For billionaire Tilman Fertitta, not every important business decision happens in the boardroom.
Sometimes, they happen in the kitchen of one of his restaurants.
"You'd be surprised what you can find out from your own people that are on the locations by just talking to them a little bit," said Fertitta, the business mogul behind restaurant powerhouse Landry's as well as Golden Nugget Hotels & Casino.
Conversations with waiters, chefs and dishwasher staff have helped him spot weaknesses.
"It's just talking to people, pulling a waiter aside, pulling a waitress aside and saying, 'What are we doing really right?' and 'What are we doing really wrong here?'" Fertitta said.
Those conversations don't stay in the kitchen. They make it back to the C-suite.
"I've changed recipes and products before by just listening to my staff, not managers, but the [hourly workers], because you hear it from enough of them, you know it's not right," he said.