New Book Review: "First Among Equals"

Recently posted book review for First Among Equals: How to Manage a Group of Professionals, by Patrick J. McKenna and David H. Maister, Free Press, 2005, reposted here:

Admittedly, this reviewer does agree with some of the earlier reviews here that this book does borrow some material from other works, and it might be disconcerting that almost-50% of the works listed in the bibliography of this text were written by either of the two co-authors McKenna and Maister. This reviewer is reminded of some of the reader comments for Weinberg's "More Secrets of Consulting: The Consultant's Tool Kit", which indicated that the author of "The Secrets of Consulting: A Guide to Giving & Getting Advice Successfully" was attempting to profit from the success of his earlier work (see my reviews for both of these texts). In the opinion of this reviewer, this is not true with this effort.

Maister's earlier "Managing the Professional Service Firm" (see my review), for example, focused on the firm itself, while "First Among Equals: How to Manage a Group of Professionals" is also true to its title, concentrating on the professionals which make up professional service firms. In addition, while the earlier work consists mainly of articles published separately over a 10-year time period within such publications as "Sloan Management Review", the "Journal of Management Consulting", "International Accounting Bulletin", and "The American Lawyer", this work consists mainly of new content and concentrates on getting ready for management, coaching individuals, coaching teams, and building for the future with existing staff, topics never touched on in any detail in the earlier work.

The writing style that Maister used in his earlier collaboration with Green and Galford called "The Trusted Advisor" (see my review) continues in this effort, with introductions to topics followed by lists that are later elaborated upon in greater detail, an aspect of this book which seems to help organize the wide variety of discussions. Sidebars from professional service firm managers throughout the text also increase its accessibility. In the opinion of this reviewer, some of the best chapters of this book include: "Deal Differently with Different People", "Tackle the Prima Donnas", "Clarify Group Goals", "Build Team Trust", and "Measure Group Results". Well recommended for both managers and professionals working in professional service firms.