Contrarian Wisdom
I'm conducting my Mentor Hall of Fame meeting in New York just prior to my birthday party. Andrew Sobel, who has been in my community for quite a while, came up with an interesting phrase, "contrarian wisdom." I told him
The Consulting Bible: An Excerpt
Here is the opening of my new book, available in about a month from John Wiley & Sons, The Consulting Bible. It will be available for order on my site in about a week. Section I: Genesis Consulting as a
Million Dollar Referrals
An excerpt from my new book to be released by McGraw-Hill in a few months: I was introduced once to a top client team by their boss who had hired me, who had used my help in a prior company and
How to Influence People (Whether Or Not You Win Friends)
We all are confronted with tough prospect and client questions, and even challenges socially and professionally from colleagues, regularly. (Forget about the social media platforms, where anyone with zero experience and less intellect feels comfortable informing you about their view
Breathe
When you learn to scuba dive, the instructor imprints in your cerebral cortex one word: breathe! While it’s counterintuitive to breathe underwater, the instructors explain endlessly, “Never stop breathing. Do not hold your breath. You could die.” Oh. When you’re with a
The Million Dollar Consulting® Mindset for Consultants
We often talk of “thinking big” without bothering to determine what that entails. Herein, some suggestions: 1. Keep asking “Why?” to find the buyer’s larger objectives. “We need a developmental program (Why?) because our sales need improvement (Why?) because we want
Ahoy! Who’s Running this Ship?
I tell every consultant whom I mentor to assume the client is “healthy.” That is, the client isn’t “damaged” until and unless you see evidence that the client is the problem: screaming at subordinates, lying to colleagues, cheating on expenses.
Why Consulting Is So Easy
I use a framing store for the certificates I hand out in sessions such as my Million Dollar Consulting® College. For December's College, my wife took the certificates from the calligrapher to the framer, but the owner told her that
ALAN’S TWELVE DAYS OF CHRISTMAS FOR CONSULTANTS
ALAN’S TWELVE DAYS OF CHRISTMAS FOR CONSULTANTS By Alan Weiss Reprinted from last year at popular request. (with apologies to everyone from the 16th Century and prior) On the first day of Christmas My efforts brought to me, A large dose of self-esteem. On the second day
Differences Between Coaching and Mentoring
What’s the difference between a coach and a mentor? I think the differences are significant. Here are some examples from my upcoming book, Million Dollar Coaching (McGraw-Hill, January 2011): Attribute Coaching