Get Smarter: Life And Business Lessons

This book wasn't really a memoir, nor a biography, nor even really a business book. Instead, this was a collection of anecdotes about things to remember in business. It was large print, and far too little meat on the bones to think about. Comics to start ever chapter and a list of Mr. Schulich's favourite movies too... There are other, much better business novels to spend money on.

i read this book because i want to know something about the guy whose name my busniess school is named after, and it is on sale! if everything he talks about himself is true, then he is just lucky, not smart. his investment strategies is at odds with what is taught in his business school. And to tell me what kind of movies he likes at the end of the book, i don't give a damn!

While the book did contain some interesting tidbits and pieces of advice for young entrepreneurs, it's not quite the wealth of wisdom it purports to be.

When you have a few spare hours on a Sunday afternoon, pick this up... you will not be disappointed!

No, I didn't buy the book but scanned it enough in the store to form an opinion. I was disappointed having seen Mr. Schulick interviewed on the Business News Network. If Mr. Schulick wishes not to be forgotten, he's failed in the measure this book is completely forgettable. I was hoping for something of substance, both in content as well as design. This book fails on both counts. Interspersed with cartoons, personal "best" lists such as movies, and observations of countries belonging to the U.A.E., it never achieved that "lightbulb" moment that makes me open my wallet and convince me I've gotten value for the buck. Ironically I thought, that Mr. Schulick compares past and present values of his car, home, etc., and I evaluated the value of buying his book....and came away richer with money still in my pocket.

The previous reviews have been both positive and negative, and I'm not surprised.

I will first acknowledge that Mr. Shulich has been very successful in his career, and has obviously done a lot of things right. I'm also slightly older than his target audience of 20-40 year olds.

Having said that, I found the book to be a disappointing collection of fairly light-weight points. The short chapters are quite repetitive, and read as though they were written at different points, and just pasted together. Shouldn't Mr. DeCloet, as the professional writer, be providing some editing here?

Mr. Shulich also warns against entering most forms of business, in most industries, in most geographies. The individual warnings are probably all reasonable, but in totality don't leave many options.

Finally, I (and a female colleague) found quite a sexist tone throughout the book. Here, I'm not referring to the obvious warning against big-breasted secretaries, but the references to the great "help" provided by his wife in raising their children. I somehow suspect that given the generation, and his business interests, she did a little more than help.

Overall, this content might have been enough for a speech similar to the infamous "Wear Sunscreen" commencement address (see below), but not enough for a full business book.

Wear Sunscreen: http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/columnists/chi-970601sunscreen,0,4664776.column

personally, it was an easy read especially with some humor incorporated into the book. it gives a general point about business and life. if you're looking for a rather detailed business book, don't even bother with this one.

I have to agree with Victor that this book does not live up to the hype. I think the premise of the book is pretty enticing and there is some valuable insight in it but it is not the 304 page hardcover book that it pretends to be.

The first chapter doesn't start until page 13 and the last chapter ends on page 254 except the last two chapters are just bullet points and quotes so you could argue that the book really ends on page 245. Of the remaining 232 pages, 24 of them are completely blank and 46 of them have full page cartoons on them leaving a total of 162 pages of actual content.

Naturally, you can't measure the value of a book by how many pages it has but you have to wonder why they would take a 162 page book and pad it with 142 pages of filler. In the end I think it dilutes the value of what could have been a short and interesting read.

I picked up this book because it seemed to have some good tips and to be an interesting read. It exceeded all my expectations. This book offers so many good tips on life and business. I'm not a business student and I have no will to work in business but I believe 95% of the book will apply to many life experiences of mine. I recommend it to anyone wanting to improve their life.

With all of the hype regarding this book I must say that I was disappointed. Perhaps it's because I have read a lot of books relating to business and investment. I have tagged all of about eight pages out of the 300 as having "interesting" information. ( Quite frankly, I don't really care what movies Mr. Schulich likes -- there are ten, which take up two pages. ) Mr. Schulich has been either smart or lucky or both but it gets a bit repetitious to have him repeatedly boast about his billionaire status. Okay we get it.

This book delivers exactly what it's title offers, an opportunity to 'Get Smarter in a very short space of time. For me personally Chapter 2 'Know Your Edge' was a big eye opener, it challenged me to really think about where I can have the most impact in both my business and personal life. I realized in some of my ventures I've severely diluted my effectiveness by operating in areas where I simply don't have the edge, it also helped me understand the successes I've had so I can clearly focus on having more of it. This book is worth far more than it's weight in gold, I highly recommend it.

Get Smart is crammed 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 amazing track record in running successful companies and making winning investments gives a great deal of weight to his recommendations. This is one self-made billionaire who believes in giving a sizeable amount of his fortune back to the community, especially in supporting youth and education. I strongly recommend this book for everyone.

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.

As a bachelor student at the Schulich School of Business (SSB) in Toronto, Canada, the book went beyond the literary orthodox views of capital markets and investing and into understanding the human phenomenon of how to look at investments, partnership and the bigger picture. Schulich uses his life lessons portrayed by his father in explaining how he became a self-proclaimed billionaire and philathropist.

The chapters are short and sweet and go straight to the point, rather than filling up the pages with useless information. Schulich writes the book in a method that transitions starting from material aimed at young adults and aspiring future business leaders to material suited for those more established within their careers. From explaining his decision-making tool to the importance of business history (which we study today at SSB), Schulich explains the fundamental tools he learned over his career that have made him the person he is today.

All in all, the book is a great read for those young or old. It looks at life as a simple mechanism rather than a complicated machine. Although Seymour Schulich does not participate in the legendary friendly Texas Hold'em matches with SSB students like he used to, I'm glad that there's a way to read his story and take home a few of his life's many lessons.