I must be an authority on law because consultants always ask me if they could sue a client for stealing one of their ideas. I always explain that although they can sue anybody they wish, the return on resources invested in new ideas is a thousand times greater than a similar investment in lawsuits.

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.

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

If you as a consultant find a relatively even distribution of problems, you may hypothesize that your clients are not seeing one major problem, but it is more likely that they have been keeping up with their problems without letting any one problem get out of control.

One day, some partially filled bottle of Joy will snap you out of your preoccupation with marketing for more money. In a twinkling, you're going to ask yourself, "Is this all there is?" In that moment, your marketing question will be transformed from "How do I get more business?" to "Do I really want to do this?" From

You should get acquainted with your own behavior pattern. At the slightest hint that something may be out of kilter, follow Brown's Brilliant Bequest and start listening to your music. Notice nonverbal behavior, which will either be defensive or aggressive, depending on how you perceive the resistance. Here are a few of the actions you may catch yo

When you're not terribly smart, it helps to be a good listener.

"So what I need is a bell system of my own." And that's what this chapter is about: how to build your own bell system, a system of triggers you simply can't ignore.

The Fifth Law of Trust: People are never liars—in their own eyes.