Let’s say, instead of being broke and unemployed, I’m the CEO of a small corporation. We’ll call it ‘Eric Co.’, and this company produces web content, short stories, book reviews, etc. of which there’s a surplus in America, and the competition is quite fierce. I don’t have any salespeople, only writers – well, one writer. What Miller suggests in “A Seat at the Table” is that it isn’t my foundation that’s broken, but rather my way of thinking. Turns out, you don’t need any salesmen to sell.

“A Seat at the Table” takes Eric Co. by the hand and demonstrates through case studies, diagrams, and point by point how to build pipelines with other corporations so that building relationships, rather than outright selling, leads Eric Co. toward making a profit. This is the greatest value of the book, but it also teaches some fundamentals on decision making. Such as, the difference between Red Ocean spending and Blue Ocean spending.

For Eric Co., “A Seat at the Table” is both Red Ocean because it protects my core profitability by providing me with this review opportunity, and Blue Ocean because it expands the horizons of my company by teaching me to think like an executive. Much of Miller’s book is advanced, and will likely appeal to those who understand the corporate way of thinking. There are terms such as “internal procurement” and “commoditized economy” which feel like taking one-two jabs directly to the face from the outset. But these are balanced by humorous catch phrases that’ll stick into your head (“be like Velcro!”) and you’ll find yourself understanding concepts that were absolutely foreign in the beginning.

Miller’s exercises are often simple and geared toward reflecting Eric Co.’s current production output. This way, I can see quite clearly where my company is living up to its potential and where it needs work. Here’s a quick tip: study and learn the Master Strategic Plan Matrix. It might sound like the blueprint to a death-ray device, but it’s actually a great way to organize your company’s priorities. Every chapter is full of things like this, and you’re not likely to fully understand them your first time through, but this isn’t the kind of self-help book that simply teaches positive thinking. “A Seat at the Table” combines the self-help formula with textbook information and an entertaining personality to create the perfect storm of business books, and it’ll blow you away.