Customer Reviews

Get Smarter: Life and Business Lessons

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Finally a business/life advice book that actually gives excellent practical advice...and lots of it! Whereas most business/advice books take a one-note idea worthy of a pamphlet and stretch it to 300 pages, Schulich's new book does the opposite. He dispenses many excellent pieces of advice, each in a short (1.5 - 3 page) chapter that gets to the point. This is really a compendium of life and business advice: 30+ great nuggets of very insightful and practical (and well-explained) wisdom that one could easily imagine being written in 30+ books. If you value your time and appreciate brevity, clarity and wisdom distilled to its purest form, this book is a must buy.

I loved the book. Seymour Schulich is an accomplished entrepreneur billionaire which is why people might listen to him.

His advice is just old fashioned common sense (which is not that common)

The book consists of 48 very short chapters. (Don't be daunted -- this is a very simple and fast read.) It is written largely as an older man's mentoring for someone who is new and going into business. As I read the various rules, I couldn't help but smile and nod in agreement with almost everything he had to say in almost every area.

The book is not only business lessons but covers lessons on finance and life. He even gets into relationships.

I found the book to be a page turner (which might seem ironic for a business book, but perhaps I am different). It contained many gems and philosophies.

It is definitely worth the read!

Get Smarter is filled with wise and proven advice for readers of all ages, including those just starting their careers and anyone involved in business and investments. The author is blunt and to the point on a wide range of subjects. His remarkable track record in managing successful companies and making winning investments gives a great deal of weight to his advice. Even more impressive is the author's extensive philanthropy and support of youth and education. I highly recommend this book for everyone.

I have nothing against the author and am sure he is a fine billionaire. Certainly his philanthropy is commendable. However, in professing to offer life and business advice to the next generation, this volume is less than generous. The chapters are each only a few pages long, and separated by cartoons and blank pages, making the book much shorter than it appears. But ambitious business types probably don't want to waste too much time reading, as they are advised to pursue "high-margin" vocations. These are unfortunately not spelled out, but medicine and other service careers are considered "low margin" because they have finite hourly returns. Although he later admits the possibility that this may overlook less selfish definitions of reward, this attitude made me wonder just what kind of "life lessons" the author is trying to impart. And why, in trying to convey his accumulated wisdom, he would allow his ghost writer to "add material to many chapters", without identifying such contributions. A large part of the book is a recitation of his business accomplishments. Love and marriage get one page. As bonuses, we are treated to such helpful insights as a list of his favorite movies, and his views on the Arab world based on a cruise ship tour.
In the end, Mr. Schulich's title is accurate: he got my $ 29.95, and I will be smarter in avoiding self-indulgent tycoon autobiographies in the future.

This book is a collection of words of wisdom on various topics covering aspects of both personal and business life. It is backed by Schulich's credibility both as a successful businessman and an inspiring philanthropist. The topics covered include economics, people management, investment, leadership etc. Of course, the book does not cover any of these areas in depth, but the learnings shared are appropriately framed and presented in a way that can be applied. Of relevance to my investment interests, Schulich's advice include paying close attention to companies cash flows, and not investing in growth stocks as they will sooner or later stale. In addition, a key to success in business, is knowing when to say 'No' and this cannot be stressed enough. It is much easier said than done, yet this learning is so central to success.

Don't let the number of pages fool you, this book is a very quick read - a day or two. It is written in a very entertaining and concise manner. Given the little time investment in going through it, and the amount of experience and knowledge behind it, it was definitely worth reading!

There are thousands of lifetime lessons in business books, each with its own stories and weave. This is one of them but what makes it standout is that (1) I read it, and (2) I got some good ideas from it.

The author is a self made billionaire and one of Canada's greatest philanthropists. It reminded me of something my Uncle Marty said when I was very young and I asked him what he did for a living. He replied that he was a finance manager for a big company but what he really wanted to be was a philanthropist. When I asked what that was and why he wanted to do that he replied that it was someone who gave away a lot of his own money to charity and if that is what he became it would mean that he was very wealthy. Unfortunately, he never became one, but Seymour Schulich did.

The book has many autobiographical anecdotes starting when he was a kid, through his summer job on to his massive wealth creation investments and businesses. He also throws in stories of people who overcame adversity to achieve uncommon success such as Katherine Graham's taking over the family business which she knew little about at age 46 after her husband's suicide. Under her tutelage the Washington Post grew to one of the most prestigious newspapers in the World. She gave much credit to here skilled managers, perseverance and a positive attitude. Schulich writes about Intel's Andrew Grove's management discipline - his ability to decide what is worth your time and effort, and what isn't, and then cut out the latter.

One of the many reinforced ideas I got was saying "no." We know this, we read about it, but we need to be reminded that we need to say no much more than we say yes. And every no is a rejection to someone, so we must be diplomatic and firm, and comfortable with the decision.

Howard Schultz approached 242 people for money over a four year period trying to make his business idea into reality. 217 of them turned him down. Today there are over 10,000 Starbucks. Persistence is needed in anything you want to accomplish.

Schulich gives five questions to ask when screening a potential deal or investment. Four of them coincide with the questions I tell my clients to ask. How much can I make? How much can I lose? How do I get my money back? Who says this deal is any good? The fifth one "Who else is in the deal?" is not much of a concern of mine, since many so called heavy hitters invest on reputation, gut and instinct without much due diligence, witness the Bernard Madoff scam. Now, if you could get a piece of a Warren Buffet deal...

Having skin in the game means having some pride of ownership in the project. When there is a personal risk or benefit, there is greater care. One of the author's axioms is that "business is a means to an end not an end in itself." Another one is "always ask the question "if this decision in wrong, is it going to be painful or fatal?" Lehman Brothers, Bear Stearns, Wachovia, AIG, etc., etc., etc., should have asked this question before they bet the farm on subprime mortgage derivatives.

The book is chock full of great cartoons by Ted Goff. My favorite one shows someone answering the one asking the caller to hold on for ten minutes while they are transferred to the Lost Sale Department.

I read a lot of books that I hope will help me with my online businesses. Some do, some don't, some are boring, some are quite wise. Get Smarter is a fast easy read with nuggets of business and life wisdom that I heartily recommend to everyone who reads this review. A great investment for your money. Hey, put it in your 401 and see it shrink by 30%, or buy this as an investment in your life and reap untold benefits!