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The Trusted Advisor
The 20th anniversary edition of the “brilliant and practical” (Tom Peters, author of The Professional Service 50) business classic—now updated to reflect the digital world—provides essential tools and wisdom for all consultants, negotiators, and advisors.
In today’s fast-paced networked economy, professionals must work harder than ever to maintain and improve their business skills and knowledge. But technical mastery of one’s discipline is not enough, assert professional advisors David H. Maister, Charles H. Green, and Robert M. Galford. The key to professional success, they argue, is the ability to earn the trust and confidence of clients.
In this 20th anniversary edition, Maister, Green, and Galford enrich our understanding of today’s society and illustrate how to be effective communicators in a digital world. Using their model of “the trust equation” they dissect the rational and emotional components of trustworthiness. With precision and clarity, they detail five distinct steps you must take to create a trust-based relationship. Each step—engage, listen, frame, envision, and commit—is richly described in distinct chapters.
This immensely accessible book offers “an invaluable road map to all those who seek to develop truly special relationships with their clients” (Carl Stern, CEO, Boston Consulting Group). The authors weave together anecdotes, experience, and examples of both their own and others’ successes and mistakes to great effect. The Trusted Advisor is essential reading for anyone who must advise, negotiate, or manage complex relationships with others.
In today’s fast-paced networked economy, professionals must work harder than ever to maintain and improve their business skills and knowledge. But technical mastery of one’s discipline is not enough, assert professional advisors David H. Maister, Charles H. Green, and Robert M. Galford. The key to professional success, they argue, is the ability to earn the trust and confidence of clients.
In this 20th anniversary edition, Maister, Green, and Galford enrich our understanding of today’s society and illustrate how to be effective communicators in a digital world. Using their model of “the trust equation” they dissect the rational and emotional components of trustworthiness. With precision and clarity, they detail five distinct steps you must take to create a trust-based relationship. Each step—engage, listen, frame, envision, and commit—is richly described in distinct chapters.
This immensely accessible book offers “an invaluable road map to all those who seek to develop truly special relationships with their clients” (Carl Stern, CEO, Boston Consulting Group). The authors weave together anecdotes, experience, and examples of both their own and others’ successes and mistakes to great effect. The Trusted Advisor is essential reading for anyone who must advise, negotiate, or manage complex relationships with others.
336 pages, Paperback
Published February 2, 2021
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8557 people want to read
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September 10, 2021
This should be required reading for consultants and advisors. It explains that getting hired and rehired is about earning trust, and walks through many ways to build trust. There are plenty of real-world examples from the authors, three experienced consultants.
It’s logically organized, and I like how often lists are used.
My favorite points
• Act as if you're advising your parents, not your children.
• Manipulate the client’s emotions without being manipulative.
• Socializing isn’t necessary, but being sociable is.
• Be the first one to take a personal risk (let your guard down). Don’t wait for the client.
• Ask "how do you feel about that?"
• Don't jump into solving the problem. Spend more time defining it and talking about the end state with the client.
• Respect the client’s deadline even if it's artificial or arbitrary.
• Don't blame anybody for anything anytime.
Below are my notes.
Perspectives on Trust
Traits of trusted advisors
• Help client think things through (it's client's decision)
• Don't substitute their judgment for client's
• Give client reasoning (to help them think), not just their conclusions
• Give client options, increase their understanding of those options, give them the recommendation, and let them choose
Success in client relationships is tied to the accumulation of quality experiences. Seek out (rather than avoid) client-contact experiences, and take personal risks with clients.
Clients want advisors who
• Understand their interests and will put the client’s interests first
• Can be trusted to do the right thing
• Will care
How to give advice
• Act as if you're advising your parents, not your children. You're more likely to find the right words to convey your point with respect, and to soften any critique.
• A primary task is to defuse defensiveness. Prove you're trying to help, not criticize.
• Focus less on the advice/conclusion, and more on creating a conversation to help them see that issue from a new perspective.
• Clients don't always want advice; they often just want a sympathetic ear.
You're more likely to be trusted if you say, "I'm not completely sure how to deal with this; can I talk it over with you?" Then if you say, "leave it to me; I'll solve everything!"
The client is primarily interested in having the problem understood, in all its emotional and political complexity, as a precondition to having the problem diagnosed and solved.
Manipulate the client’s emotions without being manipulative. Use trust-building techniques.
Stop serving clients who can see that you're not fully engaged. The damage to your reputation will outlast any income penalty. Reputation before revenue!
Occasional socializing can be enjoyable, but earning trust is not about sporting events and dinners. Socializing isn’t necessary, but being sociable is. It's the window into the client's needs, hopes, fears.
The Structure of Trust Building
Trust Equation: T = (C + R + I)/S, where T = trustworthiness, C = credibility, R = reliability, I = intimacy, S = self-orientation
Be expert at a variety of small touches that build familiarity. For example, stay current on client events and names. The more you can understand and relate to the unconscious norms of the client, the more reliable they’ll feel you are.
You can have a close relationship with the client without having anything to do with their life outside of work. It's about emotional closeness concerning the issues at hand.
Be the first one to take a personal risk (let your guard down), to share something of what you see, feel, or think. Don’t wait for the client.
Take most of the responsibility for failed communications.
Talk to your client as if he is a friend. We're concerned about our friends and their well-being, and it shows in our conversational style.
Five stages of building trust
1. Engage: use language of interest and concern. "I’ve been thinking about your competitors, and …" "Your people have been telling me about …"
2. Listen: use language of understanding and empathy. "Tell me more about …" "What’s behind that?" "That must feel …"
3. Frame: use language of perspective and candor. "I see three key themes emerging here …" "You know, what’s tough to do here is …"
4. Vision: use language of possibility. "Wouldn't it be great if …"
5. Commit: use language of joint exploration. "What would it take, for each of us, to …"
Talk about competitive, career, and personal issues. These conversations contrast with more content- or expertise-related conversations.
Don't make early interactions purely transactional. If you focus strictly on the content, you'll be paid more as a technician in as an advisor. Talk to them as if they are a new friend, not an old friend.
What good listeners do
• Ask "how do you feel about that?"
• Ask how they think you might be of help
• Ask what they've thought of before telling them what you've thought of
After stating enough responsibility-taking caveats, say the thing that must be said, even if it seems risky.
Instead of asking "why don't we …?" ask "how would things be if …" Focus on descriptive sentences. Ask questions about things like benefits, end states, outcomes.
After the problem is defined, the client will ask "what can we do about this?" Say, "hold on, we'll get there, but let's talk about where we want to go and what we're trying to achieve."
Effective counseling (reimbursed or not) can be the most effective means of generating future revenues. Would you rather be someone's counselor, or write proposals?
Putting Trust to Work
Instead of pitching, get to work immediately. Act as if the project has already started. Show the prospect what it feels like to be in a relationship. The best selling technique is to not sell, but to commence the service process. Clients don't want to buy air unless they can breathe it first. They prefer to buy based on a sample.
Professionals sell confidence, security, and ease.
Factors that increase clients' perceived value of service
• Understanding
• Sense of control
• Sense of progress
• Access and availability
• Responsiveness
• Reliability
• Appreciation
• Sense of importance
• Respect
Clients often forget the promises we keep but remember the promises we didn't fulfill.
Respect the client’s deadline even if it's artificial or arbitrary. If it's unreasonable, it's better to ask for an extension, or even argue about it, then miss it.
Don't blame anybody for anything anytime.
It’s logically organized, and I like how often lists are used.
My favorite points
• Act as if you're advising your parents, not your children.
• Manipulate the client’s emotions without being manipulative.
• Socializing isn’t necessary, but being sociable is.
• Be the first one to take a personal risk (let your guard down). Don’t wait for the client.
• Ask "how do you feel about that?"
• Don't jump into solving the problem. Spend more time defining it and talking about the end state with the client.
• Respect the client’s deadline even if it's artificial or arbitrary.
• Don't blame anybody for anything anytime.
Below are my notes.
Perspectives on Trust
Traits of trusted advisors
• Help client think things through (it's client's decision)
• Don't substitute their judgment for client's
• Give client reasoning (to help them think), not just their conclusions
• Give client options, increase their understanding of those options, give them the recommendation, and let them choose
Success in client relationships is tied to the accumulation of quality experiences. Seek out (rather than avoid) client-contact experiences, and take personal risks with clients.
Clients want advisors who
• Understand their interests and will put the client’s interests first
• Can be trusted to do the right thing
• Will care
How to give advice
• Act as if you're advising your parents, not your children. You're more likely to find the right words to convey your point with respect, and to soften any critique.
• A primary task is to defuse defensiveness. Prove you're trying to help, not criticize.
• Focus less on the advice/conclusion, and more on creating a conversation to help them see that issue from a new perspective.
• Clients don't always want advice; they often just want a sympathetic ear.
You're more likely to be trusted if you say, "I'm not completely sure how to deal with this; can I talk it over with you?" Then if you say, "leave it to me; I'll solve everything!"
The client is primarily interested in having the problem understood, in all its emotional and political complexity, as a precondition to having the problem diagnosed and solved.
Manipulate the client’s emotions without being manipulative. Use trust-building techniques.
Stop serving clients who can see that you're not fully engaged. The damage to your reputation will outlast any income penalty. Reputation before revenue!
Occasional socializing can be enjoyable, but earning trust is not about sporting events and dinners. Socializing isn’t necessary, but being sociable is. It's the window into the client's needs, hopes, fears.
The Structure of Trust Building
Trust Equation: T = (C + R + I)/S, where T = trustworthiness, C = credibility, R = reliability, I = intimacy, S = self-orientation
Be expert at a variety of small touches that build familiarity. For example, stay current on client events and names. The more you can understand and relate to the unconscious norms of the client, the more reliable they’ll feel you are.
You can have a close relationship with the client without having anything to do with their life outside of work. It's about emotional closeness concerning the issues at hand.
Be the first one to take a personal risk (let your guard down), to share something of what you see, feel, or think. Don’t wait for the client.
Take most of the responsibility for failed communications.
Talk to your client as if he is a friend. We're concerned about our friends and their well-being, and it shows in our conversational style.
Five stages of building trust
1. Engage: use language of interest and concern. "I’ve been thinking about your competitors, and …" "Your people have been telling me about …"
2. Listen: use language of understanding and empathy. "Tell me more about …" "What’s behind that?" "That must feel …"
3. Frame: use language of perspective and candor. "I see three key themes emerging here …" "You know, what’s tough to do here is …"
4. Vision: use language of possibility. "Wouldn't it be great if …"
5. Commit: use language of joint exploration. "What would it take, for each of us, to …"
Talk about competitive, career, and personal issues. These conversations contrast with more content- or expertise-related conversations.
Don't make early interactions purely transactional. If you focus strictly on the content, you'll be paid more as a technician in as an advisor. Talk to them as if they are a new friend, not an old friend.
What good listeners do
• Ask "how do you feel about that?"
• Ask how they think you might be of help
• Ask what they've thought of before telling them what you've thought of
After stating enough responsibility-taking caveats, say the thing that must be said, even if it seems risky.
Instead of asking "why don't we …?" ask "how would things be if …" Focus on descriptive sentences. Ask questions about things like benefits, end states, outcomes.
After the problem is defined, the client will ask "what can we do about this?" Say, "hold on, we'll get there, but let's talk about where we want to go and what we're trying to achieve."
Effective counseling (reimbursed or not) can be the most effective means of generating future revenues. Would you rather be someone's counselor, or write proposals?
Putting Trust to Work
Instead of pitching, get to work immediately. Act as if the project has already started. Show the prospect what it feels like to be in a relationship. The best selling technique is to not sell, but to commence the service process. Clients don't want to buy air unless they can breathe it first. They prefer to buy based on a sample.
Professionals sell confidence, security, and ease.
Factors that increase clients' perceived value of service
• Understanding
• Sense of control
• Sense of progress
• Access and availability
• Responsiveness
• Reliability
• Appreciation
• Sense of importance
• Respect
Clients often forget the promises we keep but remember the promises we didn't fulfill.
Respect the client’s deadline even if it's artificial or arbitrary. If it's unreasonable, it's better to ask for an extension, or even argue about it, then miss it.
Don't blame anybody for anything anytime.
November 17, 2019
I should stick these two lists to my bathroom mirror, my phone, and the inside of my eyelids.
"What do good listeners do that makes them good listeners? They:
1. Probe for clarification
2. Listen for unvoiced emotions
3. Listen for the story
4. Summarize well
5. Empathize
6. Listen for what’s different, not for what’s familiar
7. Take it all seriously (they don’t say, “You shouldn’t worry about that”)
8. Spot hidden assumptions
9. Let the client “get it out of his or her system”
10. Ask “How do you feel about that?”
11. Keep the client talking (“What else have you considered?”)
12. Keep asking for more detail that helps them understand
13. Get rid of distractions while listening
14. Focus on hearing your version first
15. Let you tell your story your way
16. Stand in your shoes, at least while they’re listening
17. Ask you how you think they might be of help
18. Ask what you’ve thought of before telling you what they’ve thought of
19. Look at (not stare at) the client as he or she speaks
20. Look for congruity (or incongruity) between what the client says and how he or she gestures and postures
21. Make it seem as if the client is the only thing that matters and that they have all the time in the world
22. Encourage by nodding head or giving a slight smile
23. Are aware of and control their body movement (no moving around, shaking legs, fiddling with a paper clip)"
"Here’s what great listeners don’t do. They don’t:
1. Interrupt
2. Respond too soon
3. Match the client’s points (“Oh, yes, I had something like that happen to me. It all started …”)
4. Editorialize in midstream (“Well, that option’s a nonstarter”)
5. Jump to conclusions (much less judgments)
6. Ask closed-end questions for no reason
7. Give you their ideas before hearing yours
8. Judge you
9. Try to solve the problem too quickly
10. Take calls or interruptions in the course of a client meeting (it seems so obvious but watch how often it happens!)"
"What do good listeners do that makes them good listeners? They:
1. Probe for clarification
2. Listen for unvoiced emotions
3. Listen for the story
4. Summarize well
5. Empathize
6. Listen for what’s different, not for what’s familiar
7. Take it all seriously (they don’t say, “You shouldn’t worry about that”)
8. Spot hidden assumptions
9. Let the client “get it out of his or her system”
10. Ask “How do you feel about that?”
11. Keep the client talking (“What else have you considered?”)
12. Keep asking for more detail that helps them understand
13. Get rid of distractions while listening
14. Focus on hearing your version first
15. Let you tell your story your way
16. Stand in your shoes, at least while they’re listening
17. Ask you how you think they might be of help
18. Ask what you’ve thought of before telling you what they’ve thought of
19. Look at (not stare at) the client as he or she speaks
20. Look for congruity (or incongruity) between what the client says and how he or she gestures and postures
21. Make it seem as if the client is the only thing that matters and that they have all the time in the world
22. Encourage by nodding head or giving a slight smile
23. Are aware of and control their body movement (no moving around, shaking legs, fiddling with a paper clip)"
"Here’s what great listeners don’t do. They don’t:
1. Interrupt
2. Respond too soon
3. Match the client’s points (“Oh, yes, I had something like that happen to me. It all started …”)
4. Editorialize in midstream (“Well, that option’s a nonstarter”)
5. Jump to conclusions (much less judgments)
6. Ask closed-end questions for no reason
7. Give you their ideas before hearing yours
8. Judge you
9. Try to solve the problem too quickly
10. Take calls or interruptions in the course of a client meeting (it seems so obvious but watch how often it happens!)"
May 28, 2024
The trusted advisor acts variously as a mirror, a sounding board, a confessor, a mentor, and even, at times, the jester or fool.
As David Maister writes, success comes to those who have chosen NOT to make success their primary goal. If any sentence could sum up my 25-year experiment in finance/insurance, that's it.
I read this maisterwork (^tm) well into the third and final act of the experiment, better known as a 'career' in some circles. I go with the same term for lack of a better one, although career sounds unnecessarily pejorative to my ears when I know that most people indeed naturally take personal pride in their vocations and avocations, even if they feel their days are spent making marginal at best improvements, if not likely facilitating negative impact overall on human society and the planet.
Reading Maister's humanistic and Zen-like approach to building trust-based relationships not to exploit and make money but out of sincere interest and care for the individual client's best interests, several things clicked for me.
By the time of initial reading--I have reread most of the book a few times since--I had recognized the irrationality of hoping to personally affect substantive positive change in the big things through for-profit corpo work. And I had sufficient evidence well before then that the insurance industry is after all full of kind, sensitive, earnest, real people; many of whom either believe they are doing well by doing good, or are not entirely self-deluded and drink heavily to get through the week. There are also of course a few real pencil neck sociopathic dickheads. The earnestly teetotal like me (until mid 40s) are relatively few, and we are left to brood soberly on our careers and wonder why we haven't done much of any good despite best intentions.
The following lines are from my mormonism-seeped childhood:
Young earnest me took this catchy ditty seriously--I always listen carefully to lyrics, seeking to discern deeper artist intention--and that earnestness and the sentiment of the song still resonates. While I also tried earnestly to believe the fantastically absurd claims in which mormonism demands unwavering faith, I finally stopped the entire charade and my association with that particular cult of hypocrisy a few years ago. I let go of any need for a higher power or purpose and graduated to my own brand of humanistic atheism that recognizes that doing good and being kind are themselves the only worthwhile rewards of life.
In my career I was a 'leader' of teams, departments, and finally entire small companies within larger wholes. A true middle managing junior exec, labelled variously Managing or Executive Director and the like--all simply signifying that my role had evolved from doing the work and producing value to capturing a maximum of that value for the shareholders and gently screwing the real thinkers and workers out of their fair share.
I've loved my work for two unordered and unrelated reasons: the interest of regularly dealing with and solving complex, difficult problems, and mentoring younger people in their careers and lives as a slightly older, more rough around the edges friend who tells the truth as kindly and persuasively as possible while helping mentees build worthwhile vocations and satisfying adult lives. My favorite outcomes have always been when my mentees leave business for something more in-line with their interests and personalities.
My own experiment started after I took the first goddamned job offer after a certain government agency showed me how fucked up and inefficient it was by running over budget despite making a firm offer to me contingent only upon completion of grad school. After three years of applications, background checks--they sent people all over the world to interview people who once knew me, I learned over the course of the decade following--and even a lie detector test, I was ready to pour myself into public service for a lifetime of mediocre economic rewards and deep personal satisfaction and interest. Alas. I could have reapplied, but disillusionment is a powerful motivator to move on.
So, the corporate route after all. I soon learned how things are done behind the grossly out-sized legal protections of incorporation, not only in NYC, but also in London, Tokyo, Beijing, Hong Kong, Bangkok, Jakarta, Hanoi, KL, Singapore, Manila, Taipei, Sydney - I lived and worked in each of these finance hubs for over two decades while traveling throughout the northern hemisphere, dragging my family with. We enjoyed much of it, while wondering where home may be once we jump or fall out of the Rat Race. At present, it's quiet and leafy SW London.
A few of Maister's admonitions and observations:
- the advisor places a higher value on maintaining and preserving the relationship itself than on the outcomes of specific/current transactions.
- the advisor has enough curiosity to inquire without supposing an answer.
- continued focus on problem definition and resolution is greater than any technical mastery.
- the advisor is motivated more by a drive to do the right thing than by rewards.
- the advisor will answer the prospective client's questions directly and truthfully even if it means losing a chance at winning profitable business.
- it's not enough to be right. I must be helpful too. Must earn the right to be constructively critical.
- focus less on the advice, more on a conversation that helps clients see the issue from a new, helpful, perspective.
- turn assertions into questions.
- illustrate, don't tell; demonstrate, don't assert.
- listen for what's different, not what's familiar.
- be sure your advice is being sought before you offer it.
- earn the right to give advice by showing that you understand the situation.
- keep asking questions. Clarify any ambiguity.
- say what you mean and what you think. Be clear and unequivocal, with tact when necessary.
The Trust Equation:
T = Credibility (words) + Reliability (actions) + Intimacy (emotions) / Self-orientation (motives)
As David Maister writes, success comes to those who have chosen NOT to make success their primary goal. If any sentence could sum up my 25-year experiment in finance/insurance, that's it.
I read this maisterwork (^tm) well into the third and final act of the experiment, better known as a 'career' in some circles. I go with the same term for lack of a better one, although career sounds unnecessarily pejorative to my ears when I know that most people indeed naturally take personal pride in their vocations and avocations, even if they feel their days are spent making marginal at best improvements, if not likely facilitating negative impact overall on human society and the planet.
Reading Maister's humanistic and Zen-like approach to building trust-based relationships not to exploit and make money but out of sincere interest and care for the individual client's best interests, several things clicked for me.
By the time of initial reading--I have reread most of the book a few times since--I had recognized the irrationality of hoping to personally affect substantive positive change in the big things through for-profit corpo work. And I had sufficient evidence well before then that the insurance industry is after all full of kind, sensitive, earnest, real people; many of whom either believe they are doing well by doing good, or are not entirely self-deluded and drink heavily to get through the week. There are also of course a few real pencil neck sociopathic dickheads. The earnestly teetotal like me (until mid 40s) are relatively few, and we are left to brood soberly on our careers and wonder why we haven't done much of any good despite best intentions.
The following lines are from my mormonism-seeped childhood:
Have I done any good in the world today?
Have I helped anyone in need?
Have I cheered up the sad, and made someone feel glad?
If not, I have failed indeed.
Has anyone’s burden been lighter today, because I was willing to share?
Have the sick and the weary been helped on their way?
When they needed my help was I there?
If not, then:
Wake up! And do something more, than dream of my mansion (or whatever) above (or wherever).
Doing good is a pleasure, a joy beyond measure, a blessing of duty and love.
Young earnest me took this catchy ditty seriously--I always listen carefully to lyrics, seeking to discern deeper artist intention--and that earnestness and the sentiment of the song still resonates. While I also tried earnestly to believe the fantastically absurd claims in which mormonism demands unwavering faith, I finally stopped the entire charade and my association with that particular cult of hypocrisy a few years ago. I let go of any need for a higher power or purpose and graduated to my own brand of humanistic atheism that recognizes that doing good and being kind are themselves the only worthwhile rewards of life.
In my career I was a 'leader' of teams, departments, and finally entire small companies within larger wholes. A true middle managing junior exec, labelled variously Managing or Executive Director and the like--all simply signifying that my role had evolved from doing the work and producing value to capturing a maximum of that value for the shareholders and gently screwing the real thinkers and workers out of their fair share.
I've loved my work for two unordered and unrelated reasons: the interest of regularly dealing with and solving complex, difficult problems, and mentoring younger people in their careers and lives as a slightly older, more rough around the edges friend who tells the truth as kindly and persuasively as possible while helping mentees build worthwhile vocations and satisfying adult lives. My favorite outcomes have always been when my mentees leave business for something more in-line with their interests and personalities.
My own experiment started after I took the first goddamned job offer after a certain government agency showed me how fucked up and inefficient it was by running over budget despite making a firm offer to me contingent only upon completion of grad school. After three years of applications, background checks--they sent people all over the world to interview people who once knew me, I learned over the course of the decade following--and even a lie detector test, I was ready to pour myself into public service for a lifetime of mediocre economic rewards and deep personal satisfaction and interest. Alas. I could have reapplied, but disillusionment is a powerful motivator to move on.
So, the corporate route after all. I soon learned how things are done behind the grossly out-sized legal protections of incorporation, not only in NYC, but also in London, Tokyo, Beijing, Hong Kong, Bangkok, Jakarta, Hanoi, KL, Singapore, Manila, Taipei, Sydney - I lived and worked in each of these finance hubs for over two decades while traveling throughout the northern hemisphere, dragging my family with. We enjoyed much of it, while wondering where home may be once we jump or fall out of the Rat Race. At present, it's quiet and leafy SW London.
A few of Maister's admonitions and observations:
- the advisor places a higher value on maintaining and preserving the relationship itself than on the outcomes of specific/current transactions.
- the advisor has enough curiosity to inquire without supposing an answer.
- continued focus on problem definition and resolution is greater than any technical mastery.
- the advisor is motivated more by a drive to do the right thing than by rewards.
- the advisor will answer the prospective client's questions directly and truthfully even if it means losing a chance at winning profitable business.
- it's not enough to be right. I must be helpful too. Must earn the right to be constructively critical.
- focus less on the advice, more on a conversation that helps clients see the issue from a new, helpful, perspective.
- turn assertions into questions.
- illustrate, don't tell; demonstrate, don't assert.
- listen for what's different, not what's familiar.
- be sure your advice is being sought before you offer it.
- earn the right to give advice by showing that you understand the situation.
- keep asking questions. Clarify any ambiguity.
- say what you mean and what you think. Be clear and unequivocal, with tact when necessary.
The Trust Equation:
T = Credibility (words) + Reliability (actions) + Intimacy (emotions) / Self-orientation (motives)
August 23, 2010
I've been a devotee of "guru to the gurus" David Maister for more than a decade. And when he wrote about the finer points of advice-giving, it became required reading for my staff. Today -- years after its first publication -- this remains a "go to" book for anyone in the advice-giving business.
Remember when management consulting firms were actually hiring people? In those distant days, the New York Times reported a trend of recruiting new consultants not from leading business schools - but from the worlds of law, medicine and other professional degree (esp. PhD) programs. It was not uncommon for those new hires to be relatively unschooled in management consulting's traditional core disciplines of marketing, finance, operations and strategy - leaving "education gaps" that the new employers sought to remedy through on-the-job-training. (For some, this immersion into the world of business took the form of an intensive, multi-week "mini-MBA" program in conjunction with a local business school.) The results? To the surprise of many, longitudinal studies showed these "nontraditional" consulting recruits to be performing as well as (if not better than) many of their MBA counterparts. Among other things, this provocative research raised questions about which core skills are at the heart of successful management consulting today.
Former Harvard Business School Professor David Maister built a reputation as "the guru to the gurus" - and he conducted (now retired) a global practice in the management of professional service firms. Maister's previous books -- True Professionalism and Managing The Professional Service Firm among them - are generally regarded as classics by those in the service firm business. And The Trusted Advisor (co-authored with Charles Green and Robert Galford) enjoyed a similar reception when it was released some years ago.
"The Trusted Advisor" remains directly relevant to questions about the most important skills for consultant success today. The authors (who jointly possess more than a little knowledge about the current state of service firm management around the world) make this assertion:
"... it's probably fair to say that leading professional services firms have made (or are attempting to make) the adjustment to an approach that recognizes just how little content mastery matters if the client does not trust us. We would venture to say that truly great professional service firms haven't just made the adjustment to that approach; they are built upon it."
At its core, "The Trusted Advisor" is about the authors' assertion that "good advisors" are about more than "good advice." Not that the authors denigrate (in any way) the importance of mastering one's core subject matter. On the contrary, they see these core competencies as the absolutely critical foundation upon which a professional career is built - whether this knowledge is acquired before or after one takes a consulting position. But however necessary the "technical" skills are, Maister and his colleagues argue that these "hard" skills alone are not sufficient to ensure a consultant's success. "
There are additional skills involved, ones that no one ever teaches you, that are critical to your success," state the authors. But if these "lost" skills truly are critical to professional success, how is it that graduate schools and professional (business, law, accounting) firms are often failing to cultivate these capabilities? For one thing, these client-relations capabilities are relatively difficult to teach and test in a traditional academic setting - even in those institutions with an enlightened business curriculum. And in many professional service firm settings the culture often celebrates rainmakers who generate business from new clients - rather rewarding those who ably serve existing clients and earn additional projects from them. But "The Trusted Advisor" is less concerned with assigning blame than it is in remedying the situation. The authors offer a prescription to develop and nurture the "soft" skills of earning client trust and learning how to give good advice. Theirs is a formula that is both theoretically sound and eminently practical.
The book begins by "raising the reader's temperature" - that is, generating pathos by listing the many benefits that accrue (to an advisor) when a client trusts them. (Any serious consultant cannot look at this list without saying, "Yes, I really want these benefits; what must I do to achieve them?")
Having gained a reader's interest, the authors proceed to explore the nature of trust, the behavior of habits that can build interpersonal relationships, the finer points of advice giving - and a mathematical trust-evaluation equation that will persuade even the most rational counselor to consider addressing his/her style, as well as the content of that advice.
Truth be told, much of what's proposed in "The Trusted Advisor" also has been suggested in any of several other books about the consulting experience. (Peter Block's "Flawless Consulting," for example is probably the best-read guide to the non-technical - or "process" - consulting skills.) Anyone who has billed more than a few hours as a consultant (in any field) will recognize the common-sense appeal that underlies many of the bromides from "The Trusted Advisor." But what the book may lack in overall originality it makes up for in terms of the accessibility of its analysis and the immediate practicality of its prescriptions. Maister, Green and Galford also add value by demystifying the emotional dimensions inherent in consulting and by wrapping together the panoply of related issues under the umbrella of a central unifying concept: "trust."
It's ideas like this that plant the seeds of culture change in an organization. And by demonstrating (through their intimate, self-revealing writing) what they prescribe for others, the authors take risks and encourage us to do the same. Most notably, they risk talking about the "soft" side of consulting - that which involves emotions, uncertainty and the often-mysterious subtext that accompanies "the real work" in any given assignment. This book is powerful - since its logic is unassailable and its methods can so handily be implemented both by individuals, departments or entire firms. (This is not to underestimate the difficulty of organizational culture change, but to say that the concepts themselves are both accessible and scalable.)
Anyone interested in stretching their conception of what it means to achieve excellence in providing professional services will find a good start in "The Trusted Advisor." Next, they could invest time in the other Maister books mentioned above. Each of these texts provides what we all hope to hear from our trusted advisors: insightful, well-considered counsel that changes how we look at important issues in our professional - and personal - lives.
" A trusted advisor is above all someone who is capable of totally and completely devoting himself, his caring, and his attention to the client. The biggest obstacle to doing that is the tendency to devote our caring and attention to ourselves. And the root reason for that is self-centered fear; fear of losing what we have or not getting what we want..."
Remember when management consulting firms were actually hiring people? In those distant days, the New York Times reported a trend of recruiting new consultants not from leading business schools - but from the worlds of law, medicine and other professional degree (esp. PhD) programs. It was not uncommon for those new hires to be relatively unschooled in management consulting's traditional core disciplines of marketing, finance, operations and strategy - leaving "education gaps" that the new employers sought to remedy through on-the-job-training. (For some, this immersion into the world of business took the form of an intensive, multi-week "mini-MBA" program in conjunction with a local business school.) The results? To the surprise of many, longitudinal studies showed these "nontraditional" consulting recruits to be performing as well as (if not better than) many of their MBA counterparts. Among other things, this provocative research raised questions about which core skills are at the heart of successful management consulting today.
Former Harvard Business School Professor David Maister built a reputation as "the guru to the gurus" - and he conducted (now retired) a global practice in the management of professional service firms. Maister's previous books -- True Professionalism and Managing The Professional Service Firm among them - are generally regarded as classics by those in the service firm business. And The Trusted Advisor (co-authored with Charles Green and Robert Galford) enjoyed a similar reception when it was released some years ago.
"The Trusted Advisor" remains directly relevant to questions about the most important skills for consultant success today. The authors (who jointly possess more than a little knowledge about the current state of service firm management around the world) make this assertion:
"... it's probably fair to say that leading professional services firms have made (or are attempting to make) the adjustment to an approach that recognizes just how little content mastery matters if the client does not trust us. We would venture to say that truly great professional service firms haven't just made the adjustment to that approach; they are built upon it."
At its core, "The Trusted Advisor" is about the authors' assertion that "good advisors" are about more than "good advice." Not that the authors denigrate (in any way) the importance of mastering one's core subject matter. On the contrary, they see these core competencies as the absolutely critical foundation upon which a professional career is built - whether this knowledge is acquired before or after one takes a consulting position. But however necessary the "technical" skills are, Maister and his colleagues argue that these "hard" skills alone are not sufficient to ensure a consultant's success. "
There are additional skills involved, ones that no one ever teaches you, that are critical to your success," state the authors. But if these "lost" skills truly are critical to professional success, how is it that graduate schools and professional (business, law, accounting) firms are often failing to cultivate these capabilities? For one thing, these client-relations capabilities are relatively difficult to teach and test in a traditional academic setting - even in those institutions with an enlightened business curriculum. And in many professional service firm settings the culture often celebrates rainmakers who generate business from new clients - rather rewarding those who ably serve existing clients and earn additional projects from them. But "The Trusted Advisor" is less concerned with assigning blame than it is in remedying the situation. The authors offer a prescription to develop and nurture the "soft" skills of earning client trust and learning how to give good advice. Theirs is a formula that is both theoretically sound and eminently practical.
The book begins by "raising the reader's temperature" - that is, generating pathos by listing the many benefits that accrue (to an advisor) when a client trusts them. (Any serious consultant cannot look at this list without saying, "Yes, I really want these benefits; what must I do to achieve them?")
Having gained a reader's interest, the authors proceed to explore the nature of trust, the behavior of habits that can build interpersonal relationships, the finer points of advice giving - and a mathematical trust-evaluation equation that will persuade even the most rational counselor to consider addressing his/her style, as well as the content of that advice.
Truth be told, much of what's proposed in "The Trusted Advisor" also has been suggested in any of several other books about the consulting experience. (Peter Block's "Flawless Consulting," for example is probably the best-read guide to the non-technical - or "process" - consulting skills.) Anyone who has billed more than a few hours as a consultant (in any field) will recognize the common-sense appeal that underlies many of the bromides from "The Trusted Advisor." But what the book may lack in overall originality it makes up for in terms of the accessibility of its analysis and the immediate practicality of its prescriptions. Maister, Green and Galford also add value by demystifying the emotional dimensions inherent in consulting and by wrapping together the panoply of related issues under the umbrella of a central unifying concept: "trust."
It's ideas like this that plant the seeds of culture change in an organization. And by demonstrating (through their intimate, self-revealing writing) what they prescribe for others, the authors take risks and encourage us to do the same. Most notably, they risk talking about the "soft" side of consulting - that which involves emotions, uncertainty and the often-mysterious subtext that accompanies "the real work" in any given assignment. This book is powerful - since its logic is unassailable and its methods can so handily be implemented both by individuals, departments or entire firms. (This is not to underestimate the difficulty of organizational culture change, but to say that the concepts themselves are both accessible and scalable.)
Anyone interested in stretching their conception of what it means to achieve excellence in providing professional services will find a good start in "The Trusted Advisor." Next, they could invest time in the other Maister books mentioned above. Each of these texts provides what we all hope to hear from our trusted advisors: insightful, well-considered counsel that changes how we look at important issues in our professional - and personal - lives.
" A trusted advisor is above all someone who is capable of totally and completely devoting himself, his caring, and his attention to the client. The biggest obstacle to doing that is the tendency to devote our caring and attention to ourselves. And the root reason for that is self-centered fear; fear of losing what we have or not getting what we want..."
April 3, 2021
Fine book with fair points, though not very eye-opening and could probably be written more succinctly. Cannot really recommend to people who have a basic sense of how to be sociable.
November 10, 2025
I liked the book. My biggest takeaway is that people/ clients don’t stay because of our expertise alone. They stay because they feel safe enough to be honest, even when things aren’t going well.
Read
March 28, 2022Read this with my team at EY. The beginning of the book felt like it needed a more gendered approach as the advice felt very male oriented (example phrases were “softened” and felt like they were pulled directly out of a book describing how women should avoid speaking in order to project the confidence/knowledge we/they have). Later half of the book was very insightful for me - learned a lot more about the inter workings of the day to day of upper level management consultants. The focus on building trust in client relationships explained so many experiences I have had as an analyst on the team and not understanding why leadership could not just talk straight with the client to fix an inefficient process.
Went into the book not overly excited and maybe a little jaded, but it actually did end up being OK and there were some good take aways.
One thing that really sticks with me is that the person who takes the responsibility/blame for everything is also a self-focused individual who is not caring for others effectively. My experience growing up in the church was that I was often taught this was a virtue (selfless), but this book helps me see it from another angle. “Just as wanting all the credit and none of the blame is self-focused, so is accepting all the responsibility. Neither is client-focused, because neither is grounded in objective reality.”
Went into the book not overly excited and maybe a little jaded, but it actually did end up being OK and there were some good take aways.
One thing that really sticks with me is that the person who takes the responsibility/blame for everything is also a self-focused individual who is not caring for others effectively. My experience growing up in the church was that I was often taught this was a virtue (selfless), but this book helps me see it from another angle. “Just as wanting all the credit and none of the blame is self-focused, so is accepting all the responsibility. Neither is client-focused, because neither is grounded in objective reality.”
January 21, 2023
Autor ma wyraźne zdanie na temat tego, które elementy doradztwa są przeceniane, a które niedoceniane. Im dłużej doradzam firmom, tym bardziej moje zdanie na ten temat jest inne od autora - 4-5 lat temu moje poglądy były bliższego jego poglądom.
Książka raczej o podstawach - jeśli ich nie masz, musisz nadrobić. To nie tyle odkrywcze rzeczy - co takie, które łatwo odpuścić podczas codziennej bieżączki. Albo gdy jest się klepaczem zadań, który nie widzi kontekstu sytuacji.
Czasami gdy człowiek szuka wskazówek o tym jak więcej sprzedawać dostaje wskazówkę "po prostu sprzedawca musi być dobrym słuchaczem". Fragmentami ta książka, to właśnie taka wskazówka - tyle, że o konsultingu.
Książka raczej o podstawach - jeśli ich nie masz, musisz nadrobić. To nie tyle odkrywcze rzeczy - co takie, które łatwo odpuścić podczas codziennej bieżączki. Albo gdy jest się klepaczem zadań, który nie widzi kontekstu sytuacji.
Czasami gdy człowiek szuka wskazówek o tym jak więcej sprzedawać dostaje wskazówkę "po prostu sprzedawca musi być dobrym słuchaczem". Fragmentami ta książka, to właśnie taka wskazówka - tyle, że o konsultingu.
December 16, 2025
A must-read for anyone in professional services: accounting firms, law firms, marketing firms, engineering firms.
This is the quintessential book on how to transform your service to clients from 'vendor' to true partner and advisor through trust-building.
I love that the principals for trusted advisors are just the simple principals of great relationship-building: active listening, being the first to be vulnerable and take risks, always putting the other person above yourself, always looking to serve ALL their needs - both personal and professional and organizational.
David Maister and co. put all of their experience-backed advice in clear language often with simple lists, charts, and formulas - perfect for the analytically-minded advisor.
We've gone through this book as a company and benefited from it greatly. It's a must-read for every one of our staff.
This is the quintessential book on how to transform your service to clients from 'vendor' to true partner and advisor through trust-building.
I love that the principals for trusted advisors are just the simple principals of great relationship-building: active listening, being the first to be vulnerable and take risks, always putting the other person above yourself, always looking to serve ALL their needs - both personal and professional and organizational.
David Maister and co. put all of their experience-backed advice in clear language often with simple lists, charts, and formulas - perfect for the analytically-minded advisor.
We've gone through this book as a company and benefited from it greatly. It's a must-read for every one of our staff.
November 19, 2019
OK-ish. I sense this is a starting point for everyone who had no actual client communication experience or knows more oldschool and pushy/sales approach. Nice ideas but very general, with too little to get for someone with more experience and edgecases to handle.
September 13, 2020
Must read for every professional especially, if you're starting up and not working in firms with set practices of engagement with clients. Took my practice of law to a whole new level. Glad to have stumbled upon this Book!
August 22, 2024
How-to-deal-with-petty-consultants-and/or-clients-101 🛠️🛠️🛠️ Solid 3.5
January 21, 2025
Really great intro to consulting. There’s lots of detail and big picture ideas, my favorite of which is active listening strategies. Great book to help putting your client first
November 18, 2025
Weirdly all doubles as amazing marital advice
October 21, 2025
While a lot was common sense, the codification was very helpful
Applicable to many and any industry not just mx consulting; one of the few books I wish I read physically than audio - will need to buy one day as a reference book
Applicable to many and any industry not just mx consulting; one of the few books I wish I read physically than audio - will need to buy one day as a reference book
July 4, 2023
This was another recommendation from a friend about consulting. It is well-written (although one tends to start skimming after the fourth chapter) and poses some good questions. I think it is one I will have to reread almost every year for how to build trust with both friends, colleagues, and customers because that is the core here. It asks lots and lots of questions and therefore one needs time to digest, reflect, and evolve as one is reading it to get the full benefits. A pretty essential book for consulting.
September 26, 2025
Very very good book! It’s already quite old and I am sure it laid the foundation for many other books! It’s not only about client relationship it’s also about just being a good human. Highly recommended.
June 25, 2020
This book is alright from the content side. It's got few pieces of tactical, actionable advice but does offer good insight on the qualities of a trusted advisor, tips to relationship building, trust-building, and on how to be a good listener.
I give the book such a low rating because it was very clearly written by a straight white man, assuming an audience of straight white men. Most of the quotes as well as the made-up examples are of male leaders/businesspeople. When speaking in hypotheticals, leaders, CEOs, bosses, etc are almost always referred to as 'he'. Women are seldom referenced as professionals; more often in this book they are referred to when speaking about marriage and relationships. One of the few times a woman is used as an example is in a chapter about framing, and the context is the wife asking her dear beloved husband (his words not mine) asking for help with their dinner party, and how because she listed it all out and put together all the steps and put together a time estimate and didn't ask for help but instead said "I just don't see how I can get all of this done before the party", this was the right framing and prevented her from coming across as naggy or annoying.
A lot of the content also focuses on being likable. For me, this harkens back to the Old Boys Club. You want to be a trusted advisor? Just be likable! Again, it felt like this book was really centered around the straight white male experience in business, written from the perspective of a straight white man to his assumed audience of other straight white men, presuming that the business world is full of straight white men.
This book was written in the early 2000s. If you are someone who is not a straight white man, you may want to skip this one and find a more modern book written by someone who has a broader perspective of who makes up the business world. A lot of the useful list content is listed in this PDF as well, to save you the full read. https://davidmaister.com/wp-content/t...
I give the book such a low rating because it was very clearly written by a straight white man, assuming an audience of straight white men. Most of the quotes as well as the made-up examples are of male leaders/businesspeople. When speaking in hypotheticals, leaders, CEOs, bosses, etc are almost always referred to as 'he'. Women are seldom referenced as professionals; more often in this book they are referred to when speaking about marriage and relationships. One of the few times a woman is used as an example is in a chapter about framing, and the context is the wife asking her dear beloved husband (his words not mine) asking for help with their dinner party, and how because she listed it all out and put together all the steps and put together a time estimate and didn't ask for help but instead said "I just don't see how I can get all of this done before the party", this was the right framing and prevented her from coming across as naggy or annoying.
A lot of the content also focuses on being likable. For me, this harkens back to the Old Boys Club. You want to be a trusted advisor? Just be likable! Again, it felt like this book was really centered around the straight white male experience in business, written from the perspective of a straight white man to his assumed audience of other straight white men, presuming that the business world is full of straight white men.
This book was written in the early 2000s. If you are someone who is not a straight white man, you may want to skip this one and find a more modern book written by someone who has a broader perspective of who makes up the business world. A lot of the useful list content is listed in this PDF as well, to save you the full read. https://davidmaister.com/wp-content/t...
Read
June 15, 2016The Trusted Advisor by David H. Maister outlines the attributes necessary in order to be a successful and trustworthy advisor to the clients. In the novel, Maiser constructs orderly lists of characteristics that are required in maintaining a strong reputation and relationship. Throughout these lists, Maister discusses tactics such as gaining trust, giving advice, building relationships, ensuring a good experience, and more. The author outlined ways in which advisors are able to accomplish these aspects. Maiser writes of ways to develop trust such as engaging, listening, conversing, etc. The author's tone is one of experience and sentimentalism. Maister speaks as if he has spent a big portion of his life working with clients and as if he cares strongly about them. Maister establishes trends that he has noticed from working with clients, therefore he pays strong attention to his clients. Personally, I enjoyed this book because of the way in which the author cares about his clients. My mother is a real estate agent, and she recommended this book to me. She told me that many of these tactics are applicable to maintaining her relationships with her clients. I enjoy the psychology in this book in the fact that developing trust early on will allow a healthy relationship to be maintained because of the wa the clients perceive their advisors.
July 10, 2016
As a management consultant, this book had some great takeaways for me. It is vital to be seen as a partner and an advisor, rather than only as a subject matter expert, in a client situation. That's the easiest and most sustainable way to build a lasting relationship with a client.
While following the advice in this book may not lead to your client putting your phone on speed dial, it'll get you close... :)
While following the advice in this book may not lead to your client putting your phone on speed dial, it'll get you close... :)
February 1, 2018
This was required reading for my grad school course in Consulting.
It’s packed with practical, yet insightful advice on building solid, trusting relationships with clients of any temperament. I was skeptical of some of the advice because as a black woman I am aware that I can not employ the same tactics as white men in most professional situations and get the same outcome, but I still enjoyed reading it. I plan to proceed with caution when applying these lessons to my own career.
It’s packed with practical, yet insightful advice on building solid, trusting relationships with clients of any temperament. I was skeptical of some of the advice because as a black woman I am aware that I can not employ the same tactics as white men in most professional situations and get the same outcome, but I still enjoyed reading it. I plan to proceed with caution when applying these lessons to my own career.
October 17, 2016
Very helpful. The book helps me understand the reasons behind why clients behave the way they behave. By understanding all the rationals behind their actions, it helps me better on how to approach certains aspects and different characteristics.
I would recommend any who work as consultants / advisors to various clients read this. It's pretty enlightening.
I would recommend any who work as consultants / advisors to various clients read this. It's pretty enlightening.
January 30, 2017
Language felt a bit dated and patriarchal for my tastes, but there are some valuable perspectives on building trust, in particular around personal risk taking, building empathy, and cultivating awareness around damage that can happen when you are too self-oriented. Lots of basics but presented in easy to reference lists for future application
March 31, 2018
It's simply an okay book. Way to driven for layman's eyes although it possesses a simple yet effective message : listen. I feel the author made it imperative to sort of invent these common sensical rules and scenarios by overanalysing situations. The premise of the book however remains true, but the way in which it is presented reads more like a comic than a serious piece of literature.
May 25, 2010
I can't believe I purchased an infomercial. I hate it when I do this. I am going to talk to you about ALL the perks that come with being a trusted advisor...without telling you how to become a trusted advisor...but feel free to visit our website.
January 16, 2023
Very male-focused and not a ton of useful information if you've worked in any form of consulting at least once in your life. And the useful information took a lot of work to get to because you had to sift through so much other fluff that was around it.
January 31, 2017
Save your time and just read Carnegie instead; same old truths written all over again.
May 27, 2019
I was mandated to read this for work. It's okay. Basically, don't be a self centered douche that wants to make a sale at all costs and people will be more inclined to work with you.
April 30, 2020
Another business book that could have been a pamphlet. Good points, but an article would have sufficed.
August 17, 2021
A bit dated but useful to read
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