGP. The challenges and failures he encountered while transitioning the firm to the next generation were particularly salient.
While I don’t identify with some of his personal credo, Hersh has developed a wealth of wisdom and experience in leadership and management worth sharing. I’m glad he wrote this book and wish him the best in this stage at the Bush Center.
4.8/5.0
While I don’t identify with some of his personal credo, Hersh has developed a wealth of wisdom and experience in leadership and management worth sharing. I’m glad he wrote this book and wish him the best in this stage at the Bush Center.
4.8/5.0
February 12, 2023
When a true life story of a recognized mensch comes across your path, take the chance to read it and savor it! This is the tale of a person of honor and integrity doing the right thing and helping a lot of people along the way. Told in a conversational style with Steve Fiffer, this memoir is fast paced for those interested in the making of a fortune and a life from not very auspicious beginnings. In this current time of highlighting victimhood, Ken Hersh does not begrudge being neglected as a child. It make him work harder to achieve something. There is a lot to be learned for all of us in his story. Reminds me of Epictetus, “Men are disturbed not by events but by their opinion about events.” Ken’s opinion is worth noting.
July 18, 2023
Having worked in the E&P industry my whole career, I've watched Ken Hersh and the larger NGP organization for decades from the outside. At times I've admired them, and I've heard curse words about them more than once. When I heard about this book being out, I jumped to read it. Highly recommended for O&G history and finance buffs!
Parts of this book that I loved:
- Inner workings of how Richard Rainwater, Hersh and others came up with the idea of NGP in the first place
- Spilling the tea on old deals like HS Resources, Mesa, Sunoma, and others. This part fit the conversational style with Steve Fiffer really well. I would read 500 pages of this material if I could.
- How NGP grew and changed over the years as limited partners came and went and the funds grew from just $100mm in Fund 1 to over $5B in Fund 11. Simply astonishing growth and wealth creation.
Parts I could have done without:
- The "aw shucks" saga of rise from humble beginnings to an E&P kingmaker and Davos attendee. Dude, you went to St. Mark's, Princeton, Stanford, and worked at Morgan Stanley before the age of 25? Those are not humble beginnings!
- Some of the leadership philosophy stuff. I think there were some really good nuggets in there, but that material wasn't a great fit for the conversational style with Fiffer. Should have been a separate book IMO (with another hundred pages of stories about deals in this book!).
Parts of this book that I loved:
- Inner workings of how Richard Rainwater, Hersh and others came up with the idea of NGP in the first place
- Spilling the tea on old deals like HS Resources, Mesa, Sunoma, and others. This part fit the conversational style with Steve Fiffer really well. I would read 500 pages of this material if I could.
- How NGP grew and changed over the years as limited partners came and went and the funds grew from just $100mm in Fund 1 to over $5B in Fund 11. Simply astonishing growth and wealth creation.
Parts I could have done without:
- The "aw shucks" saga of rise from humble beginnings to an E&P kingmaker and Davos attendee. Dude, you went to St. Mark's, Princeton, Stanford, and worked at Morgan Stanley before the age of 25? Those are not humble beginnings!
- Some of the leadership philosophy stuff. I think there were some really good nuggets in there, but that material wasn't a great fit for the conversational style with Fiffer. Should have been a separate book IMO (with another hundred pages of stories about deals in this book!).
April 27, 2025
3.5. The breakdown and details of some deals that worked and didn't work are gold, as was some of the openness around how they started NGP. It was generally an engaging story, though it was a bit long and read dense. This would have been a great audiobook.
Negatives: I felt like the title was misleading, since the entire story is about how he grew an oil and gas PE shop. I went in blind and assumed the author had spent time in multiple industries and would talk about how he got to know them, which would have been more applicable for me personally. I also think the vulnerable moments, though admirable that he was open about them, were all sort of either not that big a deal or him blaming something else for what went wrong (a bit of "I'm too much of a perfectionist" as a weakness in an interview vibe).
Overall glad I read, not too sure if I would recommend strongly, though for someone interested in energy history or PE I'd say give the audiobook a shot.
Negatives: I felt like the title was misleading, since the entire story is about how he grew an oil and gas PE shop. I went in blind and assumed the author had spent time in multiple industries and would talk about how he got to know them, which would have been more applicable for me personally. I also think the vulnerable moments, though admirable that he was open about them, were all sort of either not that big a deal or him blaming something else for what went wrong (a bit of "I'm too much of a perfectionist" as a weakness in an interview vibe).
Overall glad I read, not too sure if I would recommend strongly, though for someone interested in energy history or PE I'd say give the audiobook a shot.
March 24, 2023
I had a free afternoon and read the whole book. It was entertaining and I learned some business take aways. I do have to admit that I skimmed through the descriptions of some of the deal terms but otherwise it was interesting and definitely worth the read especially for a young professional who thinks they need to know exactly what he/she wants from a career but doesn’t really know. They will learn to raise your hand and other good advice.
March 30, 2023
Savored reading Ken Hersh’s well-written book. What a fascinating life he has led thus far. His insights make this a must-read book.
— Allison Silberberg, former mayor of Alexandria, Virginia, and author of “Visionaries In Our Midst: Ordinary People who are Changing our World”
— Allison Silberberg, former mayor of Alexandria, Virginia, and author of “Visionaries In Our Midst: Ordinary People who are Changing our World”
March 30, 2024
A perfect example of how a great story can get written so poorly. I am not a fan of interview-style memoirs, nor of the author trying to pull lessons out of his own actions. Just tell the story and let the reader decide on how to interpret the events!
April 3, 2023
Way too long and not nearly enough meaningful teaching or lessons. Pales in comparison to the classic finance books. The organization of the book is bizarre. No need for it to be written.
June 28, 2023
Thoughtful and endearing review of a successful career. Well written. Many excellent lessons in this book which should be on every young professionals reading list.
May 27, 2024
Great read. Really enjoyed the background on NGP and deal specifics.
Displaying 1 - 10 of 10 reviews