The Trusted Advisor

20th Anniversary Edition

By: David H. Maister, Robert M. Galford, Charles H. Green

Narrated by: BJ Harrison

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 book is “a brilliant reminder for each of us to focus on the needs of those we are serving - clients, customers, colleagues" (Timothy A. Welsh, vice chair, Consumer and Business Banking, US Bancorp). 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 for anyone who must advise, negotiate, or manage complex relationships with others.

©2000, 2021 David H. Maister, Charles H. Green, and Robert M. Galford (P)2021 Tantor

I couldn't stop listening!

What a great book. I loved every minute of it. It changed the way I think about and teach sales. Highly recommended!

Very good life and work principles

I hadn’t realized I was doing the trusted advisor thing with my business and career, but it explains why I get so much repeat business. They just trust me because I am always honest, even when it might make me look bad. It is nice to finally have a name for this.

PDF Reference

Great book, but it would be more valuable if there was a PDF reference with graphics and lists.

Where’s the PDF?

Great resource for advisors but needs to have the PDF of the various lists referenced in the narrative.

Become the trusted advisor

A lot of great tips in this book. Here are some of my takeaways.
 When you ask why it implies blame. It is better to come from a place of curiosity
Send articles or info to clients that they like to build relationships.
Share of what past clients have done that has worked well and ask if they would like to try that or have another idea in mind.
Say I'M NOT SURE WHAT TO DO ABOUT THIS, CAN YOU HELP
People want sincere praise.
Your job is to help your client solve their problem, not solve it for them!
Listen actively.

I couldn’t get through it

Take my review with a grain of salt, because I only listened to about 15% of the book.
But, I found myself skipping through sections - which is not my usual style. The content was unengaging and of little use. I also did not like their Frequent lists.
I don’t know, I just don’t see how this book would really be helpful to anyone

Lists of anecdotes, examples with no main thought.

if you are looking for knowledge backed by actual research or science it's not a book for you. This one is more a set of personal stories and examples from a single person's experience. Might add 1% to your understanding of advisory, but it's not one of those eye opening books with clear main concept.