One way to destroy trust is to say "trust me." So, I avoid calling myself a "trusted advisor"—it invites mistrust.
Another way to destroy trust is to conceal something. Even the appearance of concealment can be cause for suspicion, and affects trustworthiness. That's why we react negatively to even the appearance of plagiarism: it calls into question the credibility, as well as the motives, of the one who appears to be concealing.
Consider sales trainer and author Bob Beck who headlines himself as "The CEO's Trusted Advisor." Mr. Beck is selling a white paper on the internet with his name as the author; it looks remarkably like a paper I wrote 8 years ago. I'm going to practice transparency here, rather than labelling, and simply let you look at the data. I've provided selections below, as well as links to full text.
You decide what's going on.
Exhibit 1. An article called HR Leaders as Trusted Business Advisors, written and copyrighted by me in 2001. It has been online and publicly downloadable for free, ever since December, 2001—and I can prove that. There's a site called the Wayback Machine, which archives websites at particular points in time. Here is my website's articles page from December, 2001, including the article; and here is the article itself from the archived site of the same date, December 2001.
Exhibit 2. A white paper purportedly written by Bob Beck, listed as copyrighted 2008, called Relationship Selling Redefined. Nowhere does he mention my name, or attribute any of his white paper to anyone besides himself. He is selling this article as his, online, charging $9.95 for it.
Here are selected chunks from each article, side by side.
Comparison of Selected Text: Green vs. Beck
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HR Leaders as Trusted Business Advisors: Charles H. Green, 2001 |
Relationship Selling Redefined: Bob Beck, 2008 |
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I. Trusted Advisors and the Nature of Trust
HR is a consultative function. In many respects, an HR executive is no different from a lawyer, an advertising executive, or a management consultant. She has a great deal of responsibility and very little authority. She has deep functional expertise, but must work with clients who do not have that expertise, often don't want to know it, and may not even respect it. Finally, she must gain the respect and even liking of her clients in order to be heard, and to be effective in her job. In short- an HR exec must function as a consultant. |
I. Trusted Advisors and the Nature of Trust
A sales professional should have a high degree of a consultative function. In many respects, a sales executive is no different from a lawyer, an advertising executive, or a management consultant. They have a great deal of responsibility and knowledge; have solutions, but very little authority. They should have deep functional expertise, but they must work with prospects and clients who do not have that expertise, often experiencing prospects that don't want to know it, and may not understand they need it. Finally, they must establish relationships based on mutual respect in order to be heard, and to be effective in their job. In short- a sales exec must function as a consultant. |
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There are consultants and there are consultants. At the lowest level of the consulting hierarchy there is simply purchase of technical expertise. At the higher levels of consultative relationship, one can begin to talk about a Trusted Business Advisor. At these levels, a consultative professional can have true influence and leverage over an organization, bringing his or her functional expertise to bear without artificial limitation, where appropriate, for the greater good of the organization. Most HR execs aspire to -or should aspire to- this level. |
There is consultative selling and there are consultants. At the lowest level of the consulting hierarchy there is simply purchase of a specific expertise, i.e. technical expertise. At the higher levels of consultative relationships, one can begin to talk about a Trusted Business Advisor. At these levels, a consultative sales professional can have true influence and leverage over an organization, bringing his or her functional expertise to bear without artificial limitations, for the greater good of the organization. Most sales professionals aspire to -or should aspire to- this level. |
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Trust, Risk and Fear
Arguably the root negative human emotion is fear. Below the surface of anger, jealousy and other negative emotions lies the fear of losing what we have, or of not getting what we want. A natural response to fear is to limit risk-taking—which in turn limits the opportunity for trust. So overcoming fear turns out to be critical for the trusted advisor.
Fear in professional services takes several specific forms:
* Fear of not having the answer
* Fear of appearing stupid
* Fear of not knowing where to start
* Fear of being inaccurate |
Trust, Risk and Fear
Arguably the root negative human emotion is fear. Below the surface of anger, jealousy and other negative emotions lies the fear of losing what we have, or of not getting what we want. A natural response to fear is to limit risk-taking—which in turn limits the opportunity for trust. So overcoming fear turns out to be critical for the trusted advisor.
Fear in any sales role takes several specific forms:
* Fear of not having the answer
* Fear of appearing stupid
* Fear of not knowing where to start
* Fear of being inaccurate |
| This pattern of fear-based responses to risk is typical among lawyers, accountants and consultants—and not surprisingly so. All their professional lives they have been taught that the way to success is hard work focused on the rational mastery of their chosen technical field. When faced with a difficult client situation, it is a rare lawyer that doesn't use the blunt force of his or her expertise and credentials to reassert his or her dominance of the situation. It takes personal courage to face fears head-on; yet that is the basis for trust. Is the HR/client relationship really any different? |
This pattern of fear-based responses to risk is typical among lawyers, accountants and consultants—and not surprisingly so. All their professional lives they have been taught that the way to success is hard work focused on the rational mastery of their chosen technical field. When faced with a difficult client situation, it is a rare lawyer that doesn't use the blunt force of his or her expertise and credentials to reassert his or her dominance of the situation. It takes personal courage to face fears head-on; yet that is the basis for trust. Is the sales/client /prospect relationship really any different? |
1. Listening to earn the right.
Done comprehensively, listening "earns the right" to proceed to the next step in the trust process, or the giving-of-advice process, or the selling process. It requires three distinct phases—each operating in the rational realm and in the non-rational realm. The three phases are a) get the data, b) get the context, c) acknowledge. |
1. Listening to earn the right.
Done comprehensively, listening "earns the right" to proceed to the next step in the trust process, or the giving-of-advice process, or the selling process. It requires three distinct phases—each operating in the rational realm and in the non-rational realm. The three phases are a) get the data, b) get the context, c) acknowledge what you understand. |
| First, the rational side. We may ask, "What is the volume in this process?" The rational data answer is "3000 transactions per month." Some professionals leave it at that. But even in the purely rational realm, a data point with no context is often useless. If we ask a simple contexting question—"How big is that?"—we may find out, "That's the most it's ever been." We then use paraphrasing—"So, 3000, the most it's every [sic] been, right?" not only to make sure we have the data and context right, but also to confirm to the speaker that she is being heard, and heard correctly. |
First, the rational side. Salesperson may ask, "What is the volume in this process?" The rational data answer is "3000 transactions per month." Some professionals leave it at that. But even in the purely rational realm, a data point with no context is often useless. If we ask a simple contexting question—"How big is that?"—we may find out, "That's the most it's ever been." We then use paraphrasing—"So, 3000, the most it's every [sic] been, right?" not only to make sure we have the data and context right, but also to confirm to the speaker that she is being heard, and heard correctly. [Note above where the same typo appears in both versions] |
| The same sequence must happen on the non-rational side. We might ask "What role did you play in that?" and find out "I ran the project to increase volume." That is emotional data—it tells us something about individual. A contexting question might then be, "What was that like?" and we might find out, "They said I couldn't do it." This tells us that the speaker has some justifiable pride in this accomplishment. Empathy—the emotional equivalent of rational paraphrasing—is then called for—"Wow, that must have been quite an accomplishment for you." |
The same sequence must happen on the non-rational side. We might ask "What role did you play in that?" and find out "I ran the project to increase volume." That is emotional data—it tells us something about individual. A contexting question might then be, "What was that like?" and we might find out, "They said I couldn't do it." This tells us that the speaker has some justifiable pride in this accomplishment. Empathy—the emotional equivalent of rational paraphrasing—is then called for—"Wow, that must have been quite an accomplishment for you." |
There are five skillsets useful to becoming trustworthy:
1. Listening to earn the right…
2. Metaphor….
3. Name it and Claim It…
4. The Language of Trust…
5. Thinking Out Loud |
There are five skill sets useful to becoming a trusted advisor:
1. Listening to earn the right…
2. Metaphor…
3. Strategic Confusion…
4. The Language of Trust…
5. Thinking Out Loud |
| Thinking out loud lets the client see the consultant's thought process. It may feel like a risk to the consultant, but is perceived by the client as inclusive. It also lets the client contribute to the thinking. It also frees up the consultant to truly listen, instead of thinking about what he's going to say when he's done pretending to listen. What's it sound like? "OK, lets see now, you've said that we've got X, Y and Z, now I'm thinking out loud here so help me out, OK, so what comes to my mind first is the Q issue. Although there is usually an aspect of Z, so we have to keep that in mind. Now lets see, you also said...." That is not sloppy thinking; it is real thinking, as seen in development. |
Thinking out loud lets the client or prospect see the sales consultant's thought process. It may feel like a risk to the sales consultant, but is perceived by the client as inclusive. It also lets the client contribute to the thinking. It also frees up the sales person to truly listen, instead of thinking about what he's going to say when he's done pretending to listen. What's it sound like? "OK, lets see now, you've said that we've got X, Y and Z, now I'm thinking out loud here so help me out, OK, so what comes to my mind first is the Q issue. Although there is usually an aspect of Z, so we have to keep that in mind. Now lets see, you also said...." That is not sloppy thinking; it is real thinking, as seen in development. |
Trust and Risk
Trust without risk is an oxymoron. "Trust" without risk-taking is not—it is either blind faith or a calculable bet. To trust requires that we have some knowledge of our situation and its risks—and that we are willing to make ourselves to some extent vulnerable and dependent on the not-guaranteed goodwill of another.
Trust thus begins with risk. A defining characteristic of trusted advisors is that they take personal risks early on, thus creating trust. A classic example is pricing. It feels "risky" to mention price of a prospective project too early—the professional fears it will be seen as crass, or might scare off the client before the client has had a chance to hear the benefits side of the value equation. |
Trust and Risk
Trust without risk is an oxymoron. "Trust" without risk-taking is not—it is either blind faith or a calculable bet. To trust requires that we have some knowledge of our situation and its risks—and that we are willing to make ourselves to some extent vulnerable and dependent on the not-guaranteed goodwill of another.
Trust thus begins with risk. A defining characteristic of trusted advisors is that they take personal risks early on, thus creating trust. A classic example would be a thorough qualification process. It feels "risky" to ask direct and bold questions to a prospect too early—the professional fears it will be seen as crass, or might scare off the prospect before they have had a chance to hear the benefits side of the value equation. |
| The natural responses to these fears include retreating or attacking, covering up our self- perceived ignorance, refusing to engage in certain discussions or to take what feel like risky steps into the unknown—particularly the emotional unknown. We reduce risk out of fear. Unfortunately, that reduces trust. |
The natural responses to these fears include retreating or attacking, covering up our self- perceived ignorance, refusing to engage in certain discussions or to take what feel like risky steps into the unknown—particularly the emotional unknown. We reduce risk out of fear. Unfortunately, that reduces trust. |
Maybe I should be honored; maybe I should just say to myself, 'Imitation is the sincerest form of flattery.'
Or, maybe not just yet. Last week, Geoffrey James, author of the blog Sales Machine, posted an entry titled Noted Sales Guru Caught Plagiarizing? Guess who he was referring to? Excerpts:
Iwas shocked yesterday when I received credible information that a source I’ve used in this blog has apparently been plagiarizing content. His name is Bob Beck and he’s author of the (ironically-titled?) book “Mutual Respect.”
James then compares web pages from Beck with pages from another, earlier-dated source. He then goes on to say:
"I have in my possession other examples of apparent plagiarism, including an entire white paper from Beck that appears to be lifted from a white paper originally published by Siebel Systems."
James invites Beck to write in and explain himself. The same offer stands here. Mr. Beck?
Meanwhile: I've spent an additional $33.99 to buy a CD from Mr. Beck titled "The Trusted Advisor." I can't wait to see what's in it. By the way, The Trusted Advisor (by Maister, Galford and me) was copyrighted in 2000. Just to be transparent about it.
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