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Take It Personal: How to Succeed by Building Relationships and Playing the Long Game
In his leadership manifesto, nightlife icon David Grutman shares the importance of building relationships to drive success, with practical tips to level up your business—and your life.
David Grutman knows everyone, and everyone—or rather, anyone who’s anyone—knows him. From a humble start as a 21-year-old bartender at a restaurant in the Aventura Mall just north of Miami to today, partnering with the owner of that same restaurant almost two decades later on a globally recognized nightlife brand. Grutman is credited with singlehandedly transforming the global nightlife and hospitality scene. His collective business properties across Miami, Dallas, and Las Vegas include a Japanese-inspired steakhouse in partnership with Bad Bunny and some of the highest-grossing-per-square-foot restaurants in the country. Groot Hospitality is a household name and David prides himself on not only creating incredible venues, but once in a lifetime experiences that people are willing to travel from all over the world to enjoy.
David has taken hospitality to a whole new level, and now, he is breaking down exactly how he got to where he is today. The key to his success has not changed from his first opening to his most recent multimillion-dollar It’s his relationships. In Take It Personal, David shares his core values and guiding principles on building relationships, and businesses, that last,
Don’t just open a venue, create an ecosystem. The little things are everything in hospitality. Build a team you can trust. Play the long game, but know when to walk away. And so much more . . .
Entertaining and practical in equal measure, Take It Personal is the perfect guide to leveling up in your career and your life.
David Grutman knows everyone, and everyone—or rather, anyone who’s anyone—knows him. From a humble start as a 21-year-old bartender at a restaurant in the Aventura Mall just north of Miami to today, partnering with the owner of that same restaurant almost two decades later on a globally recognized nightlife brand. Grutman is credited with singlehandedly transforming the global nightlife and hospitality scene. His collective business properties across Miami, Dallas, and Las Vegas include a Japanese-inspired steakhouse in partnership with Bad Bunny and some of the highest-grossing-per-square-foot restaurants in the country. Groot Hospitality is a household name and David prides himself on not only creating incredible venues, but once in a lifetime experiences that people are willing to travel from all over the world to enjoy.
David has taken hospitality to a whole new level, and now, he is breaking down exactly how he got to where he is today. The key to his success has not changed from his first opening to his most recent multimillion-dollar It’s his relationships. In Take It Personal, David shares his core values and guiding principles on building relationships, and businesses, that last,
Don’t just open a venue, create an ecosystem. The little things are everything in hospitality. Build a team you can trust. Play the long game, but know when to walk away. And so much more . . .
Entertaining and practical in equal measure, Take It Personal is the perfect guide to leveling up in your career and your life.
- GenresBusinessNonfiction
208 pages, Hardcover
Published April 14, 2026
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Displaying 1 - 11 of 11 reviews
April 23, 2026
It realllllllly lacked tactics. Felt more like a memoir
June 25, 2026
Very good. Hospitality king
May 17, 2026
This book definitely has value. The stories are entertaining, the networking mindset is solid, and there are some genuinely useful lessons throughout. Like others have mentioned though, it reads more like a memoir mixed with a long-form pitch for becoming a business partner of David Grutman. Honestly… after reading it, I kind of understood why people would want to work with him.
Where the book falls short is actionable execution. There aren’t many step-by-step frameworks or practical systems you can immediately apply. Most of the value comes from the bigger-picture thinking: relationships matter, branding matters, experience matters, and relentless consistency compounds over time. If you have enough imagination and business sense to extract and adapt those concepts into your own world, there’s still a lot to gain from it.
Overall, I’d say it’s more inspirational than instructional. Good read for mindset and perspective, less useful if you’re looking for a tactical blueprint
Where the book falls short is actionable execution. There aren’t many step-by-step frameworks or practical systems you can immediately apply. Most of the value comes from the bigger-picture thinking: relationships matter, branding matters, experience matters, and relentless consistency compounds over time. If you have enough imagination and business sense to extract and adapt those concepts into your own world, there’s still a lot to gain from it.
Overall, I’d say it’s more inspirational than instructional. Good read for mindset and perspective, less useful if you’re looking for a tactical blueprint
May 3, 2026
Gave it 5 stars so David won’t take it personal.
June 14, 2026
Genuinely one of the easiest reads I have picked up in a while. Finished it in two days. David Grutman built something real with Groot Hospitality and this book does not pretend to be something it is not, which is exactly what makes it worth your time.
The lesson that stayed with me the most was about how you speak to people. He frames it around his daughters, basically, if you would not want someone talking to your daughter that way, do not talk to people that way. That is it. No complicated framework, just a standard that actually means something.
He also puts a lot of weight on transparency and integrity, in friendships and in business, and the way he talks about it makes clear he does not really see a difference between the two. That resonated with me.
There is a whole chapter on protecting your IP and trademarks and honestly every entrepreneur needs to read it. It is one of those things people put off until it becomes a problem.
If you are in restaurants, hospitality, or really any kind of entrepreneurial path, read this book. And if you ever get the opportunity to take one of his classes at Florida International University, do it. From what I can tell it is one of the highest ROI classes you could take. Practical, real world, from someone who has actually done it.
Highly recommend.
The lesson that stayed with me the most was about how you speak to people. He frames it around his daughters, basically, if you would not want someone talking to your daughter that way, do not talk to people that way. That is it. No complicated framework, just a standard that actually means something.
He also puts a lot of weight on transparency and integrity, in friendships and in business, and the way he talks about it makes clear he does not really see a difference between the two. That resonated with me.
There is a whole chapter on protecting your IP and trademarks and honestly every entrepreneur needs to read it. It is one of those things people put off until it becomes a problem.
If you are in restaurants, hospitality, or really any kind of entrepreneurial path, read this book. And if you ever get the opportunity to take one of his classes at Florida International University, do it. From what I can tell it is one of the highest ROI classes you could take. Practical, real world, from someone who has actually done it.
Highly recommend.
June 4, 2026
Fantastic book! I read it in one sitting and was shocked by how captivating the book was. I loved the book as I think Grutman has values that every person should strive to have in and outside of work. It was great to read a book about a “nice guy” becoming such a success and attributing his success to being consistently a good moral person that treats people correctly. Would especially be a great read for someone interested in entrepreneurship, as Grutman does a fantastic job at distilling important concepts like the value of ip ownership - but even if you aren’t interested in business ownership, it’s a fantastic way to learn more about the King of Miami’s life philosophy (and learn that he truly deserves all his success and everyone loving him so much)
April 16, 2026
Very good book! Really enjoyed hearing about Grutman’s journey especially since I feel like I’ve witness a lot of his growth first hand by following his social media as well as working with him. We have also visited a few of his venues and service and experience was always top notch! He has really set the bar high!
April 19, 2026
David nailed it. Real life examples and stories who truly make you understand his points. 5/5
May 6, 2026
A book full of great stories. And I love the way he writes about his wife.
June 10, 2026
As a native Miamian who despises the whole “Groot” vibe, I surprisingly enjoyed this book. There’s a lot of wisdom here and I’d recommend it to anyone in the hospitality field.
May 7, 2026
This was a very enjoyable autobiography that I was able to breeze through. Grutman's specific impact to Miami nightlife culture and hospitality in general, is a pretty unique take on the traditional 'business book genre' that tends to offer stories around consumer product brands vs. experiential businesses. He is one of those people that seems to be doing exactly what he was put on this earth to do, which comes off in his authenticity of how he approaches his industry. He gives a great perspective of brand and world building, and the importance of understanding cultural positioning. Stylistically, it’s not deeply literary, but feels very relevant to building a business in the modern era.
Displaying 1 - 11 of 11 reviews