Flawless Consulting

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)

Narrator's voice drives me NUTS

Would you recommend this book to a friend? Why or why not?

As THE book on consulting, I'd totally recommend the book. This audible recording, however, I would not recommend.

Who was your favorite character and why?

N/A

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

ANYBODY!!! This guy's voice drives me NUTS

Could you see Flawless Consulting being made into a movie or a TV series? Who should the stars be?

N/A

Any additional comments?

I wish I could write a better review of the content, but seriously, it takes ALL my focus to listen to what's being said and not the voice that's saying it. I barely register the content because I'm SO distracted by the voice. I REALLY wish they'd re-record this with a different narrator. I'd buy it again if there was a new recording with a narrator with a normal voice. (I also wish they could help me notice when other books are narrated by this person because I DO NOT want to buy them!!)

24 of 24 people found this review helpful

Like Nails Down A Chalkboard

What disappointed you about Flawless Consulting?

I'm starting a consulting role in 3 weeks and an time poor so I thought that Audible might be my silver bullet to allow me to digest this book while I'm working. I am literally 20 mins in and can't bare it any more. The narrators pausing and groaning at the end of almost every sentence makes my skin crawl.Really disappointing as I know that this is a seminal book but I think I'm going to have to read the hard copy.

What was one of the most memorable moments of Flawless Consulting?

I will try and forget

Would you be willing to try another one of Erik Synnestvedt’s performances?

Never

What character would you cut from Flawless Consulting?

na

15 of 15 people found this review helpful

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.

37 of 39 people found this review helpful

Worst narrator I've ever heard.

This book wasn’t for you, but who do you think might enjoy it more?

Ppl who can tolerate a terrible narrator

How did the narrator detract from the book?

Narrator's inflection is terrible. Made me hate the book.

10 of 10 people found this review helpful

Worst. Narrator. Ever. He'll haunt my nightmares.

Whose nephew got the job to narrate this?? OMG. Terrible. SO tone deaf. I've heard vacuum cleaners with more warmth and expressiveness. Eric Synnestvedt, I'm talking to you. Dude, please don't narrate anything more, ok? It's not your "thing". Go back to working the mobile phone store or wherever you came from. Jesus. Your voice ends on the same pitch after every sentence. Terrible. Horrible. I'd tell you to take some lessons, but I'm afraid that would give you hope.

Mr. Publisher, I'm going to return this book. What an insult to this "flawless" guy. You have to question his judgement. Does he have gambling debts or something? Never again....

8 of 8 people found this review helpful

Good book, poor narration.

Would you try another book from Peter Block and/or Erik Synnestvedt?

Yes - this book has some very good content, but I got so frustrated that I had to go buy the Kindle version and listen to the text to speech voice rather than trying to listen to the narrator on Audible. I listened to the demo, but didn't realize how aggravating the pauses would become.

Who was your favorite character and why?

n/a

How could the performance have been better?

The narrator continously whined and paused at the end of every sentence so you couldn't get a flow from the message.

Was Flawless Consulting worth the listening time?

No.

14 of 15 people found this review helpful

Narration ruins the book

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

low because of narration...

What was one of the most memorable moments of Flawless Consulting?

The moments when I could actually pay attention to the content and not the annoying inflection of the narrator

What do you think the narrator could have done better?

not narrated this book....he puts a speedy emphasis on the last syllable of almost every other word and then sort of lets words trail off in a mumbling kind of way...and its intentional...so very aggravating.

Any additional comments?

redo.

6 of 6 people found this review helpful

Great approach to the human element!

I'm an independent business coach, and this was a text for my Executive MBA program. As a coach, I found it very insightful regarding the deeply human issues at play in environments where learning and growth potential can only be realized through real human connection & communication.

This book is more powerful than the consulting books more focused on the technical aspects.

4 of 4 people found this review helpful

Awful awful narrator

What disappointed you about Flawless Consulting?

That narrator is absolutely unbearable. He ends every sentence with this bizzare inflection that is unbelievably irritating.

How could the performance have been better?

Fire the narrator!

Any additional comments?

Read the book.

7 of 8 people found this review helpful

WORST. NARRATION. EVER.

Would you try another book from Peter Block and/or Erik Synnestvedt?

I would absolutely read any of Peter Block's other books, but I wouldn't even want to sit in a room with Erik Synnestvedt for more than 3 seconds. Worst narration ever. I've heard computers sound more realistic than him.

6 of 7 people found this review helpful

The narration is absolutely terrible

What disappointed you about Flawless Consulting?

No idea where this narrator is from however his method of delivery is extremely annoying and grates on the ear. He has effectively stopped me from listening to a book that I was really looking forward to.

Would you ever listen to anything by Peter Block again?

I would, as he comes highly recommended.

Would you be willing to try another one of Erik Synnestvedt’s performances?

Definitely not.

If you could play editor, what scene or scenes would you have cut from Flawless Consulting?

I would re record the entire book with a different reader

8 of 8 people found this review helpful

Unbearable to listen to

Actually I am not sure whether this is a good book or not because I only listened for about 10 minutes. The narrator is absolutely horrible to listen to. It is not because he is boring or uninspired but because he adds an annoying accent to the last syllable in each and every sentence technoloG_yy, strateG_yy, ho_Ww, custoM_err, and stretches the last letter. Other people might not perceive this as a problem but for me this quickly became unbearable to listen to. I recommend that you listen to the sample before you buy this book.

8 of 8 people found this review helpful

The narrating gets better

Don't leave this audiobook on the shelve just because of the extremely irritating narrating performance in the preview. It gets much better after 30 minutes or so.

2 of 2 people found this review helpful

Waiting for another Narrator voice

Would you try another book written by Peter Block or narrated by Erik Synnestvedt?

I'd get through this book faster with another narrator's voice please.

What was the most interesting aspect of this story? The least interesting?

Haven't got into it as I can't bear the narrator's voice for long

Would you be willing to try another one of Erik Synnestvedt’s performances?

No

Any additional comments?

Look forward to other Narrator voice options for Audible so I might be more interested in your books. Thanks. Apologies Erik, you sound like a nice guy but it's just not for me.

2 of 2 people found this review helpful

Narration is horrible and irritating.

If this book wasn’t for you, who do you think might enjoy it more?

I am reading the book, but the audio version is horrible, irritating, I cannot listen to it for more than 5 minutes.

They should do another audio version.... it feels like a con.

Has Flawless Consulting put you off other books in this genre?

Flawless Consultanting only put me off, of their audio books

How did the narrator detract from the book?

horrible, sounds so fake, so unnatural. A Text-to-speech software would do a better job.

Any additional comments?

Change the narrator, and release another audio version.

2 of 2 people found this review helpful

Reading makes it difficult to stay focus

Is there anything you would change about this book?

The boks narrations/reading is just plain bad. Erik Synnestvedt has very funny way of reading with some unusual accenting at the end of the sentences.

How could the performance have been better?

There was no way the focus could be on the plot as the reading made it so hard.

Did Flawless Consulting inspire you to do anything?

I am afraid that this book is not inspirational at all. Maybe its the way it is being read.

1 of 1 people found this review helpful

The narration really isn't that bad

I think we're all agreed that the content's good if you can get past the narration. But I really haven't found the narration on this one to be that bad. The narrator has a mildly off-putting style and it sounds like the producer has mixed it in such a way that when he speaks quietly we hear every catch in the throat but compared to Barry Cunliffe's Brief History of the Druids or The Red Prince this narrator is doing a grand job. Others have obviously found this a very tough listen but for me the narrator's tone was nicely varied in a way that suggested that he was thinking about he was reading and last but not least this is an important and helpful book for those of us who work in organisational consulting. The production could be better but as with many Audible business titles it does a fine job of saving busy people the time required to sit down and plough through a useful book. Hence 4 stars overall

1 of 1 people found this review helpful

Good book, bad narrator

Would you consider the audio edition of Flawless Consulting to be better than the print version?

Havent read it in print.

What did you like best about this story?

Insights about human side of consulting.

What didn’t you like about Erik Synnestvedt’s performance?

Rhytm of sentences is always the same, swallowed ends of sentences, some syllables swallowed and/or hard to understand. However the performance appears to improve at the second part of the book. Or I got used to it.

If you made a film of this book, what would be the tag line be?

Why human side of consulting is more important than the hard/expert content and how to be succesful at it.

1 of 1 people found this review helpful

Horrible voice actor

I listened for a total of 2 minutes before giving up. This mans voice and how he reads the book is pure torture, which is too bad because i wanted to listen to this book.

Invaluable insights into meaningful Consulting

My first real education in the purpose, potential and power of consulting.
I found it to be an ideal blend of the meaning behind consulting and practical ways of implementing these insights.
I found the narrators intonation a bit irritating for the first few chapters but my enjoyment of the material eventually overcame this.