Although my GBS colleague Jag Sheth is best known as a professor of marketing, when digging around in almost any field of management, sooner or later one finds his influence if not some of his actual work.

Management Practice is no different, and that doesn’t surprise me at bit, given Jag’s years of experience thinking and writing about the practice of marketing, on top of his theoretical and scholarly work.

One of the connections between Jag and MP can be found in his 2000 book Clients for Life, which he wrote with Andrew Sobel. As you know, we frame the MP course in a way that causes us to think of internal as well as external “clients.” In effect, we can see clients everywhere, even if we’re not explicitly working with them as someone in a professional services firm might.

Given that, Jag’s book offers some good advice for all of us who seek to have, as his introduction begins, “loyal clients who come back to use year after year.” We want that “double win” I keep mentioning: being seen as doing good work, and having that work credited with helping others make good decisions and take action.

Jag and his co-author frame their goal as moving people – you, for example – from “expert-for-hire” to “trusted advisor.” They want to help with professional growth, clearly. As such, it also intersects with the Leadership Development course that lies ahead for you after you complete MP.

Tackling the entire book is likely more than you need to take on during your MBA studies, but here is a PDF with the Introduction and Chapter One, to give you a sense of what they’re recommending. That might help you determine if and when you might want to take in the entire book. [The GBL is going to place this on e-reserves, and when it’s available by that route I’ll replace this attachment with a link.]

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