Alan Weiss Talk in Portland

I had the good fortune of hearing Alan Weiss address the Institute of Management Consultants in Portland yesterday speaking on building relationships and value based consulting.

Alan has written 16 books and 500 articles on building successful companies. He had some very interesting comments on self esteem, professional development and balance in life. Self esteem, he said is increased when we add discrete skills. Professional development is important for all of us to schedule and value given the rate of cultural and technological change. Healthy non-business activities increase our perspective to make wiser choices in business and elsewhere.

Not a bit bashful, Alan recommends coming right up to the edge between confidence and arrogance. A couple of consultants in the audience asked him if perhaps he's "over the line." He responded one must be comfortable "standing up in a breeze."

Weiss loves his Ferrari, Aston Martin and expensive lifestyle. He asked rhetorically, "Do clients want a successful consultant, or the cheapest?"