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

by David H. Maister (Author) "I frequently ask professionals what they consider to be the difference between a good secretary and a great secretary..." (more)
Key Phrases: true professionalism, senior professional time, engagement profitability, Brain Surgeon, Managing Your Client's Projects, The Adaptive Firm (more...)

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 the Hardcover edition.

Review
Tom Watson Vice Chairman, Omnicom Group, Inc. Maister?s ideas are applicable in a wide range of professional businesses and are equally valid for small firms or large. This book speaks to the professional in all of us. -- Review

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Product Details

• Paperback: 224 pages
• Publisher: Free Press; 1st Touchstone Ed edition (May 18, 2000)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0684840049
• ISBN-13: 978-0684840048
• Product Dimensions: 8.3 x 5.5 x 0.7 inches
• Shipping Weight: 7.2 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.4 out of 5 stars See all reviews (16 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #22,857 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

10 of 10 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)

"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.

17 of 21 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

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.