Is "Stephen Bartlett’s book Diary of a CEO: 33 Laws of Business and Life" worth your time and money? And what’s one thing I felt it was missing? Stay with us for a honest review of this book.
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Stephen Bartlett’s book, "Diary of a CEO: 33 Laws of Business and Life," had quickly gained attention since its release. After reading through the book and analyzing on its key takeaways, I’m sharing an honest review of whether this book truly gave valuable insights and is worth the read. So, What’s the Book About?
Stephen makes it clear from the start that this book isn’t about providing you with detailed strategies or step-by-step tactics. Instead, it focuses on fundamental principles—the 33 laws—that help shape great business practices and build strong teams. The book is divided into four parts, and I believe that certain sections may resonate more with business owners or leaders than others.
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Part 1: The Self – This is all about self-awareness and understanding how you work.
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Part 2: The Story – Focuses on how to effectively present yourself and your work, especially through marketing.
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Part 3: Philosophy – Though it’s titled philosophy, I’d describe this part as more about productivity and optimizing how you work with others.
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Part 4: The Team – The shortest section, which emphasizes building strong teams and leadership.
If you’re not a CEO or business leader, some parts might feel less relevant. However, I highly recommend Part 1 (The Self) and Part 3 (Philosophy/Productivity) for everyone, because I think these sections offer universally valuable insights.
Highlights from the Book
The book is structured in a way that’s easy to digest. Stephen starts each law with a brief promise, so you immediately know what you’ll gain from the chapter. This is something he’s clearly practiced, given that one of his own laws states that you have only five seconds to grab someone’s attention. And it works—each chapter hooks you in right away. He shares stories and examples from his podcast to make the ideas feel more real.
I liked the summaries, drawings, and short quotes at the end of each chapter that made the main ideas easy to remember and share.
What Was Missing?
The one thing I felt the book lacked was a clear set of reflection questions. When I read personal development books, I like to stop and think about how I can actually use the lessons in my own life. But this book didn’t provide those moments to reflect, so I ended up creating my own questions to really process the content. If you’re someone who likes to maximize your personal growth, I’ve put together a free workbook with reflection questions to help you get the most out of the book—feel free to download it below.
My Takeaways
Here are some key takeaways that stood out to me:
Part 1: The Self
One law that initially caught my attention was "You can’t change your beliefs." At first, I found this idea a bit odd and hard to agree with. But Stephen explains that while pressure won't change your beliefs, showing yourself enough proof can. That really made me think. Another thing that stuck with me was his point about learning — he says teaching others is one of the best ways to truly understand and remember what you’ve learned.
Another game-changing tip was to ask yourself a yes/no question to boost your commitment to action. For example: “Will I do this task today?” It removes the excuses and forces you to make a decision.
One idea that really stayed with me was the 'Five Buckets Theory.' It says we have five key areas to build up in a certain order: Knowledge, Skills, Resources, Reputation, and Network. If you chase resources or reputation too early, without first building knowledge and skills, you’re setting yourself up on a weak foundation.
Part 2: The Story
If you’ve explored marketing or consumer psychology before, some parts of this section might sound familiar. Stephen breaks down the strategies brands use to shape buying decisions. He shares how Uber focused on making the customer experience easy and predictable, which helped them change the way people get around. A big lesson here is that perception can be even more powerful than the actual value of a product — even a great product needs strong marketing to succeed.
Part 3: Philosophy (or Productivity)
This was by far the most insightful section for me. One idea that really stuck with me was the Kaizen philosophy, used by Toyota to make small improvements over time. Stephen points out how important it is to listen to everyone, especially those doing the work. It made me think about how I can apply this at my own job.
Another helpful idea was learning about the difference between Type 1 and Type 2 decisions. Type 1 decisions are permanent, while Type 2 decisions can be changed later. Understanding this really helped me stop overthinking, because I realized that most choices aren’t as final as they seem.
Instead of just imagining success, try a 'pre-mortem'—picture your project failing and think about what could have caused it. This way, you can spot problems early and fix them before you start.
Part 4: The Team
Even though I’m not currently managing a large team, some of the leadership insights were still valuable. One memorable principle was the “three bars” method for hiring. Essentially, you evaluate candidates by asking if their values and attitudes would enhance, maintain, or lower the team’s overall standard. This is an important reminder to apply not just to hiring decisions, but to every action we take in life.
Final Thoughts
So, is Diary of a CEO worth your time and money? Absolutely. There’s so much wisdom packed into a relatively concise 320-page book. The one thing I’d recommend adding is more reflection-focused material, which would have made the content even more actionable.
If you want to take your learning to the next level, don’t forget to grab the workbook I’ve created with reflection questions for each law. And if you found this review helpful, please give me a thumbs up, drop a comment, and subscribe for more videos on personal development, productivity, and becoming your best self.
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