Business

The Secrets of Consulting: A Guide to Giving and Getting Advice Successfully

The Secrets of Consulting: A Guide to Giving and Getting Advice Successfully

  • Downloads：2718
  • Type：Epub+TxT+PDF+Mobi
  • Create Date：2021-09-18 09:55:42
  • Update Date：2025-09-07
  • Status：finish
  • Author：Gerald M. Weinberg
  • ISBN：0932633013
  • Environment：PC/Android/iPhone/iPad/Kindle
  • Download

Summary

If you are a consultant， ever use one， or want to be one， this book will show you how to succeed。With wit， charm， humor， and wisdom， Gerald M。 Weinberg shows you exactly how to become a more effective consultant。 He reveals specific techniques and strategies that really work。

Through the use of vividly memorable rules， laws， and principles -- such as The Law of Raspberry Jam， The Potato Chip Principle， and Lessons from the Farm -- the author shows you how to

-- price and market your services

-- avoid traps and find alternative approaches

-- keep ahead of your clients

-- create a special "consultant's survival kit"

-- trade improvement for perfection

-- negotiate in difficult situations

-- measure your effectiveness

-- be yourself

You will also find straightforward advice on marketing your services， including how to

-- find clients

-- get needed exposure

-- set just-right fees

-- gain trust

The Secrets of Consulting -- techniques， strategies， and first-hand experiences -- all that you'll need to set up， run， and be successful at your own consulting business。

Download

Reviews

Andres Barreda ，

I don’t love old books and this one was written 40 years ago， so I was kind of skeptical at first。 Although I expected the book to be a lot more business oriented， I did like the content。The book is filled with advices and laws （some are pretty weird haha）。 Don’t visualize a technical， formal book。 It’s more of a practical， casual and fun way to convey ideas of counseling in your work and your everyday life。

Khalid Hajeri ，

This is a review of the kindle e-book edition published by Smashwords。Consulting secrets revealed in this book。。。or is it？"The Secrets of Consulting"， a book written by the late Gerald M。 Weinberg， is a mixed bag of sorts。 On the one hand it is a cleverly written work featuring amusing snippets from the author's own experiences in the consulting business。 On the other hand， it is a bit too secretive a book to be of much use to actually learning about the profession of consultancy。Don't get me wr This is a review of the kindle e-book edition published by Smashwords。Consulting secrets revealed in this book。。。or is it？"The Secrets of Consulting"， a book written by the late Gerald M。 Weinberg， is a mixed bag of sorts。 On the one hand it is a cleverly written work featuring amusing snippets from the author's own experiences in the consulting business。 On the other hand， it is a bit too secretive a book to be of much use to actually learning about the profession of consultancy。Don't get me wrong， though。 Mr。 Weinberg manages to provide readers with the do's and don'ts of consulting via carefully placed metaphors in his life experiences as an early consultant himself。 At the end of each of his experiences he reveals a one line sentence of the rules to be followed， as well as the things to be avoided when providing consulting services。 The only problem here is， although readers will remember the stories， it is difficult to remember the rules and such。 The consultancy secrets appear to be scattered about in each chapter which may cause readers to forget them pretty fast。I would have liked to at least see a glossary of the secrets at the end of the book but， alas， this is not the case。 Instead， readers will find references to further reading on the topic of consultancy which is something to look forward to at least。 Also， as I stated earlier， the author writes about his experiences with good humor， and manages to keep the sarcastic writing tone from going overboard by emphasizing the secrets at the end of each story。 I have to admit that it was fun reading about his experiences even if I probably learned only the very basic aspects of consultancy。Weinberg's "The Secrets of Consulting" will appeal more to real consultants than the average book reader， but the book does have its charm。 It manages to be an interesting reading on its own even if readers are less likely to remember the consulting secrets。 Perhaps the book will fare better upon a second reading， but for now I have to prioritize other books that I want to read。 Overall it was an okay reading experience。 。。。more

Jean Tessier ，

At the suggestion of a colleague， I read Jerry Weinberg。Like the alternate title says， A Guide to Giving & Getting Advice Successfully， the book is more about human interactions than about the business of consulting。 And， it is very good。Weinberg takes us on a stroll through his vast experience as a consultant， sharing bits of wisdom as he goes along。 He tries to couch each bit of advice in a catchy slogan， like The Law of Raspberry Jam or The Orange Juice Test。 Some of them end up sounding kind At the suggestion of a colleague， I read Jerry Weinberg。Like the alternate title says， A Guide to Giving & Getting Advice Successfully， the book is more about human interactions than about the business of consulting。 And， it is very good。Weinberg takes us on a stroll through his vast experience as a consultant， sharing bits of wisdom as he goes along。 He tries to couch each bit of advice in a catchy slogan， like The Law of Raspberry Jam or The Orange Juice Test。 Some of them end up sounding kinda corny: Rudy's Rutabaga Rule。One of the more interesting ones is The Law of Raspberry Jam: the wider you spread it， the thinner it gets。 You can have a lot of influence on one person， or a little influence on lots of people。 You cannot have it both way。Another really interesting one comes in the chapter on pricing yourself。 The Second Law of Pricing states that the more they pay you， the more they love you; and that the less they pay you， the less they respect you。 I have been thinking for a while now that people care about a thing in proportion to how much they have to pay for it （for a very loose definition of pay）。 If you give them something for free， they won't really care much for it and will let it wither and die。 If they have to spend resources for it， they will look after it much more。 It could be a piece of software， or a tool， or a new practice。 。。。more

John Fletcher ，

Great book。 laughed a lot。 Very practical albeit a bit dated。 I appreciated his humor and insight into humans though。 Classic in its space。

Mathieu ，

A good collection of principles to improve pretty much any consulting relationship， written concisely， humorously， and with interesting bits of insight。 I especially liked Weinberg's definition of consulting， written on the very first page: "the art of influencing people at their request"。 He then applies a systems thinking point of view to the people， emotions， and organizations involved in the consulting relationship， because in the end every problem is always a people problem。 A good collection of principles to improve pretty much any consulting relationship， written concisely， humorously， and with interesting bits of insight。 I especially liked Weinberg's definition of consulting， written on the very first page: "the art of influencing people at their request"。 He then applies a systems thinking point of view to the people， emotions， and organizations involved in the consulting relationship， because in the end every problem is always a people problem。 。。。more

Carlos Rendon ，

This book is delightful。 It's funny in the beginning and gets a bit more instructive towards the end。 Each chapter is worth pausing on and digesting before continuing。 This book is delightful。 It's funny in the beginning and gets a bit more instructive towards the end。 Each chapter is worth pausing on and digesting before continuing。 。。。more

Andrei ，

Very easy and simple introduction into the most important communication skills - listening， asking the right questions and giving advice。 A must read not only for consultants， but for anyone who communicates with fellow humans。

Dave Shah ，

Read this book while joining one of the best teams I’ve ever worked with。 Definitely recommend to any software developer regardless of weather your a consultant/contractor or not

Larkin Tackett ，

This is a classic consulting text and has many important lessons for our little company: It's always a people problem。 "Even when it's 'really' a technical problem， it can always be traced back to management action or inaction。"On problems: "The ability to find the problem in any situation is the consultant’s best asset。 It’s also the consultant’s occupational disease。 To be a consultant， you must detest problems， but if you can’t live with problems， consulting will kill you。tDoes this mean you This is a classic consulting text and has many important lessons for our little company: It's always a people problem。 "Even when it's 'really' a technical problem， it can always be traced back to management action or inaction。"On problems: "The ability to find the problem in any situation is the consultant’s best asset。 It’s also the consultant’s occupational disease。 To be a consultant， you must detest problems， but if you can’t live with problems， consulting will kill you。tDoes this mean you must give up trying to solve problems？ Not at all。 It means that you must give up the illusion that you’ll ever finish solving problems。 Once you give up that illusion， you’ll be able to relax now and then and let the problems take care of themselves。 tPeople who can solve problems do lead better lives。 But people who can ignore problems， when they choose to， live the best lives。 If you can’t do both， stay out of consulting。""The better adapted you are， the less adaptable you tend to be。" （30） "An even more powerful technique is to learn a principle from a client， then apply the principle to that client's problem。" （63） Chinese Proverb: When you point a finger at someone， notice where the other three fingers are pointing。" （67） "Pose the question， 'what am I missing？' to as many people as you can find。" （76）"Wanting to be right all the time makes it especially difficult to notice what's missing in your own thought process。" （81） "If you can't think of three things that might go wrong with your plans， then there's something wrong with your thinking。" Also see the list of idea-generating techniques。 （81） "Before people can communicate effectively through words， they must have shared experiences。" （114）"Most of the time， for most of the world， no matter how hard people work at it， nothing of any significance happens。" （123） Naming resistance in a neutral way: "In order to keep my own issues clear， I have to find some neutral way to get the problems on the table。 I know from Sparks that blaming someone else will only put the solution further out of reach， so scapegoating is out。 Instead， I might say， 'I'm having trouble because the subject keeps changing。 Can you help me stay focused on one thing at a time？' I've avoided saying that the other person is changing the subject; perhaps it is something I'm doing that I don't notice。 Instead of making any accusations， I've stated my problem。""An excellent way to disclose the unconscious sources of resistance is by testing the attractiveness of alternative approaches。" See list of questions （163）"I've never met a consultant who consistently has exactly the right amount of businesses。 If your goal is to have comfortable business， with just enough work to keep you comfortable。。。 stay out of consulting。" （170） "Never let a single client have more than one-fourth of your business。" （173） "The best marketing tool is a satisfied client。" （174） The five-times multiplier - one quarter of time marketing and one-quarter to slack， billable time is only half actual time。 Continuing with the calculation， figure that you'll spend about half of what you earn on administrative expenses， and twenty percent as a contingency reserve， giving a billing rate of about five times target salary。 "The more they pay you， the more they love you。" （184） 。。。more

Ambuj ，

Whatever you think this book is， it is not。 Hilarious and thought provoking in equal measure， but does suffer from being occasionally too windy。

Samuel Taggart ，

Full of great insights into human behavior with regards to consulting。 Good use of humor which aside from being entertaining makes the various principles very memorable。 Highly recommended for any consultants。

Gustav Bertram ，

Funny and Insightful Funny and insightful， this book is packed with useful soft skill information。The digitization is a bit wonky in spots， but not enough to detract from the message。 I recommend this book to anyone who would like to influence people and organizations， especially senior software engineers and of course prospective consultants。

Matt ，

Honestly， this is a fine book but a bit hokey at points and I definitely found some of his theories a bit off。 But there is a tremendous amount of wisdom in the pages。 I just didn’t love the style it was presented in （unlike his other book - Are your lights on？ - which was great。

Raul Mordillo ，

This book is full of good advice on being a consultant。 I would also like to mention that IMHO， it could be condensed in a shorter book， with all the points the author is trying to make。

Xeynsyom ，

This may be the most useful book on effective thinking that nobody has ever heard of。

Ahmet ，

Experiences of the author written in an anectodal fashion， combining what can be considered as common sense with storytelling。

Bogdan ，

Круто， законов и прибауток слишком много: пока не понял хорошо это или нет

John Hearn ，

The author presents （management） consultancy as kind of therapy for organisations。 Filled with witty heuristics backed by his personal anecdotes。 Before reading this book I didn't realise （a） when it was written and （b） that the author was also influential in systems thinking。 The former didn't show hardly at all （and was actually the better for it）。。。 all problems are still essentially people problems regardless of management style。 The latter became more and more obvious throughout the book， e The author presents （management） consultancy as kind of therapy for organisations。 Filled with witty heuristics backed by his personal anecdotes。 Before reading this book I didn't realise （a） when it was written and （b） that the author was also influential in systems thinking。 The former didn't show hardly at all （and was actually the better for it）。。。 all problems are still essentially people problems regardless of management style。 The latter became more and more obvious throughout the book， even his rationale for pricing is based on balancing feedback loops！ Recommended for anyone with， or who may one day fall into， a consultancy role。 。。。more

ahmed mansour ，

The book gives a good overview of what it means to be a consultant and the skills needed to give advice to your clients。 It discusses in details the necessary attitudes and analytical methods to define problems and solve them。 It also highlights how people typically deal with change and different strategies to successfully start a change process。 Towards the end of the book the author shares how consultants should market themselves， price their services and win their client trust。Overall it was The book gives a good overview of what it means to be a consultant and the skills needed to give advice to your clients。 It discusses in details the necessary attitudes and analytical methods to define problems and solve them。 It also highlights how people typically deal with change and different strategies to successfully start a change process。 Towards the end of the book the author shares how consultants should market themselves， price their services and win their client trust。Overall it was a good read， however the style of writing wasn’t the easiest for me to follow。 Here are some of my notes:- People find it difficult to admit there is a problem and refuse to take responsibility as it threatens their competency。- Big sudden changes are not welcomes。- Whatever the client is doing， advise something else。 - Don’t care who gets the credit。- People are ready for advise only when they ask for it。- The more scale in terms of people you achieve the lower the magnitude of your service。- Most of the time nothing significant change。- Second order thinking is critical since resolving most critical problem uncover the second critical problem。- Accepting failure mindset- Problems never finish- Always highlight the tradeoffs and let them decide- The better adapted you are， the less adaptable you tend to be。- Establish trust by recommending low risk alternatives first- Always point out the price of solving the problem， even if its really hard problem with a really high price。- Complex systems sometimes just cure themselves。- If it aint broke， don’t fix it。- Make sure they pay you enough so they’ll do what you say- Know-when is much more valuable than know-how。- Its not a bug， its a feature。- Specialist always have a limited view point- Same solutions = same results- Learn the history to understand better why something is the way it is。- Things are the way they are because they got that way- Avoid asking who created the problem。- Study for understanding， not for criticism。- Complement the current situation。- Align the way you dress up with the message you want to deliver。- Look for the principles underlying the facts。- People tend to know the solution and share it quickly， its the execution that they struggle with。- Fear sometimes work as a catalyst for small changes。- We find it difficult to see what is missing due to human bias。- Aim for collaborative meetings with no 1-dominant person。- Every process/checklist has to include a couple of unreasonable items。 - Borrow ideas from other systems， Biology， Psychology， engineering， etc。。- Develop tools to help you look for things that are missing from the picture。- Trust your intuition when something doesn’t make sense。- Unthinkable disasters （black swan events） do happen and must be prepared for。- When dealing with implementing processes or new systems， look for triggers to ensure the processes are followed。- Problem prevention is always desired over problem solving。- One of the tasks of a consultant is helping organizations get their systems unstuck。- People tend to see a part of the whole and identifies the whole with that part。 - Seeing feelings is more important than seeing thoughts。- The less you actually intervene， the better you feel about your work。- One of the tasks of a consultant is helping solving problems in such a way that in the future it is more likely to be solved by the organisation without any external help。 - First steps include help people to see their world more clearly and then to let them decide what to do next。- Your methods are always open for discussion with your clients。- Being in an environment long enough affects you whether you like it or not。- Give your customers what they want not what you think is best。- A small system that tries to change a big system through long and continued contact is more likely to be changed itself。- Minor differences add up quickly and suddenly there is a bigger difference。- People make better decisions when they have skin in the game。- As people grow older， they learn about how change works， which could easily cause them to be discouraged。 - Avoid introducing too many new things at the same time to a system。- New things seldomly work the first time， so failure is inevitable。- Accepting failure is extremely important。- Improvement is easter than perfection。- Consider how your new system might fail and create a backup。- New things require time to work properly， however people always seem to be in a hurry to get new things working。- When you create an illusion， to prevent or soften change， the change becomes more likely - and hard to take。- When difficult changes being， truth is always a scarce commodity。- Resistance is good to test ideas。- You can’t force anyone to do anything or avoid anything unless they have the desire themselves。 - Ask - what they don’t want to happen & if we can change one thing， which one would make main difference to you？- Most of resistance comes form uncertainty - Insurance against the risks are always helpful to reduce resistance。- Its hard to resist when nobody is pushing- The best way to get clients is to have clients- Spend at least one day a week getting exposure- Diversify your client portfolio- Best marketing tool is a satisfied client。- Give away your best ideas- Allow one-fourth of your time to doing random things- The more they pay you， the more they love you- Price is not a zero-sum game， think of value generation for both parties。- If they don’t like your work， don’t take their money- All prices are ultimately based on feelings， both yours and theirs。- Trust takes years to win， moments to lose。- Avoid all tricks if you want to win trust- People are never liars - in their own eyes。- Never be dishonest， even if the client requests it- Never promise anything and if you promise something， keep your promise。- Get all agreements in writing， always。 。。。more

Jing ，

挺有意思的小书，本以为是《金字塔原理》类型的咨询教科书，其实是本语言非常幽默风趣的故事集。作者给出了很多让人印象深刻的例子解释了他在咨询生涯中领悟出的小技巧。刚从一周的consulting university培训过来，趁热打铁巩固一下。感谢作者在最后一章列举出了他提到的所有原则，对于其中的几点印象特别深刻。第一点是时间折中原则：你越适应现状，就越难适应变化。读了好几次的句子，很喜欢。第二点是讲一切不为人注意的小变化堆积起来终将会带来很明显的大改变。最后一点是信任的重要性，得到客户的信任要花很长时间，失去信任只是一瞬间的事情。其它的原则可以时不时拿出来温习下。特别同意作者说咨询的本质还是解决人的问题，如何得到客户信任，真诚相待而实现win win， 少一点不必要的政治手腕，这就是我下一步的职业目标。有一点遗憾的是翻译的质量可以更提高一些，某些片段读起来像是中央台的英文电影中文配音，真的猜不到原文到底是啥，例如讲我们怎么摇晃客户成为摇晃者？？？有机会希望能读读原版。

Peter Hundermark ，

I doubt I can add to what others have already said about Jerry's work。 These two books have helped me immensely in my own consulting work。 I doubt I can add to what others have already said about Jerry's work。 These two books have helped me immensely in my own consulting work。 。。。more

Kory ，

It was ok， this is more geared towards consultants who work alone， so some information wasn't really relevant。 It was ok， this is more geared towards consultants who work alone， so some information wasn't really relevant。 。。。more

Scott J Pearson ，

Weinberg is a master of extracting the human personality required to run modern business。 He describes one of his art-forms in this introduction to consulting practice。 This book does not focus merely on short heuristics on how to consult。 It instead goes in-depth into the psyche required to succeed as a consultant。He defines consulting as the art of influencing people at their request。 He then describes a rational framework for this practice and how communication can succeed through humility an Weinberg is a master of extracting the human personality required to run modern business。 He describes one of his art-forms in this introduction to consulting practice。 This book does not focus merely on short heuristics on how to consult。 It instead goes in-depth into the psyche required to succeed as a consultant。He defines consulting as the art of influencing people at their request。 He then describes a rational framework for this practice and how communication can succeed through humility and the proper management of change。 This latter topic （the management of change） is where Weinberg is at his best。 He distills his advice in rules or laws that govern the enterprise。 Often these laws seem paradoxical or unusual at first。 Then he supports these laws with interesting anecdotes that bring the truth to the fore。 As such， he prepares the landscape of consulting for those new to the practice。 Landmines are able to be anticipated and avoided instead of exploded with pain。At the very least， Weinberg's voice needs to be heard because of his incredible self-awareness。 Instead of approaching the matter as mere science and facts， Weinberg artfully describes the human component in consulting - since it is the art of influencing people， at their request。 Anyone who wants to get better at navigating the thorny roads of human feelings and human nature would benefit from reading Weinberg's take。 。。。more

Daniel Gasperut ，

Finally got around to reading this one， it's funny and has some truisms that you probably do already。 Finally got around to reading this one， it's funny and has some truisms that you probably do already。 。。。more

Peter ，

Chock full of great content。 I would recommend anyone in consulting give it a read。

Nostradamnit ，

Great book full of useful advice and funny stories。 Lots of Laws and Rules that are summarized at the end， plus an excellent list of suggested reading。

Brian Kim ，

Not just for people who make a living as "business consultants" but applicable to anyone looking for fresh and counter-intuitive insights on learning， changing， improving， helping， and life。 Don't be shy about skipping around and you'll find gems all over。 One of the many lines from the book that sticks with me: "Past glories are future graves。" Don't focus on protecting what's "yours" and living off of your past accomplishments。 I realized that's what I did。 I needed to keep learning and trying Not just for people who make a living as "business consultants" but applicable to anyone looking for fresh and counter-intuitive insights on learning， changing， improving， helping， and life。 Don't be shy about skipping around and you'll find gems all over。 One of the many lines from the book that sticks with me: "Past glories are future graves。" Don't focus on protecting what's "yours" and living off of your past accomplishments。 I realized that's what I did。 I needed to keep learning and trying new things and moving forward。 。。。more

Elizabeth ，

The Secrets of Consulting: A Guide to Giving and Getting Advice Successfully （Paperback） by Gerald M。 Weinbergread many times in a box of special stuff that I hope I find in storagehttp://www。dorsethouse。com/features/e。。。 The Secrets of Consulting: A Guide to Giving and Getting Advice Successfully （Paperback） by Gerald M。 Weinbergread many times in a box of special stuff that I hope I find in storagehttp://www。dorsethouse。com/features/e。。。 。。。more

Teddy Zetterlund ，

Finished the book in three days and enjoyed it very much。Afterwards I wish I’d read it earlier， and I’d like to compare it with How to Win Friends and Influence People。 Both books introduce a lot of principles， backed by enjoyable and memorable stories， that you can apply to your life—for great effect—right away。Also， it finishes off with a great list of other books you might enjoy reading on different subjects; one of them being the book I just mentioned。

Jaakko Koivula ，

Entertaining and highly educational。 Will have to return to this。

Reference

google book https://www.google.com/search?tbm=bks&q=The Secrets of Consulting: A Guide to Giving and Getting Advice Successfully

hathitrust digital library https://babel.hathitrust.org/cgi/ls?q1=The Secrets of Consulting: A Guide to Giving and Getting Advice Successfully&field1=ocr&a=srchls&ft=ft&lmt=ft

The British Library https://bll01.primo.exlibrisgroup.com/discovery/search?query=any,contains,The Secrets of Consulting: A Guide to Giving and Getting Advice Successfully&tab=LibraryCatalog&search_scope=Not_BL_Suppress&vid=44BL_INST:BLL01&lang=en&offset=0