The Perfect System

by Syd Kessler

Before he was thirty, Syd Kessler was a millionaire many times over. From working-class roots, he had reached the top of North America's advertising hierarchy and it looked like he was there for good. It seemed there wasn't an advertising jingle or campaign that he didn't have a hand in. Rich, powerful, and determined, Kessler's was the story of a poor kid making good. But inside him, a hollowness was taking hold, and one day he fell seriously ill. always at the center of his corporate empire, Kessler had to release the reins. It cost him his business and his wealth, but it saved his life and kept his family together. What Kessler discovered was the Perfect System. And with the lessons gleaned from this new approach to living, he has managed to rebuild his life and career, but with a new sense of purpose. Now, for the first time, he has put his ideas for purposeful living into book form. The results will surprise and inspire you. Syd Kessler is the co-director of Digital Strategies, a new management consulting practice at KPMG, one of the world's largest accounting and consulting firms. He began his career as a writer for the top radio commercial production company in the U.S. Syd was recognized as one of the most creative forces in the industry. He developed a successful game show for ABC, "the Crosswits," which ran for 6 seasons. He eventually came back to Canada to become the creative director of a Canadian ad agency. Since 1974, Syd Kessler has been the president of Kessler Productions, Kessler Music, the Air Company, and Supercorp, the largest TV commercial production company in the U.S. His companies have dominated all aspects of the advertising production business.

224 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 2000

Reviews

[Matthew · Rating 3 out of 5]

The only reason I got past the first 20-30 pages is that this book was personally recommended to me by someone I know. The last 40 pages have some genuinely interesting and useful material. The first 120 pages, not so much.

Some of the lessons, like being proactive, I've read in many other self-help books. Others, like the importance of restriction in the way a light bulb generates light, I haven't seen anywhere else.

The main thing that annoyed me is frequent statements that the "Perfect System" is perfect, without defining this quote-unquote "Perfect System" until the conclusion of the book.

Also, the author uses the N-word in one of the anecdotes in the book, and the author is not Black.