Review: David Grutman’s ‘Take It Personal’: A Practical Primer for the Hospitality Hustle

In Take It Personal, David Grutman, the mastermind behind Miami’s most iconic nightlife and hospitality venues like LIV and Story, attempts to distill his career into a blueprint for success through relationship building and ‘playing the long game’. While Grutman’s empire is undeniably impressive, the book often feels like it is treading water at times. It struggles to find its identity, caught somewhere between a professional guidebook and a personal history.

The most glaring issue is the pacing. The examples provided are often terrific and offer genuine insight into the high-stakes world of hospitality. But the wording around said examples feels repetitive, frequently serving to reinforce the same points, just said in different ways. By the end of a chapter, you may feel as though the core message was delivered in the first few pages, with the remaining text simply echoing the same sentiment.

Grutman’s personal stories are easily the most engaging parts of the book. His journey through the industry is interesting, but these anecdotes often feel like they are at odds with the book’s stated goal. The narrative provides a detailed look at his early hustle, but it curiously thins out just as his success reaches its peak. Readers looking for the nitty-gritty of his current dealings with high-profile artists and business moguls will likely be disappointed. Those stories are felt at times, but not touched on as much as his early life and introduction into the hospitality world.

Ultimately, the entire book can be summed up as ‘be nice and do good things in the world of business’. While Grutman champions this altruistic approach now, it feels somewhat at odds with his reputation. He certainly hasn’t always acted that way toward his competition in the past, as he has admitted himself (outside of the book), making the book’s central moral feel a little polished for public consumption.

This is not a revolutionary text for industry veterans. If you already have a solid footing in hospitality, you won’t find much groundbreaking advice here. Instead, it serves better as a primer for industry newcomers or fans of the specific brand of nightlife Grutman pioneered and for those, it’s still a very solid and quick read.

Grutman may have a truly great memoir in him in the future, one that fully details his life in business and beyond. It seems we might have to wait until the mogul officially retires before we get the unfiltered, detailed stories we know must exist.