More Secrets of Consulting: The Consultant's Tool Kit Paperback – December 15, 2001

Several years ago, I read the original Secrets of Consulting by the same author, Gerald Weinberg (see my review for that book). After reading some of the other reviews here for More Secrets of Consulting, I must say that I concur with much of the opinion written. The original Secrets is a classic work - there simply is no other consulting book in the marketplace of this genre, and not only is the information presented in that work very useful, it is very entertaining as well. Unlike the original Secrets, which presents a philosophy of consulting, More Secrets makes an attempt to present a number of consulting tools within tangible categories that consist of six self-esteem tools by family therapist Virginia Satir as well as another ten tools that Weinberg created himself. As a general rule, I like the tools that both Satir and Weinberg offer in this book. I like how Weinberg ties together the Wisdom Box and the Golden Key, for instance. Among my least favorite of the tools presented is the Courage Stick and the the Egg, the Carabiner, and the Feather. The last three of these least-favorites are presented hurriedly in one chapter, toward the end of the book, and I cannot help to wonder whether he was pressed for time as he began wrapping up his writing. The Courage Stick chapter is bizarre - Weinberg actually seems to be recommending to readers that they carry physical objects, apparently similar to good luck charms, to help individuals build up courage during the more difficult portions of consulting engagements. Strange. If the reader disregards these two chapters, however, they will find that many of the rules and principles which Gerald presents here are much in line with the original Secrets - not nearly as entertaining, but still worth reading. Some of my favorites are:*Cary's Crap Caution: "Anything not worth doing is not worth doing right."*The Mercenary Maxim: "One of the best ways to lose lots of money is to do something only for the money."*Dani's Decider: "When you stop learning new things, it's time to move on."*The Railroad Counter-Paradox: "When service is too good, the suppliers may never hear about it, and thus they drop the service."*LeGuin's Law: "When action grows unprofitable, gather information. When information grows unprofitable, sleep."*The Detective's Fourth Rule: "If you can't understand where the questions are coming from, they're probably coming from an agenda someone doesn't want you to know about."*The Parallel Paradox: "If you're too much like your clients, you don't attract them; if you're too different, you frighten them away."*Knaomi's Knowledge Knockout: "Experience is not just the best teacher, it's the only teacher. Experience may be the only teacher, but it doesn't necessarily teach anything."Of course, many of the rules and principles are just Weinberg opinion. Immanuel Kant, the great German philosopher, for instance, said that "experience teaches nothing without theory, but theory without experience is mere intellectual play". Because I consider this book to be an extension to the original Secrets, I strongly recommend that these books be read in succession. Several other reviewers correctly note that Weinberg cites some of his other works in More Secrets. Although this can be seen as a bit of self-promotion (even a large portion of the bibliography for More Secrets consists of Weinberg writings), most of these citations are to the original Secrets because of the heavy tie between the two books, and I consider this facet of the book reasonable.

More secrets of consulting offers a portable toolkit for the working consultant. The approaches and viewpoints of consulting that Jerry teaches can be ported around along with the person and can go into building a personalized toolkit. Some of these techniques have very much become a part of my toolbox, becoming more effective every time I use it.There aren't too many authors or books out there who are tackling the difficult inner game of consulting. Technical advice such as creating effective presentations are easy to put down on paper, but areas such as how a consultant tackles fear, how a consultant can tackle conflicting agenda's on the client side, effective negotiation, these are all the thorny topics that Jerry tackles with his "More secrets of consulting". I found the book unique and powerful because of that.I initially thought this was "part 2" of Jerry's earlier book "Secrets of consulting" but this is a standalone book with tools etc that don't overlap, nor require the earlier book. In a way, this book is more condensed and in a more "how to guide" format than the earlier book, I enjoyed reading this book first followed by the Secrets of consulting.Jerry has a unique voice and uses parables and stories to bring the point across, this allows him to speak with authority and get across, valuable advice on the areas not usually explored in other books including interpersonal skills and qualities such as courage and the ability to deal with conflicting motivations at the client end and on our end.I would highly recommend this book for any working consultant who wants material beyond the tactics of "how to put together a presentation" or data analysis. It does requires a couple of readings of the book to parse through the meaning and interpret it in context - in this way, Jerry's exercises and approach to consulting are not really easy. Effective, very effective, but requires the consultant to put in his time and effort to master them.

The original “Secrets of Consulting” is probably one of the most important books in my collection, and I had great expectations of this follow-up volume. However, where the first book focuses outwards, largely on what a consultant does, the second book focuses in, much more on what a consultant is, and to my mind makes much less comfortable reading.Don’t get me wrong. This is not in any way a bad book: it’s still as well written and humorous as Weinberg’s other books, and chock full of amusing stories and “laws” derived from them. Anyone involved in consulting of any sort will still get a great deal out of it. But if, like many men, you’re uncomfortable talking and reading about “feelings” you may find this less easy to read.The “Consultant’s Tool Kit” of the subtitle is actually a complex metaphor. Each component of the toolkit is a metaphor for a certain aspect of your personality and personal capabilities. For example, the wishing wand is a metaphor for understanding, and being able to ask for, what you want from a professional relationship. The chapter around this metaphor first explores why most people either don’t know what they want or are unable to express it, and suggests ways to make your wishes clearer. It places this in a professional context, contract negotiation, and emphasises how the personal ability to express and value your wishes will help you negotiate more successfully.In a similar way other chapters focus on developing wisdom and new knowledge, managing time and information, being courageous with your decisions, learning how to say yes and no, understanding why you and others are in the current situation, and keeping yourself in balance, avoiding burnout and other self-destructive conditions.These are all important not only to consultants, but to anyone trying to establish a more satisfying professional or personal life by managing problems, by self-improvement and by better handling their relationships to other people.Weinberg could have presented much of this material in a stylemuch closer to the earlier book, but instead chose a more introspective approach which demands a greater investment on the part of the reader. Only time will tell how this investment is repaid, but I believe it will be for me.

Ich mag Bücher von Gerald Weinberg. Auch dieses ist wieder einmal ein gutes Buch von Ihm.Da ich im Bereich der Software Beratung tätig bin, handelt es sich bei diesem Buch um ein Meta-Buch. Diese Buch beschreibt, wie man als Berater sich selbst verbessern kann. Es geht um Techniken, die helfen sollen die Beraterpersöhnlichkeit zu verbessern. Ich denke, dass man von diesem Buch eine ganze Menge persöhnlich lernen kann.Der Autor verwendet für einen einzelnen Fähigkeiten/Methoden sehr blumige (damit auch eingehende) Methaphern. Durch diese zum Teil ein wenig blumige Sprache, ist es mir etwas schwerer gefallen dieses Buch im Original zu lesen, als beim durchschnittlichen (nicht Meta) Computer Buch.Da dieses Buch überaus positiv ist und auch als Motivator geeignet ist, kann ich es sehr für alle Computer Berater empfehlen. Man sollte sich ein wenig Zeit nehmen, da man das Buch mehrmals lesen muss.