The Secrets of Consulting: A Guide to Giving and Getting Advice Successfully (Consulting Secrets Book 1)

The Fast-Food Fallacy In order for The Fast-Food Fallacy to be valid, we need two logical conditions: First, we must have repetition (providing some standard product or service a large number of times); and second, we must have centralization (accounting for the cost of providing the standard product or service). Because of the repetition, a small

Sparks's Law of Problem Solution: The chances of solving a problem decline the closer you get to finding out who was the cause of the problem.

If I don't work well with someone, we don't have to continue to work together, but I'm stuck with myself—and my self-image—for life. I may be a jerk, but I'm the only jerk I have.

It's one of the ironies of our business that consultants rarely get asked for help by the people who need help the most. That sometimes makes it tempting to jump in without being asked when you happen to be in the neighborhood. Don't! When the request is missing, chances are you can't help.

Romer's Rule says that the biggest and longest lasting changes usually originate in attempts to preserve the very thing that ultimately changes most. Consultants can use Romer's Rule to advantage when trying to change a large system,

The Third Law of Pricing: The money is usually the smallest part of the price. The Third Law is especially important to the internal consultant, making it possible for the employee on a fixed wage to be respected as much as any high-priced outside authority. If you examine the total "cost" to a client of using your services, you'll find t

The Hidden Agenda is one of the techniques I use to train people to "see" inside others. I use the following technique. Before a meeting begins, I give each participant a sheet of paper on which is written a secret personal assignment for that meeting. Here are some examples of such secret assignments: • Try to see to it that every decisi

The Fourth Law of Pricing: Pricing is not a zero-sum game. In other words, my gains don't have to be their losses. By searching for conditions that benefit us both, I can lower the effective price without lowering my image in their eyes, thus beating the law that says they'll respect me less if I charge a lower price.

I remember Will Rogers every time I meet a client I don't like. Then Will reminds me that what I know about that person may not be so.