I grabbed the book Shut Up and Listen! Hard Business Truths That Will Help You Succeed by Tilman Fertitta mainly because I enjoyed watching the Houston Rockets’ owner on his show Billion Dollar Buyer. I liked him in the show not because he is a billionaire, but because he came across as a regular guy. He didn’t have the false bravado and jack-hole attitude of Donald Trump’s Apprentice persona. Fertitta just calls it like he sees it and his Texas roots come through.

I wasn’t surprised that the book Shut Up and Listen! was more of the same – no glitz – no glamour – no false personalty…. just Tilman being himself. This book works great as audio because Fertitta himself reads his words.

There is no business-speak here. There is no grad school theory. It comes across like just sitting around having lunch with Mr. Fertitta and picking his brain on business. Is this life-changing business advice? No. Not unless you are an absolute beginner. But, is this a great reminder of what is important? Definitely, no matter how long you have been in business.

This even inspired a recent episode of one of my podcasts – The Marketing Drive:

by Chris Doelle