Take It Personal

How to Succeed by Building Relationships and Playing the Long Game

By: David Grutman

Narrated by: Landon Woodson, Joanna Carpenter

In his leadership manifesto, hospitality 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 to today, partnering with the owner of that same restaurant almost two decades later on a globally recognized nightlife brand, LIV, Grutman is credited with single-handedly 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, Gekkō, Komodo, 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 venture: It’s his relationships. In Take It Personal, David shares his core values and guiding principles on building relationships, and businesses, that last, including:

• Create an ecosystem.
• The details are everything in every business.
• Play the long game.
• Connecting people is real wealth.

Entertaining, practical, and chock-full of behind-the-scenes stories from David’s career, Take It Personal is the perfect guide to accelerating your career and unlocking your full potential.

Made me rethink how I show up.

This book stood out because it reminded me that success really is about people, consistency, and intention. David’s experiences made me reflect on my own approach to relationships and long‑term vision. It felt honest, motivating, and surprisingly grounding.

Practical and easy to listen to. No fluff

Great book, with some unexpected insights and without fluff fillers and other bs to make a book long. Just a really awesome book that makes you feel like you’re building Miami alongside David

This book is gold. But The only missing thing in this book was

I wish David had red the book is such a different vibe when the author reads the book. Hopefully he will 🙏