Books about Consultancy from Amazon.com

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.
Price: $23.97 [Notify me when price goes down.]

David Maister, Charles Green, and Robert Galford--consultants on professional-service management and customer-relation issues--believe nobody can become successful as a business guru until they first gain the confidence of their clients In The Trusted Advisor, the authors effectively build their case through anecdote and illustration, then relay a solid series of relevant suggestions applicable to both would-be consultants and those already active in the field. Among their most potent suggestions is a practical, five-step development process that encourages outsiders to engage clients by focusing attention on the issues and individuals at hand; listening both to what they say and what they leave unsaid; framing the immediate problem from their perspective; envisioning with them how a solution might appear; and committing jointly to the actions and resources that will bring it about. Also particularly useful is the examination of trust-building during four phases of a client-advisor alliance: at the time the relationship is consummated; during the assignment; after the assignment; and when "cross-selling," or establishing affiliations with the customer's associates. Boosting its utility, the book is filled with concise, easily adopted tips like "return phone calls unbelievably fast" and "always tell the truth and not what the client wants to hear." --Howard Rothman.
Price: $6.77 [Notify me when price goes down.]

Since this classic work was originally published in 1984, there have been major shifts in the nonprofit world -- the growth of more profit-oriented ventures, the overhaul of accounting rules, new partnerships, and an emphasis on customer-oriented service and leadership. In easy-to-understand language, Thomas Wolf explains how to cope with these changes and deal with the traditional challenges of managing staff, trustees, and volunteers.

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Price: $8.46 [Notify me when price goes down.]

The latest edition to the Ed Schein's well-loved set of process consultation books, this new volume builds on the content of the two that precede it and explores the critical area of the helping relationship. Process Consultation Revisited focuses on the interaction between consultant and client, explaining how to achieve the healthy helping relationship so essential to effective consultation. Whether the advisor is an OD consultant, therapist, social worker, manager, parent or friend, the dynamics between advisor and advisee can be difficult to understand and manage. Drawing on over 40 years of experience as a consultant, Schein creates a general theory and methodology of helping that will enable a diverse group of readers to navigate the helping process successfully. .
Price: $46.40 [Notify me when price goes down.]

Ole!

If you think you smell something at work, there's probably good reason--"bull" has become the official language of business Every day, we get bombarded by an endless stream of filtered, antiseptic, jargon-filled corporate speak, all of which makes it harder to get heard, harder to be authentic, and definitely harder to have fun.

But it doesn't have to be that way. The team that brought you the Clio Award-winning Bullfighter software is back with an entertaining, bare-knuckled guide to talking straight--for those who want to climb the corporate ladder, but refuse to check their personality at the door.

Why Business People Speak Like Idiots exposes four traps that transform us from funny, honest and engaging weekend people into boring business stiffs:

• The Obscurity Trap:"After extensive analysis of the economic factors facing our industry, we have concluded that a restructuring is essential to maintaining competitive position. A task force has been assembled..." These are the empty calories of business communication. And, unfortunately, they're the rule. The Obscurity Trap catches idiots desperate to sound smart or prove their purpose, and lures them with message-killers like jargon, long-windedness, acronyms, and evasiveness.

• The Anonymity Trap: Businesses love clones--easy to hire, easy to manage, easy to train, easy to replace--and almost everyone is all too happy to oblige. We outsource our voice through templates, speechwriters and email, and cave in to conventions that aren't really even rules.

• The Hard-Sell Trap: Legions of business people fall prey to the Hard-Sell Trap. We overpromise. We accentuate the positive and pretend the negative doesn't exist. This may work for those pushing Ginsu knives and miracle Abdominizers, but it's dead wrong for persuading business people to listen.

• The Tedium Trap: Everyone you work with thinks about sex, tells stories, gets caught up in life's amazing details, and judges everyone else by the way they look and act. We live to be entertained. We all learned that in Psychology 101, except for the business idiots who must have skipped that semester. They tattoo their long executive-sounding titles on their foreheads, dump pre-packaged numbers on their audience, and virtually guarantee that we want nothing to do with them.

This is your wake-up call. Personality, humanity and candor are being sucked out of the workplace. Let the wonks send their empty messages. Yours are going to connect.

Fast Company magazine named Why Business People Speak Like Idiots one of the ideas and trends that will change how we work and live in 2005.

So grab your cape and sharpen your sword. It's time to fight the bull!.
Price: $9.34 [Notify me when price goes down.]

This is a very good time for consultants As corporations have been reorganizing and downsizing, merging and globalizing, the consulting business has been booming

The Basic Principles of Effective Consulting is about what effective consultants do and how they do it. It provides a step-by-step process that can provide successful outcomes for consultants and their clients. The chapters have plenty of examples and cases of the process used by effective consultants, as cases and examples are one of the best ways to learn the consulting business. Also provided as part of each chapter are short pieces of expert advice by established consultants and users of consulting services. Teachers in business schools will find this book can serve as an excellent supplemental textbook on consulting practices.


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Price: $21.98 [Notify me when price goes down.]

Your complete blueprint for starting out in the consulting world!

Consulting can be a most rewarding career--but being good at consulting is not always enough to keep your business profitable. The Consultant's Quick Start Guide offers a practical approach to setting up a consulting business. Throughout the guide, Elaine Biech--author of the best-selling The Business of Consulting--shares both her own secrets as well as those of numerous other successful consultants. With a focus on the business side of consulting, Biech takes you through a painless, fill-in-the-blanks, step-by-step process for setting up your consulting firm.

The book includes information on how to:
* Develop a dynamic business plan
* Market consulting services
* Establish a professional office
* Meet critical legal requirements
* Change for services
* Build client relationships
* Grow the business
* Ensure continued professional growth
* Make money in the business

Learn the skills you need to be a successful consultant with this indispensable guide!.
Price: $13.81 [Notify me when price goes down.]

An Innovative Blueprint for Enduring Client Relationships

More than 15 million people in this country earn their livings by serving clients, and their numbers are growing every day. Unfortunately, far too few develop the skills and strategies needed to rise to the top in a world where clients have almost unlimited access to information and expertise. Supported by more than one hundred case studies and wisdom gleaned from interviews with dozens of leading CEOs and prominent business advisors, Clients for Life identifies what clients really want and lays out the core qualities that distinguish the client advisor -- an irreplaceable resource -- from the expert for hire -- a tradable commodity.

• Experts are specialists; advisors become deep generalists who have broad perspective.

• Experts are for hire; advisors have selfless independence, balancing client devotion with objectivity and detachment.

• Experts have professional credibility; advisors develop deep personal trust.

• Experts analyze; advisors synthesize and bring big-picture thinking to the table.

• Experts supply expertise and information; advisors are educators who provide insight and wisdom.

Portraits of history's most famously successful advisors, including Machiavelli, Sir Thomas More, and J. P. Morgan, underscore these timeless qualities that modern professionals need to develop to excel in today's competitive environment.

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Price: $3.25 [Notify me when price goes down.]

Since SAP R/3 exploded on the North American scene in 1993, the SAP consulting market has been phenomenal. As the market moves into a mature phase, SAP consultants need new strategies and tactics to further their careers. In this eagerly-awaited handbook, the authors - an SAP practice director and an SAP recruiter - combine forces to offer in-depth advice on everything from how to get a start in SAP consulting to balancing multiple job offers. This book is a must for anyone involved in the field of SAP consulting..
Price: $20.65 [Notify me when price goes down.]

Wedding Planning and Management provides a comprehensive introduction to the planning and management of weddings. Looking through an event management lens, Maggie Daniels and Carrie Loveless thoroughly explore the foundations, practice, and business of wedding planning. They include over 50 case studies, provide planning checklists, and set standards for best practice. The emphasis on diversity encompasses traditions from cultures around the globe.

The book is designed so that consultants, brides, grooms, vendors, scholars, and those simply fascinated by weddings can appreciate and apply the material. Visually stunning with over 150 images captured by award winning photojournalist Rodney Bailey, the full color pages lavishly illustrate concepts and spark the imagination.

* The first textbook on wedding consulting, with pedagogical features like introduction of theory, illustration through case studies, worksheets, checklists
* Places wedding planning and management into a larger events management context
* Provides practical resources and best practices for wedding consulting.
Price: $41.40 [Notify me when price goes down.]