In today’s fast-paced networked economy, professionals must work harder than ever to maintain and improve their business skills and knowledge. But technical mastery of one’s discipline is not enough, assert professional advisors David H. Maister, Charles H. Green, and Robert M. Galford. The key to professional success, they argue, is the ability to earn the trust and confidence of clients.

In this 20th anniversary edition, Maister, Green, and Galford enrich our understanding of today’s society and illustrate how to be effective communicators in a digital world. Using their model of “the trust equation” they dissect the rational and emotional components of trustworthiness. With precision and clarity, they detail five distinct steps you must take to create a trust-based relationship. Each step – engage, listen, frame, envision, and commit – is richly described in distinct chapters.

This book is “a brilliant reminder for each of us to focus on the needs of those we are serving – clients, customers, colleagues” (Timothy A. Welsh, vice chair, Consumer and Business Banking, US Bancorp). The authors weave together anecdotes, experience, and examples of both their own and others’ successes and mistakes to great effect. The Trusted Advisor is essential for anyone who must advise, negotiate, or manage complex relationships with others.