0-7879-4803-9
Flawless Consulting: A Guide to Getting Your Expertise Used, 2nd Edition
Author: Peter Block, Hardcover, 400 pages, September 1999, Pfeiffer
$50.00

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

TABLE OF CONTENTS:

A Consultant by Any Other Name . . .

Techniques Are Not Enough.

Flawless Consulting.

Contracting Overview.

The Contracting Meeting.

The Agonies of Contracting.

The Internal Consultant.

Understanding Resistance.

Dealing with Resistance.

From Diagnosis to Discovery.

Getting the Data.

Whole Systems Discovery.

Preparing for Feedback.

Managing the Feedback Meeting.

Implementation.

Strategies of Engagement.

Some Tools for Engagement.

Ethics and the Shadow Side.

The Heart of the Matter.

Another Checklist You Can Use.

Suggestions for Further Reading.

Acknowledgements.

About the Author.