Rating: 
Summary: Should be required reading in law firms
Review: "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.
Rating:
Summary: Should be required reading in law firms
Review: "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.
Rating:
Summary: A TREASURY OF PRACTICAL WISDOM FOR PROFESSIONALS
Review: A former professor at the Harvard Business School, Boston-based David H. Maister is the world's premier consultant to professional service firms. His core principles spring from good, sound logic: Believe passionately in what you do, never compromise your standards and values, and care about your clients. Maister passionately believes we should do all these because they are the ethical things to do and because they are the primary road to commercial success. True Professionalism is a candid treasury of practical wisdom in which Maister expounds some eternal truths about the individual professional, the firm, and the client.
Rating:
Summary: An Excellent "Handbook" for Consultants/Professionals
Review: As a manager at a leading accounting and consulting firm, I found the book extremely relevant for anyone who is in the "professional services" business, or would like to be. This book should be considered the "best practices" of providing professional services. From my experience with other professionals, many of us think we are a doing a better job of provding top-notch client service than we actually are. Mr. Maister does an excellent job of providing ideas and insights as to how to increase the quality of service you provide to your clients, and perhaps most importantly, how to increase your own job satisfaction.
Rating:
Summary: An inspiring publication, a must for any professional
Review: As a marketing professional in the service industry, i found this book inspiring in it's simplicity and inspiring in it's content. It challenges the old fashioned attitude of profesionals and details real ways to help achieve what, whether we know it or not, we all want from our professional life. David Maister uses some very useful and catchy phrasing to illustrate his points throughout the book and these in themselves have proved very useful in reminding me of what is important. I have since ordered more copies and have gifted copies to my fellow partners and managers. I now look forward to receiving my copy of 'Managing the Professional Service firm' also by David Maister ordered from Amazon.
Rating: 
Summary: Insightful!
Review: David H. Maister has written a valuable book about what it really means to be a professional. Presented with depth, insight and plenty of practical advice, the book is intelligently written and can be applied to anyone's career, no matter the level or industry. Maister also has plenty to say to companies about their professionalism and lack of it. We [...] recommend this book to professionals in all areas, and if you want to be a better one - or if you're not sure whether you are one or not - start reading.
Rating:
Summary: Essentials Needed To Become a Successful Leader
Review: 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.
Rating:
Summary: Essentials Needed To Become a Successful Leader
Review: 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.
Rating: 
Summary: Excellent Book - Speaks directly to consultants
Review: Finally a book that speaks to the heart of what consulting is(or professional services in general), with no hype, no distractions or flavor-of-the-month thoughts. I had heard David Maister at a recent consulting conference and was quite struck by his focus on people and 'execution of strategies' as being the core of successful consulting firms. This book is pithy without being trite and if you have been in consulting a while, you can directly relate to what the author is referring to. There are many suggestions in this book that are insightful, practical and feel right on the money to a practictioner. While by no means a classic, it is certainly a must read.
Rating:
Summary: Excellent Book - Speaks directly to consultants
Review: Finally a book that speaks to the heart of what consulting is(or professional services in general), with no hype, no distractions or flavor-of-the-month thoughts. I had heard David Maister at a recent consulting conference and was quite struck by his focus on people and 'execution of strategies' as being the core of successful consulting firms. This book is pithy without being trite and if you have been in consulting a while, you can directly relate to what the author is referring to. There are many suggestions in this book that are insightful, practical and feel right on the money to a practictioner. While by no means a classic, it is certainly a must read.
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