Laws of Powerful Consulting

Powerful Consulting

• The 48 Laws of Power by Robert Greene is a book about Power.

• The following is an adaptation from the book mixed with our views relating it to consulting. Thus the name Powerful Consulting.

• It will give you an insight about a Powerful Consultant who is an expert professional and from a skilled talent pool.

Law 1: Never Outshine The Master

Greene writes:Make your masters appear more brilliant than they are and you will attain the heights of power. 

• Customer is a Consultant’s master. The ultimate goal for a consultant is solving Customer’s problems.

• Keeping customer satisfied is a skill, creating returning customer is a powerful skill.

• Help the Customer solve his problems by himself, empower him with your knowledge – stay in control.

Law 2: Never Put Too Much Trust In Friends, Learn How To Use Enemies

Greene writes:Be wary of friends – they will betray you more quickly, for they are easily amused to envy. They also become spoiled and tyrannical.

• It all depends on your definition for friend. Make partnerships, not friendships with Customers.

• There are situations when the customer must stop the contract or the consultant must say No due to business reasons. Friendship does not count in this cases.

• Better off keep healthy partnership vs. lame friendship. You do not want to hear your friend saying “you are fired. Still friends, eh?” You do not want to tell your friend “Sorry, can’t do that for that price.”

Law 3: Conceal Your Intentions

Greene writes:Keep people off-balance and in the dark by never revealing the purpose behind your actions. If they have no clue what you are up to, they cannot prepare a defense. 

• Creating clear goals and objectives, shared vision is the way to go.

• Almost always consultant works with quite a few people simultaneously. Naturally everyone have their own expectations. It is not uncommon that others expectations contradicts with your goals. They call it politics.

• If you cannot get enough allies on your side, better keep your goals secret. It works with tough bosses too.

Law 4: Always Say Less Than Necessary

Greene writes:

Powerful people impress and intimidate by saying less. The more you say, the more likely you are to say something foolish.

• “Under promise – over deliver” should always be the motto while serving clients.

• Actions speak louder than words. This will only determine our long term aspects of staying in the particular industry as a Powerful Consultant. Results are king.

Law 5: So Much Depends On Reputation – Guard It With Your Life

Greene writes:Reputation is the cornerstone of power. Make your reputation unassailable. Then stand aside and let public opinion hand them.

• It is so hard to build a reputation – it is so easy to lose it.

• Consultant’s reputation is built on top of results he/she achieves. The more problems the Consultant solves the better his/hers reputation. The more complex problem he/she solves the less vulnerable his/hers reputation.

• When under attack, the simplest way to defend is showing past results and asking for the evidence from the opponent.

Law 6: Court Attention At All Cost

Greene writes:Everything is judged by its appearance; what is unseen counts for nothing. Never let yourself get lost in the crowd, then, or buried in the oblivion. Stand out. Be conspicuous, at all cost. Make yourself a magnet of attention.

• Marketing is the right word here. There are times that the Consultant is in high demand and there are times when he/she is not.

• To reduce those dead gaps the Consultant must always be on the surface. And that includes: speaking with customers from previous engagements, talking with colleagues from other teams, making new connections, blogging, speaking on public events.

Law 7: Get Others To Do The Work For You, But Always Take The Credit

Greene writes:Use the wisdom, knowledge, and legwork of other people to further your won cause. Not only will such assistance save you valuable time and energy, it will give you a godlike aura of efficiency and speed.

• The law might sound too selfish.

• Putting it the other way: When Consultant is onsite he/she is responsible for the solution, he/she is expected to provide the verdict. He/she is also expected to do it fast. The credit is always his for better or worse.

• It is very difficult to do it alone in the field. Create your network at customer’s, deliver faster with better context precision.

Law 8: Make Other People Come To You – Use Bait If Necessary

Greene writes:When you force other person to act, you are the one in control. 

• The best bait so far that has worked for everyone is focusing on specific niche.

• It helps to acquire expertise that helps to solve complex problems fast.

Law 9: Win Through Your Actions, Never Through Argument

Greene writes:Any momentary triumph you think you have gained through argument is really a Pyrrhic victory. It is much more powerful to get other to agree with you through your actions, without saying a word. Demonstrate, do not explicate.

• Action are louder than words, no one can argue with facts. Deliverable is king.

• When you are trying to “sell” new ideas make sure they are solid enough, better off try it out first hand and show off the results.

• Never get into emotional fight, keep your energy for better investment such as trying out new ideas in practice.

Greene writes:You can die from someone else’s misery – emotional states are as infectious as diseases. Associate with happy and fortunate instead.

• Consultant loves Unhappy and Unlucky – why calling the Consultant  in first place? They call Consultant to make a change.

• Most people hate change, that is why there is resistance. Worse, it is not uncommon there is lots of pessimism, critics, and cynics.

• Seek for Unhappy and Unlucky and offer your help – that way it is easier to show results.

• Keep positive attitude and never become a victim of cynics.

Law 10: Infection: Avoid The Unhappy and Unlucky

Law 11: Learn To Keep People Dependent On You

Greene writes:To maintain your independence you must always be needed and wanted. The more you are relied on, the more freedom you have.

• Interpretation of law 11: Do not be useful, be critical

• Being useful is nice, being critical is vital. Earn your criticality by building your deep expertise based on first hand practical experience.

• Align your expertise to what counts the most.

Law 12: Use Selective Honesty And Generosity To Disarm Your Victim

Greene writes:Open-hearted gestures of honesty and generosity bring down the guard of even the most suspicious people. Once your selective honesty opens a hole in their armor, you can deceive and manipulate them at will.

• Interpretation of law 12: Build vulnerability based trust

• Building trust is a bedrock for lasting relationship. Returning customer is a great proof for established trust and healthy business.

• It is hard to believe that a customer would call a consultant with broken trust, even if the consultant is a top performer.

• Build your trust by  slowly  revealing your vulnerabilities, make sure the other side does the same.

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