The Trusted Advisor by David Maister
The Trusted Advisor
Author: David Maister
Genre: Non-fiction
Format: Digital (Kindle Purchase)
Publish Date: October 2021
Read: June 2021
Favorite Quote: Since clients are often anxious and uncertain, they are, above all, looking for someone who will provide reassurance, calm their fears, and inspire confidence.
Story Synopsis: Originally published in October 2001, The Trusted Advisor is celebrating twenty years in print. So much has changed since 2001, including what we know about interpersonal communication and relationship building.
Thoughts & Feelings: Reading The Trusted Advisor was… interesting. If you have never read business books or self-improvement books, The Trusted Advisor might be an excellent read for you. I found it fell flat. The Trusted Advisor is about trust and relationship building. For someone who struggles with human interaction, you may gain knowledge and techniques from the book. If you enjoy psychology and learning about people, you likely will find the book trite and boring.
Not to discount the effort that went into creating this book, I did not enjoy it. It felt like a middle-aged guy wrote it for middle-aged guys with middle-aged rich guys as clients. Much of the book included what I call table stakes: Listen more than you talk. Be genuinely interested in others. Don’t make someone feel stupid for their ideas.
To me, these are apparent principles by which to live. However, there are many people out there who may find these values earth-shattering. There were even formulas for human interaction in the book as if you could distill human emotions into values and equations. It’s probably not a surprise that I was not too fond of the book, but thousands loved it and found it extremely helpful.
Rating: 2/5 Stars