Managing The Professional Service Firm

high level of expertise is still required, and efficiency is not irrelevant, but extensive experience with similar problems is worth more to the client than an extra degree of intellect or a few dollars of savings.

early years of an individual’s association with a professional service firm are, indeed, usually viewed as an apprenticeship, and the relation between juniors and seniors the same: The senior craftsmen repay the hard work and assistance of the juniors by teaching them

Japanese manufacturers say, a “defect is a treasure.” In other words, by eagerly seeking out your “defects” and studying them carefully to identify why and how that performance failure occurred, you get the opportunity to improve. If you avoid feedback from those you serve, you never get the chance to learn how to be a more effective competitor.

marketing must be a seduction, not an assault. It must not scream “hire me!” but must gently suggest “Here is some concrete evidence as to why you may want to get to know me better.” Marketing is truly about attracting clients—doing something that causes them to want to take the next step (such as telling you about their problems).

The mix of each that the firm requires (i.e., its ratio of senior to junior professionals) is primarily determined by the mix of client work, and in turn crucially determines the career paths that the firm can offer.

Rather than inspirational leadership styles, efficiency based practices would need managers who are disciplined, organized, and detail oriented.

they signal that any partner handling a client matter has three responsibilities: to the client (client satisfaction); to the firm (profitability); and to those who worked with the partner on the assignment (skill building).

Listening—soliciting clients’ evaluation of current services and getting them to describe their unfilled needs—has two interrelated purposes: (a) improving the competitiveness of current services and (b) identifying opportunities to develop new services.

“gathering market intelligence.” The better the firm’s understanding of how clients think (and what they’re thinking about lately), the more effective it will be able to market itself. Any firm that fails to make this investment will be severely handicapped, having to market itself based upon what it “guesses” or “assumes” clients want.