A sharp, honest field guide for account managers and consultants who are done blaming the client and ready to get good at the work.
You didn't take a client-facing job to be a human shield. You took it to solve problems, build trust, and actually enjoy the chaos. My Client is the Devil (And Other Myths) is the field guide for doing exactly that — written from forty years of Mark McKinney and Steve Fedorko's work helping businesspeople manage the pressure of client relationships.
This isn't a pep talk. It's a book you throw in your bag, mark up, and quietly use to run better client meetings tomorrow morning. The stories feel uncomfortably familiar, and each one lands in practical tools you can try on your next call.
The book moves through three shifts: manage yourself first — your own patterns under pressure, the stories you tell yourself about "difficult" people, and the emotional loops that keep you stuck; then work with others — the plays for hard conversations, saying no without blowing things up, and resetting expectations after something goes sideways; and finally the extra credit — cultivating the mindfulness and hardiness to stay grounded when chaos hits.