Take It Personal: How to Succeed by Building Relationships and Playing the Long Game

by David Grutman

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.

Genres: Business

208 pages, Hardcover

Published April 14, 2026

Reviews

[Reader · Rating 2 out of 5]

It realllllllly lacked tactics. Felt more like a memoir

[Gianni Cortes · Rating 4 out of 5]

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

[Adam Kaplan · Rating 5 out of 5]

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!

[Deepak Bassi · Rating 5 out of 5]

David nailed it. Real life examples and stories who truly make you understand his points. 5/5

[Emil Anton · Rating 5 out of 5]

Gave it 5 stars so David won’t take it personal.

[Ari Moel · Rating 3 out of 5]

A book full of great stories. And I love the way he writes about his wife.

[Jack W · Rating 4 out of 5]

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.