For the first time in paperback, international expert and consultant David Maister offers a brilliant and accessible guide to every management issue at play in professional firms.

Professional firms differ from other business enterprises in two distinct ways: first, they provide highly customized services and thus cannot apply many of the management principles developed for product-based industries. Second, professional services are highly personalized, 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 recognizing 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."

Professional firms differ from other business enterprises in two distinct ways: first, they provide highly customized services and thus cannot apply many of the management principles developed for product-based industries. Second, professional services are highly personalized, 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 recognizing 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."

Acknowledgments

Introduction

PART ONE: BASIC MATTERS

1. A Question of Balance

2. The Professional Firm Life Cycle

3. Profitability: Health and Hygiene

4. Solving the Underdelegation Problem

PART TWO: CLIENT MATTERS

5. The Practice Development Package

6. Listening to Clients

7. Quality Work Doesn't Mean Quality Service

8. A Service Quality Program

9. Marketing to Existing Clients

10. How Clients Choose

11. Attracting New Clients

12. Managing the Marketing Effort

PART THREE: PEOPLE MATTERS

13. How's Your Asset?

14. How to Build Human Capital

15. The Motivation Crisis

16. On the Importance of Scheduling

17. On the Meaning of Partnership

18. Surviving the People Crisis

PART FOUR: MANAGEMENT MATTERS

19. How Practice Leaders Add Value

20. How to Create a Strategy

21. Fast-Track Strategy

PART FIVE: PARTNERSHIP MATTERS

22. Partner Performance Counseling

23. The Art of Partner Compensation

24. Patterns in Partner Compensation

25. Pie-Splitting

26. Partnership Governance

PART SIX: MULTISITE MATTERS

27. The One-Firm Firm

28. Hunters and Farmers

29. Making the Network Work

30. Creating the Collaborative Firm

31. Coordinating Industry Specialty Groups

PART SEVEN: FINAL THOUGHTS

32. Asset Management

References and Sources

Index