Cover Story
The Fetter File
Smart Business Dallas | July 2009
Dallas
Cover Story
Tenet Healthcare Corp.
Health & Medical
Born: San Diego
Education: Bachelor’s degree, economics, Stanford University; MBA, Harvard Business School
What’s the best piece of advice you’ve ever received?
My first job out of college, I was working in investment banking. In the first week, a really seasoned guy said that the best answer you can ever give to a question is, ‘I don’t know, but I’ll find out.’ If you don’t know the answer to something, don’t make it up. Saying, ‘I don’t know, but I’ll find out,’ is a very good way to handle yourself. People are very quick to have all the answers. Sometimes it’s better to be more thoughtful about it.
What was your first job?
The first actual job where I got a paycheck and everything, I was a janitor in a boatyard.
What did you learn from that job that’s still applicable today?
It’s best to wear gloves when handling sharp pieces of aluminum. I’d cut myself. We made aluminum racing yachts and these little sharp fragments of aluminum are really nasty when you try to scoop them up in a dustpan or something, so I think wearing gloves when handling sharp objects still applies.
What’s your favorite board game?
I don’t really play board games. As a child, I would play Monopoly with my sisters. They were younger — and long after they ran out of money, I would continue the game by printing it. That’s relevant in today’s environment, as well.
What’s your favorite movie and why?
I have so many favorite movies. I have to narrow it down? When I was in the movie business, we made some great movies like ‘Rainman’ and the James Bond series. I particularly love a movie called ‘The Party.’ I highly recommend it. It’s a very classic comedy, and it unfolds in a most surprising and hilarious way, and Peter Sellers is brilliant.
