Great Consulting Challenges: And How to Surmount Them (Ultimate Consultant Series) [Hardcover]

Alan Weiss (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: December 26, 2002 | ISBN-10: 0787955108 | ISBN-13: 978-0787955106 | Edition: 1

Great Consulting Challenges: And How to Surmount Them shows how consultants can use the wisdom gleaned from Weiss's own practice and from other seasoned members of the profession to help overcome persistent problems and next-level challenges. Weiss explains that as consultants' careers develop and become more sophisticated and complex, so do the challenges they encounter. For example, the question of price competition occurs at every level of the consulting business, yet the techniques for astutely resolving the issue can be vastly different for the veteran consultant as compared to the novice who is merely trying to establish a new business. In this book, Alan Weiss discusses the great consulting challenges in key areas such as marketing, selling, delivery, and practice management and offers practical advice for overcoming common problems and learning to thrive as a consultant.

Editorial Reviews

Review

"Those of us in the practice of consulting to management recognize the continuing "consulting challenges" in today's sophisticated world of management. Alan Weiss has done a superb job in his latest book. The road map he gives, Great Consulting Challenges and How to Surmount Them, constitutes the foundation for an impressive growth pattern for each of us in management consulting." — Vito A. Tanzi, founding chairman, National Bureau of Certified Consultants

"A must-read for the seasoned consultant. Alan's usually counterintuitive lessons learned from his experiences make us rethink (again) our own approach— based on our experiences. I found some significant improvements I can make, and you will, too." — Norman R. Eckstein, president, Eckstein Management Consulting and chairman, Institute of Management Consultants

"Once again Alan Weiss has given us an engaging, colorful, entertaining, but above all, practical book for the serious consultant. As Weiss takes us through his real-world personal consulting challenges and how they were won or lost, we build our own consulting strategies for success." — E. Michael Shays, past chairman, Institute of Management Consultants

From the Inside Flap

Alan Weiss, expert consultant and author of the best-selling book Million Dollar Consulting, presents Great Consulting Challenges and How to Surmount Them— the sixth book in The Ultimate Consulting series— an invaluable resource that reveals how highly successful consultants deal with their most compelling challenges.
Great Consulting Challenges and How to Surmount Them shows how consultants can use the wisdom gleaned from Weiss's own practice and from other seasoned members of the profession to help overcome persistent problems and next-level challenges. Weiss explains that as consultants' careers develop and become more sophisticated and complex, so do the challenges they encounter. For example, the question of price competition occurs at every level of the consulting business, yet the techniques for astutely resolving the issue can be vastly different for the veteran consultant as compared to the novice who is merely trying to establish a new business. In this book, Alan Weiss discusses the great consulting challenges in key areas such as marketing, selling, delivery, and practice management and offers practical advice for overcoming common problems and learning to thrive as a consultant. This important resource offers a wealth of suggestions and ideas that consultants can use to take the next step to

• Overcome the "industry expertise" barrier to developing new markets
• Use niche markets to leverage a consulting business in other directions
• Create a support system of team members that can be accessed on demand
• Determine when it is best to invest money to see a prospect in person
• Dramatically increase name recognition
• Manage business pipelines to develop new and ongoing business

Throughout the book, Weiss offers down-to-earth advice and illustrative examples to show how to prevail over the most common pitfalls that consultants will likely encounter as their business grows and prospers.

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Hardcover: 304 pages
• Publisher: Pfeiffer; 1 edition (December 26, 2002)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0787955108
• ISBN-13: 978-0787955106
• Product Dimensions: 9.7 x 6.7 x 1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.6 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,904,757 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

5.0 out of 5 stars More Fantastic Advice from the Master, February 26, 2011

By 

Tony J. Ridley "Consultant, speaker, author, ... (Australia) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Great Consulting Challenges: And How to Surmount Them (Ultimate Consultant Series) (Hardcover)

You name it, Alan covers it in this book. Some fantastic, alternate views on the most basic of challenges for consultants all the way up to the most complex and perplexing issues that stall business and projects.

Buyers and consultants will really benefit from this book as it provides both sides of the perspective in the continuos search for superior results from the highest quality practitioners.

I have nearly all of Alan's books and views. His insights and methodology has saved me a lot of time and frustration and continuously improves my skills and abilities as a successful global consultant.

0 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Alan tells it like it is, March 17, 2005

By 

Lenny Laskowski "President of LJL Seminars (tm)" (Wilmington, NC United States) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Great Consulting Challenges: And How to Surmount Them (Ultimate Consultant Series) (Hardcover)

Alan Weiss tells it like it is. If you want to learn from one of the best...read EVERYTHING Alan Weiss writes! Alan's insights and experience are second to none. I personally own just about every book Alan Weiss has written. He is not only a consultant's consultant, but he is also a gifted writer as well.

Alan Weiss's advice, insights and knowledge will take years off your learning curve. This book is a must for your library.

Lenny Laskowski, Author of National Best Selling Book:

"10 Days to More Confident Public Speaking"

President of LJL Seminars(tm)