Past Book Review (February 15, 2009): "How to Establish a Unique Brand in the Consulting Profession"

Past book review (i.e. posted prior to starting this blog) for How to Establish a Unique Brand in the Consulting Profession: Powerful Techniques for the Successful Practitioner, by Alan Weiss, Pfeiffer, 2001, reposted here:

This book was written for independent consultants and small consulting practices, and Alan Weiss effectively focuses on the core subject of branding. While the content that the author provides is written for those new to branding, Weiss also mentions that his discussion is targeted at successful consulting entities, although in the opinion of this reviewer the material can also be applied by those who have relatively less experience and who wish to start positioning themselves.

In the introduction to this work, the author mentions that he did not write for those consultants who position themselves in a way which does not explain what is in it for potential clients, but for successful professionals who understand that "acquiring business is about convincing the prospect that a partnership will improve the latter's condition by a huge multiple of whatever investment is required" and "want others to seek them out because they have created a great interest in who they are and what they do".

This book slowly walks through the reasons why consultants need brands to thrive, why experienced consultants already have the makings of a brand at hand, how to use brands to attract buyers, the branding power behind writing a book and hitting the lecture circuit, myths of branding, publicizing brands and creating products to boost brands, and other related branding topics.

The introductory chapters are written especially well. For example, the explanation provided on "positioning a brand so that the brand positions you" depicts a Venn diagram that shows very clearly how the three converging paths to establish brands (market need, competency, and passion) are "as much about passion as customer's needs. But both are needed. Too many consultants have a beloved methodology that has one drawback: No one else is interested in it".

Weiss also shares some of the same insights that McKenna provides in "The World's Newest Profession: Management Consulting in the Twentieth Century" (see my review for that book). For example, the author notes that "this is not a profession that carries a great deal of endemic respect, and it's made worse by the fact that it's totally unregulated. Hence, good consultants need to separate themselves from those between jobs, those who are just dabbling, moonlighting college professors, and the generally inept" and shares his rule of thumb that "about 50 percent of the people claiming to be consultants actually do not know what they're doing and have no methodology or even operating philosophy".

Some of the thoughts which Weiss shares are reminiscent of Gerald M. Weinberg's "The Secrets of Consulting" (see my review for that book, also written by a consultant's consultant), always practical though void of some of the humor in that other work, such as: "You have to wield the branding iron. You can't wait for the world to brand you. It's too slow, too erratic, and always quite painful" and "Branding must be built on repetitive and distinctive abilities and accomplishments that can be replicated. If you can't duplicate it, or it isn't sufficiently distinguishing, it's an isolated incident and not a brand, no matter how successful at the time".

The chapter on writing a book, "How to Write a Book, Even if You've Never Written Your Mother" is a book in itself, concisely written and packed with insightful advice from the author's own experiences in writing, including a simple step-by-step approach to effectively writing and publishing a business book. Another especially well received chapter by this reviewer is "The Twelve Myths of 21st Century Branding" that explores the following myths: "a tight intellectual argument is sufficient", "you must analyze the environment for need", "clever catch phrases and adages are sufficient", "brands are developed over a long period of time", "brands must be honed for specific, defined targets", "advertising is the be all and end all in branding", "you can only brand a tangible product", "brands require active, aggressive management", "brands need to be specific and focused", "brands must continually grow toward universal recognition", "the brand is external to the customer", and "brands in and of themselves have little value without substance".

In the concluding pages of the book, Weiss notes that "one of the dangers in these intense examinations of specific techniques is that, conceptually, the entire scheme makes sense and, tactically, nothing happens!" The solution that the author provides is improving one percent per day. "The problem, of course, is that most people (and most organizations) don't even manage that modest improvement. Or, worse, they await the ephiphany, where everything is supposed to change overnight. But the truth is that we don't normally advance through the invention of fax machines or breakthroughs in new methods to exploit the Internet. We advance by accretion, a little bit at a time, but steadily, every single day. The great organizations are the beneficiaries of tens of thousands of employees trying to work a little smarter and a little better every day, and the poor ones merely house legions of people who can't wait to go home at five".