"Seelert's stories and wisdom demonstrate that the principles and practices leading to winning results in sports are highly transferable to the building of brands, businesses, and organizations. This book tells you how."
—Jack Twyman, NBA Hall of Fame player, former ABC Game of the Week announcer, and former Chairman and CEO, Super Food Services Inc. "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, Strategic Growth Consulting
"I've never been at my best when working for a boss in the traditional sense . . . Authority is not my favorite cultural tool. I am at my best (maybe like you) when I have a coach and mentor. Bob Seelert has played that role for over a decade, providing me with counsel, guidance, perspective, and unconditional love and support. Oh yes, and wisdom. Lots of it! You'll find out what I mean when you read this book."
—Kevin Roberts, CEO Worldwide, Saatchi & Saatchi
"Bob Seelert entered Saatchi & Saatchi in early 1995 when the company was in flux and extremely unstable. In a few short years, he not only stabilized the business, he grew it into an even greater advertising powerhouse than it once was. If anyone is qualified to write about business turnarounds, it's Seelert!"
—David Herro, Chief Investment Officer-International, Harris Associates LP
"Spencer Stuart placed Bob Seelert into leadership positions at Kayser-Roth and Saatchi & Saatchi at times when success seemed impossible, but failure was not an acceptable option. In both situations, he achieved highly successful turnarounds, and his stories tell you why."
—Thomas Neff, Chairman, Spencer Stuart USA
"Bob Seelert and I worked together for twenty years, and I saw firsthand how the wisdom in this book enabled him to build businesses and organizations. For MBA students and other aspiring business leaders, this book will become their well-thumbed how-to guide for constructing a successful career."
—Erv Shames, Lecturer, University of Virginia Darden Graduate School of Business andformer President and CEO, General Foods USA and Borden, Inc.
Table of Contents:
INTRODUCTION. SECTION ONE: PREPARING FOR A CAREER IN BUSINESS.
Go with Your Gut.
Choosing the Right Path.
What I Learned at Harvard.
Expect the Unexpected.
SECTION TWO: MANAGING YOUR CAREER.
How to Choose a Career.
The Interview.
Your Clothes Are Talking about You.
Sales Fundamentals.
Every Memo Is an Ad about You.
Get to Know Yourself Better.
I’m an ENTJ, What Are You?
You Learn More from Failure than from Success.
How to Become a Senior Executive.
The Importance of a Great Executive Assistant.
You’ll Need to “Work Your Ass Off ”.
Stay in Touch with Recruiters.
SECTION THREE: PLANNING AND OTHER ESSENTIALS OF BUSINESS STRATEGY.
Start with the Answer.
How to Do Strategic Planning.
Ten Rules for Leading the Turnaround of a Declining Business.
Quick! You’ve Got 100 Days to Act.
Establishing Objectives, Strategies, and Plans.
Tape the Strategy to Your Forehead.
Perfecting 100 Day Plans.
What Does It Take to Get to the Top?
Don’t Ask, “What’s Wrong?” Ask, “What’s Right?”
Sometimes You Have to Blow Up the Old and Start Anew.
“Don’t Get Fat-Headed by Winning”.
Choose Your Partners with Care.
The Acquirer Has Rights.
Selecting the Right Formula for a Joint Venture.
Centralization and Decentralization Do Not Mix.
What’s Your Inspirational Dream?
Heaven and Hell in Europe.
SECTION FOUR: BUSINESS OPERATIONS: LOOKING BEYOND THE OBVIOUS.
Luck Is What Happens When Preparation Meets Opportunity.
The Scarcest Resource of All.
Generating Great Ideas.
Cultivating Big Ideas.
The Importance of Excellence in Execution.
Cutting the Tail Off the Dog.
The Importance of Being First to Market.
“Three Yards and a Cloud of Dust”.
One-Third of Consumers Do Two-Thirds of the Consuming.
Ninety-Five Percent of Winning Is Anticipation.
How to Defend Against a Competitor’s Attack.
And/And Beats Either/Or.
Layoffs Are Hard.
What Separates a Great Ad from a Good Ad?
Secrets to Client Success.
“Who’s Got the ‘R’?”
SECTION FIVE: FINANCE AND ECONOMICS, OR DOLLARS AND SENSE.
The Importance of Market Share Ratios.
Breaking the Law of Diminishing Returns.
How to Do Annual Planning.
Don’t Get Outfoxed by Low-Ballers.
Delivering Budgets in a Client Organization.
Achieving Budgets in an Advertising Agency.
“If I Knew What the Price of Green Coffee Was Going to Be Tomorrow, I Wouldn’t Be Working Here”.
There Are Three C’s in Pricing.
Adam Smith on Pricing.
SECTION SIX: LESSONS IN LEADERSHIP.
What Is Leadership?
Chairmen and Chief Executives.
The Art and Science of Selecting the Chief Executive Officer.
Evaluating High Performers.
Evaluating the Chief Executive Officer.
What Winners Learn from Losing.
Occupy the High Ground.
You Get What You Expect.
“Don’t Tell, Ask”.
To Try and to Succeed.
Delegation: The Art of Letting Go and Holding On.
How Leaders Should Be Involved in Decision Making.
Go Home and Sleep Like a Baby.
Sometimes You Have to Fire People.
Left-Brained Management of Right-Brained People.
The Chief Executive Officer’s Obligation.
SECTION SEVEN: BUILDING CULTURE THROUGH COMMUNICATIONS.
One Team, One Dream.
“Breakfast with Bob”.
Ability + Chemistry = Team.
Nothing Is Impossible.
Passionate, Competitive, Restless.
Be Relentless, Be Relentless.
I Can’t Say Too Much about Communications.
“K-R Live”.
Repeating a Good Thing Is a Good Thing.
Coin Your Own “OHCCIMR”.
SECTION EIGHT: PERSONAL STYLE AND SPIRIT.
Driving a Ford Fiesta.
To Improve Your Performance at Work, Go Home.
Staying Calm, Cool, and Collected.
A Formula for Success.
Listen to Your Barber.
Two Words You Should Avoid.
Have Fun While You Work.
Foster a Foreign Language, It Makes You Less Foreign.
“Plus ça Change, Plus c’est la Même Chose”.
Be True to Yourself.
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS.
INDEX.
About the Author :
Bob Seelert is Chairman of Saatchi & Saatchi, a leading global ideas and advertising company. A graduate of Harvard College and Harvard Business School, he has been CEO of five companies, has built brands and businesses, been a party to two mega-mergers, and enacted numerous turnarounds. He has served on boards of directors of companies in the United States, the United Kingdom, and France. He lives in New Canaan, Connecticut.
