5 Leadership Lessons

"Seelert's comprehensive revelation of his leadership wisdom is priceless—especially the management of culture through innovative communications, fueled by rock-solid personal spirit and style. Read and succeed . . . it's that actionable. Bob's the real leadership deal." - John W. Luther (President, Luther & Company)

On a regular basis I receive questions from potential leaders asking me how they can become a leader, or existing leaders seek my advise on how to become a better leader. Besides providing them with my wisdom, advise and recommended websites/blogs, there is a new good book I'll advise them to read: "Start with the Answer: And Other Wisdom for Aspiring Leaders"

The author of this new leadership book is Bob Seelert; Chairman of global advertising agency Saatchi & Saatchi. He has written a compendium of wisdom gained from his 40+ years of wide-ranging experience in the business world. He says that the most fundamental lesson is that you need to start with the answer in mind and work your way back to the solution. “You have to know where you are going, have the courage to take the first step to get there, and constantly hone the means by which you will reach your destination. Today, too many companies are solution-obsessed and don’t spend enough time up front figuring out the destination, the true answer and outcome they are aiming for. You can waste a lot of time and money implementing solutions if you don’t know where you are going.”

He has organized his lessons into eight categories representing aspects of personal development in business life:

• Preparation for a Career in Business
• Building and Managing a Career
• Planning and Other Essential of Business strategy
• Business Operations; Looking Beyond the Obvious
• Finance and Economics
• Lessons in Leadership
• Building Culture Through Communications
• Personal Style and Spirit.

From the very practical advice of “Your Clothes are Talking about You” (when in doubt, dress up) to the more subjective perspective of “Evaluating High Performers,” (consider the size of the footprint) anyone in any context will benefit from the 95 down-to-earth experiences and lessons offered here.

Seelert encapsulates each story with a leadership lesson. Here are his top-5 leadership lessons.

1. Leadership is intangible. The first step is earning the trust of people you work with. Everything else follows from that.
2. Taking the best of the past, and linking it to the present and desired future is the most dynamic way to build a business.
3. Once you’ve identified the company’s best resources, blowing up the old and beginning anew can be the fastest way to put a troublesome past behind you.
4. Closing a plant is a sad day, so treat people adversely affected as fairly as possible. Your larger obligation though, is to make the company a great place for the employees who are staying on.
5. When a message is important, never be afraid to repeat yourself. People rarely get it the first time around.

To review or order this inspiring book directly on Amazon, please click here.

For more recommended books, please see the right side column of my blog.