Managing the Professional Service Firm

Available for the first time in paperback, the quintessential manual for managers of accounting, legal, consulting, architectural, public relations, and other service-related companies. "The professional service firm is the best model for tomorrow's organization in any industry. When it comes to understanding these firms, David Maister has no peers".--Tom Peters. coauthor of "In Search of Excellence".

CONTENTS

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