The Secrets of Consulting: A Guide to Giving and Getting Advice Successfully (Consulting Secrets Book 1)

I remember Will Rogers every time I meet a client I don't like. Then Will reminds me that what I know about that person may not be so.

It's one of the ironies of our business that consultants rarely get asked for help by the people who need help the most. That sometimes makes it tempting to jump in without being asked when you happen to be in the neighborhood. Don't! When the request is missing, chances are you can't help.

that would indicate resistance, I still catch many contradictions. Two of the most common verbal clues to resistance don't require your listening to the words at all. Sometimes, there will be a long silence at a point that would naturally call for a response. Sometimes, just the opposite will occur: a long, meaningless babble. But perhaps the most

The Fifth Law of Pricing: If you need the money, don't take the job. Why not? If you need money badly, you may set your price too high in order to try to get solvent on this one job. Or, you may set your price too low, hoping to sell the job on the basis of price. Both of these occurrences destroy the usefulness of price as a tool in your consultin

No matter how badly I want a job, I never lower my price below the level at which my client will respect me and listen to me. I know that if I do the job and I'm not effective, I'll regret it no matter how much money is involved.

Sparks's Law of Problem Solution: The chances of solving a problem decline the closer you get to finding out who was the cause of the problem.

Trust everyone, but cut the cards. Or, in the present instance, Let them try whatever they like, but teach them how to protect themselves. I call this principle The Dealer's Choice, because as a consultant, you're dealing the cards. Your clients have to be in the game, but you can stack the deck for them by helping them establish a series of defens

THE SIXTH LAW OF PRICING If you're desperate for business, the best strategy may be to offer your services free. Be nice and up-front about the fact that you're just starting out and you have a lot to learn, so that you aren't trying to hide anything. Some clients will appreciate this openness and give you a chance. Another possible deal is to offe

The Tenth Law of Trust: Get it in writing, but depend on trust. To a consultant, trust without a contract is infinitely better than a contract without trust, in spite of anything Fowler learned in school.

According to legend, Henry Ford was once interviewed by Congress on the question of how to prevent river pollution caused by industrial plants. Ford pooh-poohed all the complex legislation that Congress was considering, proposing instead a single law that would "end river pollution once and for all." Congress didn't pass the law, but its