Flawless Consulting

A Guide to Getting Your Expertise Used, Third Edition

By: Peter Block

Narrated by: Erik Synnestvedt

Length: 9 hrs and 21 mins

Publisher's summary

When the landmark best-seller Flawless Consulting was first published more than three decades ago, it was quickly adopted as the "consultant's bible." With his legendary warmth and passion, Peter Block explained how to deal effectively with clients, peers, and others. The book continues to speak to people in a support function inside organizations as well as to external consultants.

This thoroughly revised and updated third edition of Peter Block's groundbreaking book explores the latest thinking on consultation. It includes new insights about how we can organize our consulting around discovering the strengths, positive examples, and gifts of the client organization or community. The book remains a practical and specific guide for anyone who needs to develop a capacity for deeper relatedness and partnership - which means it is for all who wish to make a real difference in the world.

This new edition covers the consulting challenges that have arisen from the way we routinely communicate electronically and live in the virtual world. Block suggests ways to overcome the distancing and isolating effects inherent in electronic connects. The book also includes practical guidance on how to ask better questions, gives suggestions for dealing with difficult clients, and contains expanded guidelines on more engaging forms of implementation.

Flawless Consulting includes two new examples, taken from health care and educational reform efforts, to show how consulting skills can be useful (and often transformative) in a broader context. These illustrative examples point the way for achieving changes for leadership in business, government, religion, human services, and more.Like the first two editions, Flawless Consulting affirms the notion that authentic behavior and personal relationships are the key to technical and business success. By demonstrating their ability to be truly authentic at each step in the process, consultants can aim toward creating workplaces that are more collaborative and ultimately more successful.

©2011 Peter Block (P)2012 Gildan Media Corp

Critic reviews

"Surpasses the high standards of relevance, clarity, and wisdom characteristic of previous versions... Whether one's consulting experience spans five years or fifty, there is a great deal in this new edition to prompt us to reflect on our own practice and to discuss with colleagues." (Roger Harrison independent consultant and author of Consultant's Journey: A Dance of Work and Spirit and The Collected Papers of Roger Harrison)

solid consulting advice; horrible narration

Would you recommend this audiobook to a friend? If so, why?

yes, for a friend that would consider a career in consulting or for anyone who would want to use a consultant

Who would you have cast as narrator instead of Erik Synnestvedt?

The Author

Did you have an extreme reaction to this book? Did it make you laugh or cry?

It made me think

Any additional comments?

The narrator has a terrible inflection at the end of every sentence. It is very hard to listen to the words because of the tone of voice and awkward inflection sound snotty and pretentious.

Don't let yourself get fooled by negative comments

Great book. Deep insights. Very actionable.
It's true the narrator seems to be running out of air at the end of each sentence but it is well read and very clear.

Narrator is not up for his job!

The book and its information are ruined by the narrator. His accent is so out there, after 15 minutes of listening to this audiobook you will start focusing on his accent.

Extremely informative

Well thought out information that supports new and seasoned consultants on how to get better. I love the online supports and how the author is all about making others better.

Tough to get through

The narration, as covered by pretty much everyone else, is very unusual. It does get a bit better as you go, but continuing to listen is laborious.

I’m finding the content pretty boring too - examples given feel a bit outdated. I think it would be better as a reference guide in hard copy.

The book has been held up to me as THE consulting book to read, and I agree that the content is good, and there is a significant amount of psychological insight, which is great. It’s just not very exciting.

Good luck!

TERRIBLE NARRATION - But great info so far!

Where does Flawless Consulting rank among all the audiobooks you’ve listened to so far?

I am only a few chapters into this book and am really sinking my teeth in. I am responsible for selling to and managing large accounts across North America for an advisory firm, and this book has given me a new spin on selling, and coordinating resources for engagements.

I will post a full review once done..

The HORRIBLE part... The Narration. Honestly, I am able to listen to almost all narrators here on audible. Boring, dry, doesn't matter... But this narrator over enunciates the most pointless words at the end of every sentence. If possible, I would love to see Audible do a re-record for this book.

strange naration, great book.

it was a good book with lots of great info both practical and theory. Peter Block has to be one of the best you can find.

Redundant!

The advice is straightforward & would be a good book chapter but it was repeated many times to extend to a book.

Read, don't Listen

The content was great. But the narrator was annoying. While he did not have an accent, his way of speaking (tone, inflection) was horrible. I have the book but bought the audiobook as a review of what I had read in college. I just wish I had a choice of narrator. Not worth a dime.

Great Material- Not the Best Reader

The material is great, but I couldn't take 2 chapters with the readers annunciation of the end of every word. I'll buy the physical version. Maybe a good selling tactic?