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Flawless Consulting: A Guide to Getting Your Expertise Used
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148 new or used available from $0.01
Average customer review:
Specific, with case studies and examples of consulting BEHAVIOR.
Highly, hugely recommended
Product Description
The second edition of the "consultant's bible" is here!
For over fifteen years, consultants--both internal and external--have relied on Peter Block's landmark bestseller, Flawless Consulting, to learn how to deal effectively with clients, peers, and others. Using illustrative examples, case studies, and exercises, the author, one of the most important and well known in his field, offers his legendary warmth and insight throughout this much-awaited second edition. Anyone who must communicate in a professional context--and who doesn't?--will use the lessons taught in this book for years to come!
"Who would have thought the 'consultant's bible' could be improved upon? Count on Peter Block--the consulting profession's very own revolutionary--to push us to confront and struggle with the paradoxes inherent in our work."
--Candace Thompson, organization development consultant, First Chicago NBD--A Bank One Company
"Block has distilled years of experience into a wise, down-to-earth, and eminently practical guide to excellence in consulting. If you are new to the practice, Flawless Consulting will chop years off your learning cycle. And even if you're an old pro, Block's insights will elevate you to new levels of effectiveness. Flawless Consulting is not simply about becoming a better consultant; it is about using consulting as a path toward becoming a better person."
--Barry Oshry, president, Power & Systems, Inc.; author of Seeing Systems and Leading Systems
Product Details
- Amazon Sales Rank: #138753 in Books
- Published on: 1981-06
- Original language: English
- Number of items: 1
- Binding: Hardcover
- 214 pages
Editorial Reviews
Amazon.com Review
The second edition of Peter Block's Flawless Consulting gracefully updates what many consider the best resource of its kind. New chapters on implementation, "whole-system" strategies, and ethics are included, but in general it simply fine-tunes Block's proven advice to match the transformations that business and society have undergone since initial publication two decades ago. "The days of long studies and expert-driven answers are passing," the author proclaims in his new preface. "The task of the consultant is increasingly to build the capacity of clients to make their own assessments and answer their own questions." He then subtly modifies his established recommendations accordingly for every step, from the initial client meeting and problem diagnosis through data collection and the execution of solutions. In the section on "Conducting a Group Feedback Meeting," for example, he advises: "Treat the group as a collection of individuals.... Ask each person what he or she wants from the meeting. This will surface differences and force the group to take responsibility for some of the difficulties that may arise." --Howard Rothman
Review
"Who would have thought the 'consultant's bible' could be improved upon? Count on Peter Block -the consulting profession's very own revolutionary-to push us to confront and struggle with the paradoxes inherent in our work." (Candace Thompson, organization development consultant, First Chicago NBD - A Bank One Company)
"The first question to ask any consultants: Have you read Peter Block's Flawless Consulting? If they say no, don't hire them. Peter Block's advice is flawless!" (Barry Z. Posner, dean and professor of leadership, Leavey School of Business, co-author of The Leadership Challenge and Encouraging the Heart)
"Block has distilled years of experience into a wise, down-to-earth, and eminently practical guide to excellence in consulting. If you are new to the practice, Flawless Consulting will chop years off your learning cycle. And even if you're an old pro, Block's insights will elevate you to new levels of effectiveness. Flawless Consulting is not simply about becoming a better consultant; it is about using consulting as a path toward becoming a better person." (Barry Oshry, president, Power & Systems, Inc., author of Seeing Systems and Leading Systems)
"For external and internal consultants alike, Peter Block provides the roadmap to travel what always seems like unchartered terrain. The power behind Peter's work lies not only in the compass he provides but in helping us see how truly a forceful and powerfulinfluence one person can be." (Jack Lerner, vice-president of organization development & learning, The CIT Group)
About the Author
PETER BLOCK is the president of Peter Block Company and also Designed Learning. Peter is a well-known and respected speaker and consultant, with clients all over the world, including Arthur Anderson, and Ford Motor Corporation. He received his master's degree in industrial administration from Yale University. He lives in Mystic, Connecticut.
Customer Reviews
Effective, Ethical Consulting That Is Good for Everyone!
I liked this book very much, because it focuses on the style of consulting I like to do -- increasing the capacity of the client to find and implement her/his own solutions. What especially impressed me was the great care placed on how to establish the relationship with the client, as well as defining the assignment. Consultants love to define assignments, but often don't give much thought to the relationship. The emphasis should be just the opposite.
The book is nicely balanced between the needs of those who supply internal consulting (whether formally, or as staff resources) and external consultants and experts. I have played both roles, and each one teaches you something you need to know in order to be a better consultant. This is the only book on consulting that I have read that captures both perspectives and roles well.
A great strength of the book is that there are extensive examples of the same issue so that you can get a good perspective, even if you don't yet have much experience as a consultant. So it is a terrific book for those who are new to consulting.
For those of us who have a few decades of consulting experience, there is still a lot to learn. I was especially helped by the extensive list of ways to diagnose what may be going wrong when the client asks questions or is inactive. I was helped even more by many ingenious responses to those situations that had never occurred to me.
This is a principled book, one that considers the needs of the client and the consultant in a fair and even-handed way. It also gives you the perspective you need to apply those principles.
I heartily agree with the emphasis on getting as much relevant client involvement as possible, to improve commitment, understanding, relationships, and the ability to implement later on.
The next time I run into a potential snag in a consulting relationship, I intend to check my thinking with this wonderful guide. I suggest you do the same. You'll need to have a copy around, so plan to buy one on Amazon.com.
For those fans of The McKinsey Way, you should read this book, too. It will facilitate your career in much more valuable and signficant ways.
Hands down the best book on consulting I ever bought!!!
Peter Block covers the intangibles of consulting: the politics, communications and the obstacles that derail the consultant/client relationship. This book is a MUST read, not only for consultants, but for anyone that works in or around companies that have politics, or bureaucracy, or people. That should cover just about all of us. This book helped me because it covered so much more then the business techniques of consulting, hey I'm a business consultant after all. Flawless Consulting helps you master communication and contracting gaffs, to understand why after much good advice the customer still does the wrong thing, and most importantly how your success can be assured despite those kind of issues.
NOW I find this book...
About a year ago, I decided to leave a full-time internal consulting position (health care) to start my own consulting firm. Several months after having done so, I've just discovered Peter Block's "Flawless Consulting." There is no doubt in my mind that had I read this (or the 1st edition) sooner, the years I spent as an internal consultant would have been much easier and much more fruitful. (Shame on me!)
Anyone in the consulting biz owes it to himself/herself to purchase and read this book. If you work in a business and don't consider yourself a consultant, get the book anyway - you might be surprised to learn just how much consulting you actually do. There are some VERY powerful lessons about negotiation between the covers. The checklists alone in this book are worth the price, but it is a fantastic piece of work.
