Book Review "True Professionalism"

Brian Lawson

Mrs. Jochim

Entrepreneurship Book Review

12/1/05

About the Author

David Maister is a world-wide management consultant to professional service forms. He consults to lawyers, accountants, and other services. Has consulted globally for over 2 decades. David provides firms with different ideas, strategies, and designs, but ultimately the firm usually makes an internal committee to make the strategy. His areas of expertise are strategy, marketing, human resources, organization, compensation, reward systems, and profitability improvement. David believes that it is better for firms to make their own decisions under the guidance of his counseling, but always presents to companies that have specific goals in mind to accomplish. This book is not written to convince the reader one way or another. It is written to help people become more professional in their businesses.

Summary

This book is about being professional and the benefits of professionalism. The author tells that its not business strategy, intelligence, or technology. Professionalism separates a business from its competitors. Professionalism means caring about your businesses and customers above and beyond the required level. Professionalism creates passion and drive in the workplace. Passion means that employees have energy, will, and determination to make the business the best they possibly can.

Goals are also included in professionalism. All businesses need goals. However, everyone needs help to stay with their goals from time to time. The book calls this "nagging rights". This is when a friend or spouse get distracted from their goal and you nag them about it until they get back on track. Nagging rights are not something that should be done in a mean or harmful manner, simply a friendly nudge back in the right direction. A quote from page 60 talks about nagging rights, "What, then, will get us to change? For most of us, the answer lies in supplementing self-discipline with some form of external conscience." This quote says that people can't stay on track by themselves, everyone needs some support sometime.

The book also talks about the life of a professional. It talks about how life for professionals has gotten harder with recent business. Small business professionals have to fend off big businesses that don't care for their customers or care about fair business. Unprofessionalism is commonly found in bigger business that don't have a strong bond between customers and the staff. Big business just shuffles people in and out of the store, selling their goods and not caring if it is what the customer really needs. True Professionals care about their customers, they care about their situation, and what they like and dislike.

The book talks about incentives and rewards programs. Some businesses use cash rewards given to employees for good work, sort of like commission. What businesses don't realize is that