Book Review: Start With the Answers by Bob Seelert

Start with the Answer: And Other Wisdom for Aspiring Leaders was written by Bob Seelert who is the Chairman of Saatchi & Saatchi, which is a leading global ideas and advertising firm.  Bob is a graduate of Harvard Business School and has been the CEO of five companies. During his exceptional business career, he has built brands and businesses, been involved in two mega-mergers, and performed several turnarounds.

As a serial business man, the author shares a collection of ninety-four real life stories from his successful forty-year career.  Seelert does an excellent job providing practical insight and guidance for anyone who wants to succeed in business. Regardless of whether you are an executive or not, you will come away with some great business advice.

The book is broken up into the following sections:

Section One: Preparing for a Career in Business
Section Two: Managing Your Career
Section Three: Planning and Other Essentials of Business Strategy
Section Four: Business Operations: Looking Beyond the Obvious
Section Five: Finance and Economics, or Dollars and Sense
Section Six: Lessons in Leadership
Section Seven: Building Culture Through Communications
Section Eight:  Personal Style and Spirit

Within each section, the author dives into real world examples and shares what he has learned along his journey. Seelert believes that every leader must master these eight dimensions to succeed.  In his storied career, Seelert has been exposed to a very diverse set of people, events, and institutions.  He draws upon all of these experiences to share strategies, practices, and decision-making and problem-solving approaches.

Start with the Answer: And Other Wisdom for Aspiring Leaders is a very easy read because each story is only 1-3 pages. You can start and stop at any time and won’t feel like you are behind in the book. While each story is independent of one another, they also do build upon each other.

If you want to learn how to enhance your career and become a more successful leader, then this book is worth a read. 

If you like this blog post, then subscribe via email or RSS feed.