Is The Art of Client Service still helpful?

A note before we begin: I had planned to post this a week ago, but then news of something vastly more pressing intervened: the sudden, sad, shocking passing of my colleague Tom Nelson. That rightly took precedent, prompting a post; what follows is what I had planned to share before I learned Tom departed for guitar/songwriting heaven..

Years ago Houston Barnett-Gearhart was kind enough to point out then correct a technical problem – obvious to him, not at all obvious to me – with this blog. We had since fallen out of contact, but last week he emailed to report that, while on a flight, he witnessed a young woman reading The Art of Client Service, which led him to reconnect. I responded with a hello of my own, including a question about the person he observed: “Did you ask her if she found the book helpful?” 

I’m always seeking input from people who get in touch with me, but my exchange with Houston reminded me that April 4 was the fifth anniversary of Wiley publishing the third edition of the book. Through four iterations, three editions, and 20-plus years, “Art” and its predecessor Brain Surgery for Suits served as the spine to my post-agency career, when I transitioned from being a client-service person to sharing what I know about it, through workshops, coaching, and, when inspiration cooperates, here in these pages.  

You’ve heard this before, but when people point out I’ve written fours books, I instead remind them I’ve written one book four times, starting with 134 pages for Brain Surgery (pretty bad), growing to 192 pages (better), then 208 pages (better still), and finally to 288 pages as I worked through each Art revision, trying to address deficiencies, some glaring, in what I’d offered in the way of counsel.  

Today’s third edition is bigger than its predecessors, but is bigger better?  I have an opinion (it is), but truth be told, my opinion doesn’t count, so I looked elsewhere for an answer, starting with a tally of sales figures. 

While the book will never earn a place on The New York Times’ bestseller list, it has sold respectably: roughly 60,000 copies to date, with the current edition accounting for more than 16,000 of this amount. Would I like to add another zero to both results? Of course, even two zeros if I’m being bold, but for a specialized business book in a vertical industry, the sales total needs no apology. 

Yet, the question remains: do readers actually find it helpful, or is it finding its way to the bookshelf, unread, unused, unhelpful?  

Judging from the data on Amazon – where I suspect most of the book’s sales originate – it would seem the answer is mostly (but not entirely) “Yes.” Of the 69 reviews of the current edition, 84% award it four or five stars. To provide some context and perspective, half of Brain Surgery’s readers awarded it just one star – it’s a polarizing book with both supporters and detractors – suggesting the latest edition of Art reflects improvement when it comes to reader response. 

That’s the not-bad “what,” but in truth I am more interested in how-can-it-be-better “why.” Only a handful of the Amazon reviews are accompanied by a written assessment, and only three of these are critical, not giving me much to go on when it comes to needed improvements. 

Stuff to go on is what I’m after, so to all of you, may I ask a favor? Could you respond to these three questions:  

• What’s missing that I need to add?
• What’s in it that I can jettison?
• Overall, how can I make this a better book? 

If you are one of those few people who have the book’s four versions, you likely have some sense of how the book has evolved.  But 20 years in, has Art grown stale; has it lost meaning and relevance? 

If you can find the time, I would gladly welcome hearing from any of you, but I especially am interested in the unvarnished points-of-view from colleagues Rick English, Ken Ohlemeyer, Michael Vancza, Lintu Markose, PJ Leary, Jenny Plant, Callista Womick, Jen Aloo, Wagner Dos Santas, Georgina Vela, Tanya Zeiher, Eva Van Krugel, Doug Powell, Mandy McEwen, Katia Viola, Ann Pichette, Nancy Harhut, Peter Van Bloem, and Matt Neren. If I somehow missed mentioning your name, that’s on me, not you; my apologies for the oversight. 

Email me at [email protected] with thoughts, suggestions, and especially criticisms. If a phone call is easier, let me know when; I’ll email you a Zoom invite. 

I didn’t write Art to achieve fame. Fortune? Not hardly. I wrote it to help solve a problem and address a need. These reasons still matter, which explains why, as always, I invite, welcome, and deeply appreciate your counsel, especially that which makes a better book.