TRUE PROFESSIONALISM : The Courage to Care About Your People, Your Clients, and Your Career [Paperback]

David H. Maister (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: May 18, 2000

Professional firms are forever trying to get their people to act like professionals -- to do the right things. Though their various incentives may create employee compliance, these don't often encourage excellence. David Maister, the world's premier consultant to professional service firms, vigorously challenges professionals to examine this essential, yet under-addressed question: What is true professionalism? His answer is clear: It is believing passionately in what you do, never compromising your standards and values, and caring about your clients, your people and your own career. In clear and compelling terms, Maister shows that this approach is not only ethical but also conducive to commercial success.

Editorial Reviews

From Booklist

Maister sets out to help professionals align their real-world actions with their true (espoused) values. His frame of reference throughout the book is the professional firm--law firms and others in the service sector. He tells us that successful firms are clearly differentiated by a strict adherence to values and professionalism and that doing the right thing is good business. Professionalism is not a set of competencies but predominantly an attitude; a real professional is a technician who cares. To emphasize the importance of true values in our chaotic marketplace, we learn that the noble path does win, but only if we are prepared to make the investment to act professionally over a long period of time. This is a challenge in today's short-term view of most aspects of business activity. The book addresses the individual professional's values, the firm's responsibilities in the realm of values, and how a firm should deal with its client base in terms of quality and excellence. In addition, the author offers a thought-provoking suggestion for guaranteeing satisfaction. Mary Whaley --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

Review

Lawrence A. Weinbach Managing Partner and Chief Executive, Andersen Worldwide Full of the practical wisdom that we have come to expect from David Maister. Professionals of every kind will find something useful in this collection of rich insights and ideas.

Jacob J. Weiss Vice President, Goldman, Sachs & Co. Captures the fundamental dilemmas which underlie the management of a professional service firm. An invaluable source.

Martin Sorrell Chairman, WPP Group PLC Helpful to everyone interested in improving the performance of professional service firms. Provocative, controversial and stimulating, Maister challenges traditional thinking and provides new insights on a wide range of important issues.

F. W. "Mickey" Huibregtsen Chairman and Director, McKinsey & Company, Netherlands Maister is a master in the field of professionalism. Whereas his focus clearly is on the professional firm, many of his thoughts are also relevant to the top management of large international corporations, both in their dealings with professionals and in their own management actions.

James P. Saviano President, CSC Consulting Maister has a remarkable ability to cut to the quick and challenge executives to take on the burden of leadership by offering practical advice on how to connect business behavior to principles and values.

Donald Groninger Executive Vice President and General Counsel, Bridgestone/Firestone, Inc. Provides a common sense blueprint for professional success, emphasizing the simple but often neglected principles that make for a fulfilling and productive career. Anyone who wants to be thought of as a professional will benefit from reading this book, Maister's insights apply to people at all levels of organizations and in a wide variety of industries and professions.

James P. Baughman Managing Director, J.P. Morgan & Co., Inc. Must reading for "professionals" who can't get out of their own way.

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Paperback: 224 pages
• Publisher: Free Press; 1 edition (May 18, 2000)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0684840049
• ISBN-13: 978-0684840048
• Product Dimensions: 5.5 x 0.6 x 8.3 inches
• Shipping Weight: 8 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.2 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (20 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #95,700 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

David H. Maister, one of the world's leading authorities on the management of professional service firms, is the author of several successful books, including Managing the Professional Service Firm, True Professionalism, and Practice What You Preach, and coauthor of The Trusted Advisor.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

11 of 11 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Should be required reading in law firms, May 25, 2002

By 

Ellen Ostrow "Lawyers' Coach" (LawyersLifeCoach.com) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: TRUE PROFESSIONALISM : The Courage to Care About Your People, Your Clients, and Your Career (Paperback)

"True Professionalism" expresses Maister's core message: do work
you love with people you like and everything else will come
with ease. Few of the lawyers I coach have heard this message
before. If they'd read Maister they'd realize that business
development isn't about selling, with all of its worst connotations -- it's about helping people you respect and whose problems are meaningful to you.
Maister encourages the reader to consider the "radical" idea that work should be enjoyable and that if it is, then success will come from doing it well and with sincere caring. I agree with him and enjoy being reminded each time I re-read this wonderful book.

20 of 25 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Insightful & simple - but too hard to use., March 11, 1999

By A Customer

This review is from: True Professionalism (Hardcover)

You're a consultant, lawyer, accountant or some other professional in a practice which needs to sell to survive.

This book gives good, simple, guidelines to succeed. Follow them and you'll do well.

Don't worry that your competition will do the same because many of the recommendations will get lost in the "Too Hard" basket. For example, Maister's treatment of unchargeable time is simple and cuts right to the chase: how is non-chargeable time measured? What is the RoI of this time? Is there a schedule or a programme for what is essential investment in the future?

The logic is impeccable, but it will lead to little action precisely because unchargeable time by definition doesn't contribute to the bottom line immediately.

It is a book which seeks out many of the sloppy, unimaginative practices prevalent in professional firms and provides practical remedies. It is a book that will be much recommended but too hard to use, and the reason why is best illustrated by Maister's recommendation on guarantees:

"Guarantee your work to the complete satisfaction of the client. If the client is not completely satisfied, accept that portion of the fee that reflects the client's level of satisfaction".

This stuff is just too scary. To trust clients and staff that much is asking a lot. To force a firm to live up to its marketing claims is, for most, a risk not worth taking.

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Essentials Needed To Become a Successful Leader, April 21, 2004

By 

Joyce A. Ogirri (Pittsburgh, PA United States) - See all my reviews

This review is from: TRUE PROFESSIONALISM : The Courage to Care About Your People, Your Clients, and Your Career (Paperback)

David Maister does a great job of explaining the fundamentals essential to anyone that has a job or is looking for a job in consulting. Splitting the book into three sections made it flow well and easy to follow and comprehend. Furthermore, Maister really focuses on the things that you should look for within yourself as well as the firm and clients. He makes you think about what one should really focus on in your career and the benefits you can receive from your job. This book also guides an employee in explaining situations that will probably occur at some point in their working career. David Maister gives you the tools that you need to be successful; all the person has to do is apply it to their everyday life.

The principles that Maister discussed in his book showed me that there is a balance between the client, the firm, and yourself. This balance is important because it dictates how successful you will become. It is also important to value your client as well as engage with them so that you really know who the client is and what their needs and wants are. Even though you must achieve your goals, you should help others to do the same by establishing a relationship, which in turn will make the working environment healthy and successful.

There is so much information you take a way from this book that will help you in your career as well as your life. I advise everyone to buy this book, because it is very beneficial to the success of anyone's career. Through the use of catchy phrases and clear, practical explanations, I feel that anyone can read this book and take something from it to apply to their career.