It's That Simple: How to Build the Professional Service Firm of the Future

It's That Simple: How to Build the Professional Service Firm of the Future PDF

Author: Lawrence K. Miles

Publisher: Dog Ear Publishing

Published: 2018-11-15

Total Pages: 166

ISBN-13: 9781457565670

DOWNLOAD EBOOK →

It's That Simple Are you a service professional committed to positively impacting your clients' and employees' lives? While there are many talented lawyers, doctors, accountants, and wealth managers out there, all too often these service professionals are not skilled businesspeople. Larry Miles wants to change that. It's That Simple offers an array of actionable ideas and strategies geared to building the professional service firm of the future. Miles examines the following: - How service businesses miss the opportunity to offer an exceptional experience for customers and employees - The keys to recruiting, building, and sustaining a championship team - The critical impact of a shared mission - The importance of attracting great clients--and how to do it - How to leverage new technology and why you must start now - How to build enterprise value Service professionals are in the business of helping others. With its easy-to-follow wisdom and insight, It's That Simple helps these professionals become true business leaders. "When building a championship team with the Rockets, we used many of the same principles Larry outlines in It's That Simple. In the NBA, as in professional services, you've got to purposefully build your team and your culture in order to contend for the title. Larry's concepts and techniques are action-oriented and undeniably applicable." - Leslie Alexander, former owner of the Houston Rockets - "Amidst the ocean of 'the best' business books, It's That Simple stands out for its perfect blend of guidance across business fundamentals and management. Larry's humble and relatable style belies his methodical approach to providing the reader with a clear roadmap to value creation and business greatness." - Eric N. Marton, former executive director, Cedars-Sinai Medical Center - Larry Miles is an award-winning principal with AdvicePeriod, whose team's mission is to reinvent wealth management. He was named Innovator of the Year by WealthManagement.com in 2018 and was included in InvestmentNews' "40 Under 40" list in 2017. His teams have been recognized in Inc. magazine's "Best Workplaces" and the Los Angeles Business Journal's "#1 Best Place to Work in Los Angeles." Larry also served as the youngest regional president of BNY Mellon Wealth Management and helped build and sell a national advisory firm. Larry, who graduated from Amherst College and has a master's degree from the London School of Economics, has taught leadership courses at MIT and belongs to the Young Presidents' Organization. He and his wife, Dani, live in Park City, Utah. To learn more, visit adviceperiod.com.

Client at the Core

Client at the Core PDF

Author: August J. Aquila

Publisher: John Wiley & Sons

Published: 2004-07-29

Total Pages: 352

ISBN-13: 0471681873

DOWNLOAD EBOOK →

"Clients At The Core is an essential blueprint to helping usall take the next steps. The authors, battle scarred by theevolution of professional firm management and marketing from thento now, have captured the changing needs of the firms in thisturbulent new economic era. This is a well-written book that usesplain language to convey practical, well thought-out ideas." -Patrick J. McKenna, a leading international consultant toprofessional service firms "The authors have captured the changing role of professionalservices marketing and firm management. There is valuable insight[in this] down-to-earth guide to competing successfully in the newenvironment." -David Maister, author and consultant "The book is a masterpiece! Aquila and Marcus have produced theessential guide for managing a professional services firm. They'vemarshaled their considerable real-life experiences and far-reachingvision into a veritable operating manual for the successfulfirm." -Rick Telberg, Editor at Large, American Institute ofCertified Public Accountants "At its heart, this book is the running shoe for legal andaccounting professionals who want to put the client first.Following the evolution of the industry over the past twenty-fiveyears, this must-have for every professional services firm is thekey to leading in the turbulent and highly competitive watersahead." -Richard S. Levick, Esq., President, Levick StrategicCommunications, LLC coauthor, Stop the Presses: The Litigation PRDesk Reference "Client selection and retention is one of the critical successfactors for a professional services firm, and Aquila and Marcus doa masterful job at educating us on the necessary ingredients ofeach. The chapters on firm governance and paying for performanceare thought provoking and certainly challenging to the conventionalwisdom. If you want a better understanding of marketing and leadinga professional firm in these turbulent times, this book isessential." -Ronald J. Baker, author, Professional's Guide to ValuePricing and The Firm of the Future "Client at the Core is a commonsense approach to keeping yourprofessional services firm relevant in the twenty-first century'sclient-driven economy. Aquila and Marcus have hit a home run withtheir insightful analysis and poignant prose." -Jeffrey S. Pawlow, Managing Shareholder, The GrowthPartnership, Inc.

The Firm of the Future

The Firm of the Future PDF

Author: Paul Dunn

Publisher: John Wiley & Sons

Published: 2012-06-12

Total Pages: 478

ISBN-13: 0471456187

DOWNLOAD EBOOK →

Provides accountants in small and medium sized firms the tool to expand services beyond attest and compliance functions. Shows how to transition to other professional services that clients value. Provides a pro-forma business plan for mapping a three to five year plan for the transition to a successful practice. Positions consulting as an extension to traditional services, not just an alternative. Includes many real world examples of accountants who have made a successful transition to new services, discussing the challenges and the results achieved. Focuses on quality of life issues and how to get there.

Managing The Professional Service Firm

Managing The Professional Service Firm PDF

Author: David H. Maister

Publisher: Simon and Schuster

Published: 2012-12-11

Total Pages: 479

ISBN-13: 1471109658

DOWNLOAD EBOOK →

Professional service firms differ from other business enterprises in two distinct ways: first they provide highly customised services thus cannot apply many of the management principles developed for product-based industries. Second, professional services are highly personalised, involving the skills of individuals. Such firms must therefore compete not only for clients but also for talented professionals. Drawing on more than ten years of research and consulting to these unique and creative companies, David Maister explores issues ranging from marketing and business development to multinational strategies, human resources policies to profit improvement, strategic planning to effective leadership. While these issues can be complex, Maister simplifies them by recognising that 'every professional service firm in the world, regardless of size, specific profession, or country of operation, has the same mission statement: outstanding service to clients, satisfying careers for its people and financial success for its owners.'

Implementing Value Pricing

Implementing Value Pricing PDF

Author: Ronald J. Baker

Publisher: John Wiley & Sons

Published: 2010-11-29

Total Pages: 78

ISBN-13: 047092957X

DOWNLOAD EBOOK →

Praise for IMPLEMENTING VALUE PRICING A Radical Business Model for Professional Firms "Ron Baker is the most prolific and best writer when it comes to pricing services. This is a must-read for executives and partners in small to large firms. Ron provides the basics, the advanced ideas, the workbooks, the case studies everything. This is a must-have and a terrific book." Reed K. Holden founder and CEO, Holden Advisors, Corp., Associate Professor, Columbia University www.holdenadvisors.com "We've known through Ron Baker's earlier books that he's not just an extraordinary thinker and truly brilliant writer he's a mover and a shaker on a mission. This is the End of Time! Brilliant." Paul Dunn Chairman, B1G1® www.b1g1.com "Implementing Value Pricing is a powerful blend of theory, strategy, and tactics. Ron Baker's most recent offering is ambitious in scope, exploring topics that include economic theory, customer orientation, value identification, service positioning, and pricing strategy. He weaves all of them together seamlessly, and includes numerous examples to illustrate his primary points. I have applied the knowledge I've gained from his body of work, and the benefits to me and to my customers have been immediate, significant, and ongoing." Brent Uren Principal, Valuation & Business Modeling Ernst & Young® www.ey.com "Ron Baker is a revolutionary. He is on a radical crusade to align the interests of service providers with those of their customers by having lawyers, accountants, and consultants charge based on the value they provide, rather than the effort it takes. Implementing Value Pricing is a manifesto that establishes a clear case for the revolution. It provides detailed guidance that includes not only strategies and tactics, but key predictive indicators for success. It is richly illustrated by the successes of firms that have embraced value-based pricing to make their services not only more cost-effective for their customers, but more profitable as well. The hallmark of a manifesto is an unyielding sense of purpose and a call to action. Let the revolution begin." Robert G. Cross, Chairman and CEO, Revenue Analytics, Inc. Author, Revenue Management: Hard-Core Tactics for Market Domination

The New Professional Service Firm

The New Professional Service Firm PDF

Author: L. Martin van der Mandele

Publisher: Springer Nature

Published: 2022-10-27

Total Pages: 181

ISBN-13: 3031061349

DOWNLOAD EBOOK →

The authors of this book alert that professional services like law, accountancy, and consultancy firms are set to face major disruption. The most important driver and enabler are the new technologies that help and in part substitute the work done by professionals. The second important disruptor is the new generation of professionals – “NewGen” – who are less interested in building their careers in a hierarchical organization and more interested in entrepreneurial challenges in small teams, with more rapid returns. In the meanwhile, major service conglomerates – the “big four” accounting firms, the “big three” consulting firms to name a few examples – build their network using their brand and substantial resources. All along, the relentless pressure from clients to receive more services at lower cost continues. Medium-sized professional firms as well as one-person independents appear to suffer most from these disruptions and are most anxious to find new ways to conduct their business. But the leaders of large firms also feel that they are increasingly unable to support the innovative entrepreneurship of their most promising professionals while their organizations institutionalize and their overheads continue to grow. This book proposes a new orientation and model of a professional service firm as an answer to these challenges, by creating a Professional Service Community. It is a synergistic team of organizations that share a vision of their role in society and main lines of their mission as well as the quality of their deliverables and their key clients. At the same time, they are independent in designing their internal business models – like recruitment, training, knowledge management, and economics. The Professional Service Community provides a unique and highly attractive level of entrepreneurship, flexibility, and efficiency to the benefit of its clients, partners, staff, and other stakeholders. It is the way of the future.

Subscribed

Subscribed PDF

Author: Tien Tzuo

Publisher: Penguin

Published: 2018-06-05

Total Pages: 258

ISBN-13: 0525536469

DOWNLOAD EBOOK →

A USA Today bestseller! Companies like Netflix, Spotify, and Salesforce are just the tip of the iceberg for the subscription model. The real transformation--and the real opportunity--is just beginning. Subscription companies are growing nine times faster than the S&P 500. Why? Because unlike product companies, subscription companies know their customers. A happy subscriber base is the ultimate economic moat. Today's consumers prefer the advantages of access over the hassles of maintenance, from transportation (Uber, Surf Air), to clothing (Stitch Fix, Eleven James), to razor blades and makeup (Dollar Shave Club, Birchbox). Companies are similarly demanding easier, long-term solutions, trading their server rooms for cloud storage solutions like Box. Simply put, the world is shifting from products to services. But how do you turn customers into subscribers? As the CEO of the world's largest subscription management platform, Tien Tzuo has helped hundreds of companies transition from relying on individual sales to building customer-centric, recurring-revenue businesses. His core message in Subscribed is simple: Ready or not, excited or terrified, you need to adapt to the Subscription Economy -- or risk being left behind. Tzuo shows how to use subscriptions to build lucrative, ongoing one-on-one relationships with your customers. This may require reinventing substantial parts of your company, from your accounting practices to your entire IT architecture, but the payoff can be enormous. Just look at the case studies: * Adobe transitions from selling enterprise software licenses to offering cloud-based solutions for a flat monthly fee, and quadruples its valuation. * Fender evolves from selling guitars one at a time to creating lifelong musicians by teaching beginners to play, and keeping them inspired for life. * Caterpillar uses subscriptions to help solve problems -- it's not about how many tractors you can rent, but how much dirt you need to move. In Subscribed, you'll learn how these companies made the shift, and how you can transform your own product into a valuable service with a practical, step-by-step framework. Find out how how you can prepare and prosper now, rather than trying to catch up later.

Time's Up!

Time's Up! PDF

Author: Paul Dunn

Publisher: John Wiley & Sons

Published: 2022-12-08

Total Pages: 406

ISBN-13: 1119893526

DOWNLOAD EBOOK →

Put values—and value—over volume with a professional services subscription model Professional firms are built on relationships. But you wouldn't know it by observing their predominant business model — a model centered on selling transactions and inputs, not outcomes that deepen and strengthen relationships. Time’s Up! offers you a guide to building a more valuable firm, one where relationships and lifetime customer value are at the center of how you create and capture value. You’ll learn how to: Create customer lifetime values that far exceed acquisition and retention costs Move customer relationships to the center of your firm Leverage the collective knowledge of your customers Elevate customers from where they are to their desired future by providing transformations, where the customer is the product. Only uncommon offerings command uncommon prices. Time’s Up! introduces you to a revolutionary new business model that transforms your firm, your teams and your results with the customer right at the center of the process.

The Big Four

The Big Four PDF

Author: Ian D. Gow

Publisher: Berrett-Koehler Publishers

Published: 2018-08-28

Total Pages: 308

ISBN-13: 1523098031

DOWNLOAD EBOOK →

"Messrs. Gow and Kells have made an invaluable contribution, writing in an amused tone that nevertheless acknowledges the firms' immense power and the seriousness of their neglect of traditional responsibilities. 'The Big Four' will appeal to all those interested in the future of the profession--and of capitalism itself." —Jane Gleeson-White, Wall Street Journal With staffs that are collectively larger than the Russian army and combined revenues of over $130 billion a year, the Big Four accounting firms—Deloitte, PricewaterhouseCoopers, Ernst & Young, and KPMG—are a keystone of global commerce. But leading scholar Ian Gow and award-winning author Stuart Kells warn that a house of cards may be about to fall. Stretching back to the Medicis in Renaissance Florence, this book is a fascinating story of wealth, power, and luck. The founders of the Big Four lived surprisingly colorful lives. Samuel Price, for example, married his own niece. Between the world wars, Nicholas Waterhouse collected postage stamps while also hosting decadent parties in his fashionable London home. All four firms have endured major calamities in recent decades. There have been hundreds of court cases and legal prosecutions for failed audits, tax scandals, and breaches of independence. The firms have come so close to “extinction level events” that regulators have required them to prepare “living wills.” And today, the Big Four face an uncertain future—thanks to their push into China, their vulnerability to digital disruption and competition, and the hazards of providing traditional services in a new era of transparency. This account of the past, present, and likely future of the Big Four is essential reading for anyone perplexed or fascinated by professional services, working or considering working in the industry, or simply curious about the fate of the global economy.