If you are in business, want to start a business, or perhaps want to climb the corporate ladder, you’ve come to the right place. Now, shut up and listen to make that business all that it can possibly be.
I’m Tilman Fertitta. According to the Forbes 400 list, I’m ranked the 153rd richest person in America. As the sole owner and founder of Fertitta Entertainment, my organization owns and operates restaurants, hotels, amusement parks, and aquariums. You may be familiar with some of my restaurant brands, including Mastro’s, Morton’s The Steakhouse, Rainforest Café, Chart House, Bubba Gump Shrimp Co., Landry’s Seafood House, Saltgrass Steak House, and thirty-five other concepts. In all, I own more than six hundred restaurants. I also own five Golden Nugget casinos and hotels. If that wasn’t enough, I’ve also starred in my own reality show called Billion Dollar Buyer on CNBC.
Oh, by the way, if you didn’t know, I also own the NBA’s Houston Rockets.
That’s a long way from starting with a single restaurant in Katy, Texas. And in this book, I want to share some of the key ideas and strategies I used to build an entertainment and hospitality empire that covers the globe.
To do that, I’d like to begin with a warning:
Be just like me: never, ever stop worrying about your business.
Why?
Because when it comes to business and most everything else in life, there is a paddle for everybody’s ass.
And you never know when it’s coming or where it’s coming from.
I really do believe that. I don’t care if things are going well for you, that you think you know it all. Put this one thing in your head: there is a paddle coming for your ass right now.
By a paddle, I mean that there is always a force out there, something that’s taking square aim at your business’s success and growth. There might be someone with a better product. There might be a lawsuit waiting to pounce. The economy may turn. A bank that you relied on may deny you credit. New government regulations may be ready to take effect. Your computer may be hacked. These days, it’s not ridiculous to worry about a terrorist attack, international or domestic.
The best you can hope for when something damaging or disruptive happens is that you act quickly to minimize the impact. But you have to open your eyes. You need to start worrying, anticipating, planning, and being proactive. Why? Because the paddle comes from the blind spots we all have when we juggle the many roles and skill sets needed to successfully run a business.
It is way too easy for complacency and overconfidence to set in, which leads to ignoring crucial details.
“You might think you know what you’re doing, but I’m going to show you what you don’t know.”
People ask me all the time: “What do you fear?” I say I don’t fear anything, but I worry about everything. That’s one of the significant features of the message I try to get across when I speak to business leaders, students, my employees, and entrepreneurs on my television show Billion Dollar Buyer. I have to tell entrepreneurs that, even as they pitch some very appealing products to me, there is some area where they are falling short that is hurting their business.
So, as the title of this book says, the next step is a simple one: Shut up and listen.
I’ve got a lot I’d like to share with you. And you’ll be glad that you paid attention.
The book is divided into five sections, each of which talks about a core area that can kill a business if you’re not aware of those blind spots. Here they are, in order:
1. Hospitality (“If They Want Scrambled Eggs . . .”)
2. You’d Better Know Your Numbers
3. The 95:5 Rule: What’s Your “Five”?
4. See the Opportunity, Seize the Opportunity
5. Live Your Leadership
Each section provides specific strategies and ideas to help your business break through to that next level. And if I want to emphasize something, it appears in a “Listen!” sidebar.
When it comes to business, it’s absolutely critical to always remain realistic—about your product, your competition, and yourself. Be cognizant of everything you do and every decision you consider. This book will help you better analyze your strengths and weaknesses and understand what actions you should take. Be honest with yourself about all that you don’t know—and what you can do about it. (As I like to say, I’m not about to go on the court and teach NBA MVP James Harden how to shoot a jump shot!)
I’ll share some of the most straightforward strategies and ideas I’ve used in my own businesses and that you can use as well. These strategies will help you achieve the sort of breakout success that you want, no matter if you’re just starting your business career or you’re years into it.
Each chapter wraps up with what I call “Tilman’s Targets”—a quick, easy-to-reference summary of major points that were covered in the chapter. They’re a handy way to refer back to key concepts.
At the end of the book, I’ve included bonus content with a feature called “The Tilman I Know.” You’ll hear from several friends of mine who have their own thoughts about who I am and some of the things I’ve done to achieve success.
This isn’t a textbook. These are the strategies I’ve used—in both good times and bad. As I’ll discuss later, I’ve been through more than my share of days when it seemed like the whole world was falling apart. Having these ideas in mind helped keep me from throwing in the towel when it would have been the easiest thing in the world to do.
The fundamental concepts I’m sharing helped me succeed. In business there are no Oscars, Grammys, or Pro Bowl, but there is the Forbes 400 list, and I’m on it. I believe my ideas and strategies can help you achieve success no matter what sort of business you happen to be in. If you want to make money in business, you need to read this book.
Despite all my success, I walk around every day making sure that the paddle doesn’t get my ass. I can take a few taps, but I don’t want a big swat.
Neither do you.
So, saying this in the nicest way possible: “Shut up and listen!”
Let’s get started.