The Global Consultant: How to Make Seven Figures Across Borders [Hardcover]

Alan Weiss (Author), Omar Khan (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: December 3, 2008 | ISBN-10: 0470823860 | ISBN-13: 978-0470823866 | Edition: 1

In a true "flat earth" there are no borders or impediments to importing and exporting knowledge. Such knowledge transfer, if recorded, would more than offset the current US trade deficit and balance of trade figures. The audience for this book is primarily solo or small-practice consultants (and those considering independent consulting) who seek the wealth, experience, and gratification of consulting internationally. Both "on the ground" and remote techniques are addressed, so the peripatetic and the home-anchored can achieve significant new goals, adventures and growth-experiences.

Editorial Reviews

From the Inside Flap

The Global Consultant sends consultants to success in overseas markets faster than any commercial jet. The authors have a combined experience of 50 years in international markets, starting with laborious visas and slow transit, and currently involving high tech and high margin, remote consulting. Within these pages, they will help you avoid the real and perceived pitfalls of working beyond your own borders, and help even brand new consultants to immediately include foreign markets in their business plan. For veterans, the book represents a unique, opportunistic, and personally enriching new set of markets that can be accessed immediately.

Alan Weiss and Omar Khan take you on a trip around the world, from virtual presence to physical appearance, and show you how to use every advantage, no matter what your native land, to gain business in other countries. They’ll even tell you where to get the best local room, air club, and meal. Take a small amount of your time to learn from two of the most successful international consultants in the world how to become a seven-figure, global consultant.

From the Back Cover

My million-dollar global consulting practice is a direct result of my work with Alan. Through his mentorship over the last three years, I have built a truly global practice which has taken me to the U.K., Europe, Asia, and across the U.S.  By working with best-fit clients around the world, I am able to bring a unique perspective and deliver more value than a local consultant ever could.  If you are ready to play a bigger game, Alan Weiss is the person to take you there.

Nancy MacKay, Ph.D.
President, MacKay & Associates

No one knows more about global consulting than Omar Khan. Right Selection produces top-level global learning events throughout the GCC and people who have engaged with Omar have been almost taken aback by the expertise, the insights, and the applicable lessons imparted. Not only that, but a number of other consultants and speakers we know who are successful on the global stage and have become thought leaders in their own fields, were both coached and inspired by Omar. His company Sensei is almost a synonym for global consulting at its very best.

Ram Ganglani, Chairman
Gautam Ganglani, Managing Director
Right Selection Group, Dubai, UAE

When I first read Alan’s seminal book Million Dollar Consulting, I knew that it would change my company’s future. I expect The Global Consultant will have a similar impact. Consultants whom I told about our “new way” looked at me as if I were dumb. However, working with Alan and implementing his model accompanied by a continuous improvement process led to an initial growth of 200% in revenues. Since then, we constantly record double-digit growth in revenues and profit, always above industry average. The way we work has changed dramatically, and we have better relationships with our clients today. And we have just started.

Dr. Guido Quelle
Managing Partner, Mandat Managementberatung GmbH

While we frequently talk about the importance of leaders and consultants who have a truly “Global Mindset,” finding such is a relatively rare occurrence. Omar Khan is one of those rare exceptions: globally well informed, well traveled, insightful, articulate, and has a great sense of humor. In both substance and style, I have seen first hand his impact on the thinking and behavior of global leaders, consultants and others. As an author, speaker, coach and consultant, Omar is a mind and voice truly worth interacting with.

William H. Mobley, Ph.D.
Professor of Management, China Europe International Business School (CEIBS)

Alan Weiss and Omar Khan tell you not just how to profitably market and deliver global consulting services, but how to have fun doing it. I’ve found that good consulting processes and expertise are highly valued around the world, and getting more so. My clients are increasingly focused on international business. Many are looking to cultivate a more global brand and corporate culture, and their top leaders and experts are spread around the world. The Global Consultant helps us to help these companies be successful in the new, competitive world.

Amanda Setili
Managing Partner, Setili & Associates, LLC

Leading a team for a major category within Unilever, encompassing Asia, Africa and the Middle East, I have been excited and impressed to see how effectively Omar and his company Sensei can add value across cultures and global boundaries. Omar deals with unrivalled talent and care with the cultural and social sensitivities of teams and individuals; adapting his style, tools and approach to fit your needs superbly. If you want to understand how to convert expertise into client value in multiple markets and across cultural diversity, how to partner effectively and coach top leaders who are committed to getting even better, Omar is the person to consult.

Laurent Kleitman
Senior Vice President, Home Care Categories, Asia, Africa, Middle East, Turkey, Unilever

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Hardcover: 240 pages
• Publisher: Wiley; 1 edition (December 3, 2008)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0470823860
• ISBN-13: 978-0470823866
• Product Dimensions: 9.1 x 5.9 x 1.2 inches
• Shipping Weight: 14.4 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (8 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #443,183 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Alan Weiss: Biographical Sketch

Alan Weiss is one of those rare people who can say he is a consultant, speaker and author and mean it. His consulting firm, Summit Consulting Group, Inc. has attracted clients such as Merck, Hewlett-Packard, GE, Mercedes-Benz, State Street Corporation, Times Mirror Group, The Federal Reserve, The New York Times, and over 400 other leading organizations. He serves on the boards of directors of the Trinity Repertory Company, a Tony-Award-winning New England regional theater, and the Newport International Film Festival.
His speaking typically includes 30 keynotes a year at major conferences, and he has been a visiting faculty member at Case Western Reserve University, Boston College, Tufts, St. John's, the University of Illinois, the Institute of Management Studies, and the University of Georgia Graduate School of Business. He has held an appointment as adjunct professor in the Graduate School of Business at the University of Rhode Island where he taught courses on advanced management and consulting skills. He holds the record for selling out the highest priced workshop (on entrepreneurialism) in the 21-year history of New York City's Learning Annex. His Ph.D. is in psychology and he is a member of the American Psychological Society, the American Counseling Association, Division 13 of the American Psychological Association, and the Society for Personality and Social Psychology. He was recently appointed to the Board of Governors of Harvard University's Center for Mental Illness and the Media. He has keynoted for the American Psychological Association on two occasions.
He is a 2006 inductee into the Professional Speaking Hall of Fame' and the concurrent recipient of the National Speakers Association Council of Peers Award of Excellence, representing the top 1% of professional speakers in the world
His prolific publishing includes over 500 articles and 25 books, including his best-seller, Million Dollar Consulting (from McGraw-Hill). His newest is The Million Dollar Consulting' Toolkit. His books have been on the curricula at Villanova, Temple University, and the Wharton School of Business, and have been translated into German, Italian, Arabic, Spanish, Russian, and Chinese.


He is interviewed and quoted frequently in the media, and is an active member of the American Federation of Television and Radio Artists. His career has taken him to 54 countries and 49 states. (He is afraid to go to North Dakota.) Success Magazine has cited him in an editorial devoted to his work as 'a worldwide expert in executive education.' The New York Post calls him 'one of the most highly regarded independent consultants in America.' He is the winner of the prestigious Axiem Award for Excellence in Audio Presentation.
In 2006 he was presented with the Lifetime Achievement Award of the American Press Institute, the first-ever for a non-journalist, and one of only seven awarded in the 60-year history of the association.
He has coached the former and present Miss Rhode Island/Miss America candidates in interviewing skills.
He once appeared on the popular American TV game show Jeopardy, where he lost badly in the first round to a dancing waiter from Iowa.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

8 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Global Consultant = Global Success, November 11, 2008

By 

Philip Symchych "Business Consultant" (Regina, Canada) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: The Global Consultant: How to Make Seven Figures Across Borders (Hardcover)

The Global Consultant contains excellent pragmatic advice on how to travel. I wish I had read this book before doing a world tour this summer (but the book wasn't out yet). It is an easy read with interesting stories that exemplify the authors' points about how to travel with less stress, reduce cell phone roaming charges, arrive well rested, enjoy your locations, and grow personally and professionally from the experience. In typical Alan Weiss style, it has strong marketing content that will help you expand your brand and reach, enhance your value to clients, price based on that value and how to get paid in foreign currencies. The strongest chapter was on "The Human Software for Global Consulting." The fourth paragraph in this chapter is an excellent business philosophy and worth many times the price of this book. If you want to push yourself beyond your comfort zone and grow your brand, this is a timely resource for our challenging economies.

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars The Tricks of the Global Trade, August 9, 2009

By 

Keith E. Webb "Cross-Cultural Leadership Coac... (Seattle) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: The Global Consultant: How to Make Seven Figures Across Borders (Hardcover)

Do you have something of value to offer and the ability to share that expertise in ways helpful to others? This book will teach you how to share that expertise globally.

The authors assume you already have something valuable to offer. And if you don't have that confidence, Alan Weiss has another book to help you hone that: Million Dollar Consulting: The Professional's Guide to Growing a Practice. In The Global Consultant, the authors focus specifically on using your expertise overseas and getting well paid for it.

As an trainer and coach who travels all over the world, I read The Global Consultant with a fair amount of skepticism and anticipation. I was pleasantly surprised at the accuracy and usefulness of a book that, by the nature of the subject, must deal in strange mix of generality and specificity.

The book begins with help on establishing your reputation and building relationships. Chapters include: Projecting Expertise and Building Relationships and Creating International Presence. The information and stories ring true to me. From Singapore where I live, it always amazes me that someone from the USA or Europe will be flown in for consulting (at double the price!) when there any number of local or expatriate consultants capable of the project. Why are locals overlooked, because others have established a international presence that commands attention.

The book is filled with "nuts and bolts" related to working internationally. Chapters discuss what to charge and how to get paid; what to pack, where to stay, how to fly, and how to stay healthy on the road; how to learn about cultures, and how to use that knowledge. These are the areas where my skepticism was highest, but the authors came through. I found the information valuable and consistent with "best practices" for the business traveler. (Although I'd live to fly First Class for the rest and health reasons the authors recommend, alas, I work with non-profit organizations and can only hope for an upgrade to Business Class.)

The final chapter, Life Balance, is filled with wisdom. With travel comes much ego gratification. At the beginning of a global career, everything is new and exciting. However, the trips are long and time away from family and significant personal engagements back home can get left in the dust. I appreciate Alan Weiss sharing how he's actually decreasing his travel and days away, bringing a more holistic balance to his life.

I highly recommend this book to anyone building an international presence, or already working in one. I found the author's tips valuable in developing my own practice.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Great book on going global, December 8, 2009

By 

Florian Kuepfer (Switzerland) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: The Global Consultant: How to Make Seven Figures Across Borders (Hardcover)

Another book from "The Million Dollar Consultant" Alan Weiss.

This one, co-written with another consultant successful on the global stage, is full of pragmatic advice on how to go global as a consultant.

The funny vignettes make it all the more enjoyable to read.

As with everything written by Alan Weiss, this is recommended reading for everyone in the consulting business.