Flawless Consulting : A Guide to Getting Your Expertise Used

by Peter Block

• ISBN13: 9780787948030
• ISBN10: 0787948039
• Edition: 2nd
• Format: Hardcover
• Copyright: 1999-09-01
• Publisher: Pfeiffer

Summary

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

Author Biography

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.

Table of Contents

Preface to the Second Edition	xv
Preface to the First Edition	xxi
Acknowledgments	xxv
A Consultant by Any Other Name...	1	(12)
Some Definitions and Distinctions	2	(4)
Consulting Skills Preview	6	(2)
The Promise of Flawless Consultation	8	(5)
Techniques Are Not Enough	13	(24)
Beyond Substance	14	(2)
The Consultant's Assumptions	16	(2)
The Consultant's Goals	18	(2)
Developing Client Commitment---A Secondary Goal of Each Consulting Act	20	(1)
Roles Consultants Choose	21	(6)
Collaboration and the Fear of Holding Hands	27	(2)
Staging the Client's Involvement---Step by Step	29	(8)
Assessing the Balance of Responsibility	36	(1)
Flawless Consulting	37	(16)
Being Authentic	37	(4)
Completing the Requirements of Each Phase	41	(6)
Results	47	(6)
Contracting Overview	53	(16)
Contracting---The Concept and the Skill	54	(4)
Contracting Skills	58	(1)
Elements of a Contract	59	(8)
Analyzing One of Your Contracts	67	(1)
Ground Rules for Contracting	67	(2)
The Contracting Meeting	69	(38)
Who Is the Client?	70	(1)
Navigating the Contracting Meeting	71	(24)
The Problem with Saying No	95	(4)
Planning a Contracting Meeting	98	(1)
Selling Your Services---Good Selling Is Good Contracting	99	(3)
The Meeting As a Model of How You Work	102	(2)
Closing the Contracting Meeting	104	(1)
After the Contracting Meeting	104	(3)
Reviewing the Contracting Meeting	105	(2)
The Agonies of Contracting	107	(22)
Dealing with Low Motivation	107	(3)
Ceaseless Negotiation---The Shifting Tide of Your Role	110	(4)
Some Other Specific Agonies	114	(2)
The Bonner Case	116	(9)
A Look into the Bonner Case	125	(4)
The Internal Consultant	129	(10)
Important Differences Between Internal and External Consultants	130	(3)
Triangles and Rectangles	133	(6)
Understanding Resistance	139	(22)
The Faces of Resistance	140	(8)
What Are Clients Resisting When They Are Resisting Us?	148	(3)
Underlying Concerns	151	(2)
Sometimes It Is Not Resistance	153	(1)
The Fear and the Wish	154	(3)
Ogres and Angels	157	(1)
...and Heroics	158	(3)
Dealing with Resistance	161	(12)
Three Steps	163	(5)
Don't Take It Personally	168	(1)
Good Faith Responses	169	(1)
Consulting with a Stone	170	(3)
From Diagnosis to Discovery	173	(16)
The Call to Action	175	(4)
Juggling the Presenting Problem	179	(3)
How the Problem Is Being Managed	182	(4)
A Reminder	186	(3)
Getting the Data	189	(18)
The Steps in Getting Data	189	(5)
Assessing How the Problem Is Being Managed	194	(3)
The Data Collection Interview	197	(4)
A Final Comment on What to Look For	201	(6)
Planning a Data Collection Meeting	204	(3)
Reviewing the Data Collection Meeting	207	(1)
Whole-System Discovery	207	(10)
Third-Party Consulting	208	(2)
Taking a Whole-System Approach	210	(2)
Putting Whole-System Discovery to Work	212	(2)
The Payoff	214	(3)
Preparing for Feedback	217	(10)
A Clear Picture May Be Enough	217	(1)
Some Do's and Don'ts	218	(3)
Language in Giving Feedback	221	(2)
A Preview of the Feedback Meeting... As Courtroom Drama	223	(2)
Support and Confrontation	225	(2)
Managing the Feedback Meeting	227	(20)
Feedback Concepts and Skills	227	(1)
How to Present Data	228	(2)
Structuring the Meeting	230	(1)
The Feedback Meeting---Step by Step	230	(10)
Resistance in the Feedback Meeting	240	(3)
Planning a Feedback Meeting	242	(1)
Conducting a Group Feedback Meeting	243	(2)
Reviewing the Feedback Meeting	244	(1)
Feedback Skills Summary	245	(2)
Implementation	247	(16)
Choosing Engagement over Installation	248	(1)
Deciding Doesn't Get It Done	249	(1)
The Case Against Installation	250	(9)
Betting on Engagement	259	(1)
A Reminder	259	(4)
Strategies for Engagement	263	(18)
Feelings Are Facts	263	(1)
Supporting the Emotional Side	264	(1)
The Meeting Is the Message	265	(1)
Innovative Engagement in Five Easy Pieces	265	(14)
The Choice for Accountability	279	(2)
Some Tools for Engagement	281	(26)
Methods You Can Really Use	282	(21)
Preparing for Implementation	302	(1)
Mixing Metaphor and Methodology	303	(4)
Reviewing an Implementation Effort	304	(3)
Ethics and the Shadow Side of Consulting	307	(20)
The Promise	309	(1)
The Commercialization of Service	309	(2)
Growth Diminishes Can Undermine Service	311	(11)
Seller Beware	322	(1)
Owning the Shadow---Thoughts on What to Do	323	(4)
The Heart of the Matter	327	(16)
Choosing Learning over Teaching	328	(2)
The Struggle Is the Solution	330	(5)
Insight Resides in Moments of Tension	335	(2)
Capacities Bear More Fruit Than Deficiencies	337	(1)
We Are Responsible for One Another's Learning	338	(1)
Culture Changes in the Moment	339	(2)
If Change Is So Wonderful, Why Don't You Go First?	341	(1)
The Final Question Is One of Faith	342	(1)
Appendix Another Checklist You Can Use	343	(25)
To Get an Overview	344	(2)
Before You Negotiate Your Next Contract, Remember...	346	(6)
Before You Go into the Data Collection and Discovery Phase of Your Next Project, Remember...	352	(5)
Before You Go into the Feedback Phase of Your Next Project, Remember...	357	(3)
When You Encounter Resistance, Remember...	360	(2)
Before You Go into the Implementation Phase of Your Next Project, Remember...	362	(4)
To Create an Ethical Practice, Remember...	366	(2)
Suggestions for Further Reading	368	(3)
About the Author	371