Practice Management

Suspension of Blog

Posted on June 13, 2008
I’m going to stop blogging for a while – at least taking the summer off.If you’d like to be notified if and when I return to regular blogging, just add your name to my email list (www.davidmaister.com/subscriptions ) and I’ll send you an email...

Being a Happy and Successful Lawyer

Posted on June 11, 2008
Stephen C. Ellis is the managing partner at the law firm of Tucker, Ellis & West.What follows is the commencement address he gave at Case Western reserve School of Law in Cleveland, Ohio on May 19, 2008. The title of his remarks is "On Being a Happy(and Successful) Lawyer"*** Thank you Dean Simson...

Strategy and The Fat Smoker - New podcast episode available now

Posted on June 04, 2008
The eleventh episode of my new podcast series, Strategy and the Fat Smoker, is now live and available for download.The series is dedicated to exploring the themes found in my new book by the same name. Each chapter will be accompanied by an executive summary ebook covering the same material...

Escape from Corporate America

Posted on May 22, 2008
Pamela Skillings has written a fun  AND serious book called “ESCAPE from CORPORATE AMERICA: a practical guide to Creating the Career of Your Dreams.”Here are some of the lists from the book:The Benefits Of Corporate Jobs Steady paycheck...

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Strategy and The Fat Smoker - New podcast episode available now

Posted on May 21, 2008
The eleventh episode of my new podcast series, Strategy and the Fat Smoker, is now live and available for download.The series is dedicated to exploring the themes found in my new book by the same name. Each chapter will be accompanied by an executive summary ebook covering the same material...

Clients as friends as Clients

Posted on May 14, 2008
Daniel F. Hunter, Special Counsel at Schulte Roth & Zabel LLP in New York has posed the following questions:1) Should friends become clients? I am often afraid to ask friends for legal work because it might "taint" our friendship and make me feel like a service provider any time I go over to their house and see their kids, etc...

Strategy and The Fat Smoker - New podcast episode available now

Posted on May 07, 2008
The tenth episode of my new podcast series, Strategy and the Fat Smoker, is now live and available for download.The series is dedicated to exploring the themes found in my new book by the same name. Each chapter will be accompanied by an executive summary ebook covering the same material...

Blogging

Posted on May 02, 2008
Linas Simonis has just published an e-book called "The New Rules of Business Blogs." You can find it on www.positioningstrategy.com

The indecisive employee

Posted on April 30, 2008
A reader from Russia wrote in with this:After reading Strategy and the Fat Smoker, I made a research in our company to find out the types of people who work with me. It was very positive because I found out that we have: 75% of employees with long term and team motivation15% - wolf pack5% - individualist5% - spider It was funny that after this research two managers-individualists left the service at once and other employees were very happy about it...

Pricing Consulting Services

Posted on April 28, 2008
Raintoday.com has just released a new study Fees and Pricing Benchmark Report: Consulting Industry 2008. 645 respondents in the consulting industry completed the survey. Among the findings: Firms that are well-known in their target markets receive higher fees, see their revenue grow, and earn higher profits than their lesser-known counterparts...

A Entrepreneur's Lessons

Posted on April 25, 2008
GL HOFFMAN, Chairman, JobDig, and Linkup has created a free eboook about the 100 "learnings" he has experienced after 25 years in starting companies. 

Strategy and The Fat Smoker - New podcast episode available now

Posted on April 23, 2008
The ninth episode of my new podcast series, Strategy and the Fat Smoker, is now live and available for download.It is dedicated to exploring the themes found in my new book by the same name. Each chapter will be accompanied by an executive summary ebook covering the same material...

Katter's Philosophy of Doing Business

Posted on April 21, 2008
In correspondence with me, Wilson "Bill" Katter offered the following views, and gives permission to us all to circulate (as long as we acknowledge his authorship and copyright.)BUSINESS DEAL BASICSTo avoid many of the problems which arise in business relationships, here is a set of prerequisite criteria with which all parties should enter the discussions/negotiations...

Web 2.0 and law firms

Posted on April 18, 2008
A question from a reader:Though plenty of examples of “Enterprise 2.0” show tangible ways that social media can improve business, I have not been able to find many examples of law firms taking advantage of Web 2.0 technologies. In the UK at least, it seems that although some niche blawgs are very popular and have done quite well in establishing the author(s) as authorities in their respective fields, law firms as organizations have yet to take advantage of new platforms in substantive ways (as have eg investment banks with internal use of wikis/social networking)...

Client Responsiveness and Compromised Quality

Posted on April 16, 2008
A question from Joseph A. Heyison of the Legal Department at Daiwa Securities America Inc.“David, a thought sparked by April 11's WSJ front page, describing Moody's alleged move to client-friendliness and possible debasing of its ratings process...

Satisfaction Guaranteed

Posted on April 15, 2008
For more than a decade, I have preached (and practiced) the policy of giving all clients an unconditional satisfaction guarantee. Most of my clients have thought the idea impractical and idealistic.So, I was delighted to be made aware of the Valorem Law Group  who make this statement on their website:“If you’re interested in seeing whether we are right for you and your team, try us on a matter...

Collaboration Tools and Technologies

Posted on April 14, 2008
The Law Practice Management Section of the American Bar Association has just published a book entitled “The Lawyers guide to Collaboration Tools and Technologies: Smart Ways to Work Together” It was written by Dennis Kennedy and Tom MighellHere’s a list of the Chapter headings:Getting StartedCollaboration at the CrossroadsCollaboration Inside the OfficeCollaboration Outside the OfficeFirst StepsBenefits of Improving Document CollaborationBasic Collaboration on DocumentsCreating a Document OnlineWorking Simultaneously on a DocumentHidden Dangers, Security and MetadataBenefits of Collaboration in Lawsuits and TransactionsInstant Collaboration – from Conference Calls to Instant MessagingHow to Hold a Meeting on the InternetSimple Project Management: BasecampSetting up a Simple Extranet or Deal RoomEmail as a PlatformSharepointExtranets and IntranetsAdobe AcrobatWikis: Web CollaborationOther Web 2...

Kathy wins Webby Award

Posted on April 09, 2008
I just had to share this with you all. The announcements for the 2008 Webby Awards, hailed as "the Oscars of the internet" by the NY Times, happened yesterday, and my wife’s venture (www.startcooking.com ) was named a 2008 Official Honoree placing it among the highest honored content on the internet...

Strategy and The Fat Smoker - New podcast episode available now

Posted on April 09, 2008
The eight episode of my new podcast series, Strategy and the Fat Smoker, is now live and available for download.It is dedicated to exploring the themes found in my new book by the same name. Each chapter will be accompanied by an executive summary ebook covering the same material...

Ending the relationship

Posted on April 08, 2008
A reader asks: “I think it's time to leave my job (where I have been for a number of years) and move on. I don't have anything lined up; I'm just burned out. “Do you have an (unconventional) advice for how to leave on "good" terms? I want to make this as positive of a resignation as possible...

Do You Kindle?

Posted on April 07, 2008
A couple of weeks ago I received my Kindle from Amazon - an electronic book.I love it already.I love the fact that if I want a book, I can have it within less than a minute or two, downloaded wirelessly. No longer do I have to wait for overnight delivery...

My worst habits

Posted on April 04, 2008
In my previous blog post, you were invited to say what the worst habits of partners in porofessional firms are.But you know what? It's always easier, as someone very important once said, to see the speck of dust in someone else's eye than the plank in your own...

Bad Habits

Posted on April 02, 2008
One of my correspondents asked this question: "I am looking for the top 10 bad habits partners within professional services firms display - and hopefully some answers on how to correct them"Anybody want to propose some suggestions?

Strategy and The Fat Smoker - New podcast episode available now

Posted on March 26, 2008
The seventh episode of my new podcast series, Strategy and the Fat Smoker, is now live and available for download. The series is dedicated to exploring the themes found in my new book by the same name. Each chapter will be accompanied by an executive summary ebook covering the same material...

Merchandizing

Posted on March 16, 2008
I just received a complementary copy of a new book(let) by David Cottrell called "Leadership Energy (E=m x c squared)."It's a 100-page large-type (very clever) packaging of some key management lessons, using Einstein's famous equation. In this case, the energy is the organization's output, the m is the mass of the people and the c is the leader's impact on energy...

"Give a Copy to Management" Campaign Closing

Posted on March 13, 2008
Due to the overwhelming success of my "Give a Copy to Management" campaign, I wanted to let everyone know that I am closing the offer, and will be taking no more requests.I received MANY more requests than the initial 100 I planned to offer, and from all corners of the globe! Since I don't want to disappoint anyone who wished to circulate my ideas in their workplace, I've made the following decision:I will be sending out 100 books as hardbacks, as offered...

Strategy and The Fat Smoker - New podcast episode available now

Posted on March 12, 2008
The sixth episode of my new podcast series, Strategy and the Fat Smoker, is now live and available for download.It is dedicated to exploring the themes found in my new book by the same name. Each chapter will be accompanied by an executive summary ebook covering the same material...

Finland's Best Place to work

Posted on March 10, 2008
Hannu Terävä writes: "Our company, Reaktor Innovations, just won the Great Place to Work competition in Finland last month. It means that we are, according to this survey, the best work place in Finland. It was the first time we attended and we got the best points ever in Finland...

Recession Responses

Posted on March 07, 2008
So now comes the test. You're a professional firm, with a variety of pracrice areas or target industries. Due to turmoil in the markets, business is down (or is forecast to be down) in one or more of our major areas. What do you do?Choice One: Lay off some of the junior staff, thereby cutting costs to keep them in line with declining revenues...

New Book from CPA Firm Consultant

Posted on March 06, 2008
Normally, I'm not a big fan of business books written in the form of fictional fables. But there's anew book by Gale Crosley (a consultant to CPAs) and Debbie Stover (a freelance writer) called AT THE CROSSROADS: The Remarkable CPA Firm that Nearly Crashed Then Soared...

Send a Free Copy to Management

Posted on March 05, 2008
As a part of my continued efforts to promote "Strategy and the Fat Smoker" practices and principles, I am hosting the "Give a Copy to Management" campaign at my website.If you feel that your workplace could benefit from the ideas put forth in Strategy and the Fat Smoker, then sign up at my website and provide the name of the senior executive or managing partner to whom you would like a book sent...

New Service for Law Firm Managing Partners

Posted on March 03, 2008
Disclosure point one:Patrick McKenna was my coauthor on the book FIRST AMONG EQUALS. He and his firm, Edge International, have just launched, in concert with Managing Partner Magazine, a service through which new law firm managing partners will have access to advice through a newly formed Leadership Advisory Board (the "LAB...

The Beatles' Worst Album

Posted on March 02, 2008
A review of my recent book referred to it as an “uneven collection of essays”, which is fair comment. I took consolation in the fact that no-one ever achieves a consistently high standard. For example, (and for fun), the Beatles released about 187 official recordings in their career...

CNN.com Videos

Posted on February 29, 2008
As part of the promotion for STRATEGY AND THE FAT SMOKER, I was interviewed for CNN.com by Jennifer Reingold of Fortune Magazine.They have divided the video interview into a number of short components. After three short ad intros, here are parts one, two and three...

Book Review - JUST ENOUGH ANXIETY

Posted on February 28, 2008
I have just been examining a fascinating book called JUST ENOUGH ANXIETY by Robert H. Rosen, which argues that, for optimum achievement, you can have both too little and too much anxiety - both as an individual and as an organization. The book explores how a leader / manager creates the optimal amount...

Strategy and The Fat Smoker - New podcast episode available now

Posted on February 27, 2008
The fifth episode of my new podcast series, Strategy and the Fat Smoker, is now live and available for download.It is dedicated to exploring the themes found in my new book by the same name. Each chapter will be accompanied by an executive summary ebook covering the same material...

Why Do We/They Become Consultants?

Posted on February 25, 2008
Pasi Raikisto, from Finland, raised a very interesting question in some email correspondence. He noted:“It would be interesting to know what kind of experiences drives people to become and stay as a consultant. I know many consultants whose professional life began when they were kicked out from their “normal job”...

New Edition of Ford Harding's Classic Book

Posted on February 22, 2008
Ford Harding has carved out a deserved reputation as one of the most highly regarded authors, trainers and consultants on sales in professional services. His books began with RAINMAKING in 1994, followed by CREATING RAINMAKERS in 1998, and then CROSS-SELLING SUCCESS in 2002...

Consultants on Consulting

Posted on February 20, 2008
Before he sold his firm, Richard Metzler was one of the pioneers in building a consulting business. Now, he and his son, Jon Metzler, have begun serializing (on-line) a new book entitled “Lore Of Wizards:  Consultants On Consulting” ...

An Overweight Consultant Practices What He Preaches

Posted on February 19, 2008
Douglas Hamilton, of Concentris Limited, contributed this: Fat Smokers? Figuratively and literally, I definitely know a few of these individuals! I am pleased to say I have recommended your paper and book to them. I received a request recently to deliver some ‘strategy training’ for a group of Directors...

New Blogosphere game

Posted on February 18, 2008
Michel-Adrian Sheppard on www.SLAW.CA writes:"Many people may remember the “meme” that went around the blogosphere about a year ago, something called Five Things You Didn’t Know About Me. The idea was simple: reveal 5 pieces of information that people might not know about you and then contact other people to contribute...

Russian Language Edition of Fat Smoker

Posted on February 14, 2008
I'm pleased to report that the Russian language edition of STRATEGY AND THE FAT SMOKER has just been published.It can be obtained from www.mann-ivanov-ferber.ru (whose telephone number is 495-792-43-72)The ISBN number is 978-5-902862-73-4*** Although no further deals have been signed yet, the book is under consideration for translation by publishers in The Netherlands, Japan, Korea and Spain.

Strategy and The Fat Smoker - New podcast episode available now

Posted on February 13, 2008
The fourth episode of my new podcast series, Strategy and the Fat Smoker, is now live and available for download.It is dedicated to exploring the themes found in my new book by the same name. Each chapter will be accompanied by an executive summary ebook covering the same material...

The One-Firm Firm Marches On

Posted on February 11, 2008
Today’s papers report the 2007 financial results of law firm Latham &Watkins, which became the first law firm to break the $2billion revenue barrier, with profits per partner rising to $2.27 million from $1.86 million a year earlier. As the firm’s managing partner said, these results were accomplished without a merger or large lateral acquisition or any major contingency award...

The Client From Hell

Posted on February 06, 2008
Bob Sutton, author of the fabulous book "THE NO-ASSHOLE RULE" has developed an amazing quiz to rate your client(s.)You've GOT to check this out!

What Management Owes the Individual Professional

Posted on February 04, 2008
R Sigrid van Roode, from th Netherlands writes in with the following question:"Our company will start improving our consultancy using the input of your book True Professionalism. I have carefully read the book (as have all my colleagues) and I have found a situation in my work that to me seems paradoxical...

The Problems with the Traditional Law firm Management Model

Posted on January 31, 2008
I received a multi-part question about law firm management, which questioned the “traditional” model which many firms use. Here’s the question:***My premise is that the traditional system is not only antiquated, it is the cause of many of the problems and issues facing large law firms today...

Strategy and The Fat Smoker - New podcast episode available now

Posted on January 30, 2008
The third episode of my new podcast series, Strategy and the Fat Smoker, is now live and available for download.It is dedicated to exploring the themes found in my new book by the same name. Each chapter will be accompanied by an executive summary ebook covering the same material...

Compensation Systems: Sales Commissions

Posted on January 28, 2008
What?s the latest view on paying sales commissions in professional organizations?I?m generally not a fan, because paying a commission:Fails to distinguish between revenue and profit. It can reward bringing in work that the organization loses money on (or at least makes less money than other alternative uses of its scarce resources...

Compensation Systems

Posted on January 25, 2008
I?m thinking of writing a monograph or a book on compensation systems. As part of it, I began a list of some of the things a compensation system needs to accomplish. It?s a long potential list of objectives ? too long, since no one system can accomplish all too many objectives - and many of them are contradictory!! Criteria for a good compensation system: It encourages individual initiativeIt encourages working for the good of the wholeIt helps people improve, not just rewards them when they doThe decision process is seen as based on all the real facts (i...

Survey on Pricing

Posted on January 23, 2008
Mike Schultz of Rain Today.com sent this request:We are conducting our next major RainToday.com and Wellesley Hills Group benchmark study on Pricing and Fees in Professional Service Businesses and we would like your input. Please take 20 minutes to share how your firm approaches pricing its services...

Focus and Diversification

Posted on January 21, 2008
Here?s a question from Mike Spack in St. Louis Park, Minnesota:?I was talking to a colleague about his employer?s strategic plan.  They are a 120-person science/engineering consulting firm located only in Minnesota. They are 100% employee owned...

TV Interview

Posted on January 18, 2008
Yesterday, I had the interesting experience of being interviewed about STRATEGY AND THE FAT SMOKER on ABC News. There?s a 4-minute ?live-to-tape? web-version of it here.I was asked to cover the basics discussed in the book, so if you?ve been following my work, you won?t see new insights revealed...

Strategy and The Fat Smoker - New podcast episode available now

Posted on January 16, 2008
The second episode of my new podcast series, Strategy and the Fat Smoker, is now live and available for download.This series is dedicated to exploring the themes found in my new book by the same name. Each chapter will be accompanied by an executive summary ebook covering the same material...

New Years' resolutions: Podcast from Financial Times columnist

Posted on January 15, 2008
Lucy Kellaway is a (terrific) columnist on management for the Financial Times. She has written a very amusing column about her New Year?s resolutions, based in part on some of my ideas in STRATEGY AND THE FAT SMOKER. You can listen to Lucy reading her column in this podcast...

Mentoring

Posted on January 14, 2008
One of the best books on mentoring that I have found is ?The Elements of Mentoring? by W. Brad Johnson and Charles R. Ridley. Here are some of their chapter headings and subheadings: Getting to Know Your Protégé             Spend time Identify and communicate strengths and weaknesses             Allow fears and emotions to be discussed Expect Excellence             Set high expectations and communicate clearly             Model what you expect of others             Demonstrate confidence Affirm, Encourage and Support             Show that you value them             Instill confidence             Kindly shed light on unrealistic expectations Provide Sponsorship              Discern their dream             Help them with first steps             Use your status to get them opportunities             Get them to function on your behalf occasionally Teach and Coach             Clear Instruction on expectations, roles and functions             Story-telling and metaphors             Help people understand organizational politics Offer Counsel in Difficult Times             Provide insight, not necessarily answers Listen, reflect feelings clarify alternatives             Validate feelings Protect When Necessary             Recognize that protégé will occasionally suffer personal or political problems             Use protection sparingly Stimulate growth with Challenging assignments Nurture Creativity             Encourage innovative thought             Safe haven to experiment             Model innovation Provide Correction ? Even when painful             Confront negative performance or behavior             Help with ideas ? don?t just criticize Narrate Growth and development             Discuss milestones openly Self-Disclose when appropriate Accept Increasing Friendship and Mutuality Model work/Life Balance Display Dependability **** What?s your experience been with best practice in mentoring? Have you experienced organizations where it works well? What is the secret to effectiveness at this?

A Printable Ebook

Posted on January 11, 2008
Two weeks ago, I published a post indicating that an ebook of Strategy and the Fat Smoker was now available. The response to the new book, both in hardback and ebook versions, has surpassed many of my expectations.  A number of you expressed concerns that the ebook could not be printed, but only viewed on a computer screen, describing this as a major inconvenience...

One More Thank You for 2007

Posted on January 08, 2008
It is already 2008 but I would like to pause for a moment before we move forward into the New Year. As you know, I truly appreciate and value the ways with which you share your thoughts and ideas. The last twelve months have been extremely stimulating and your contributions have helped shape the ideas and projects that grew out of this blog...

Self-Publishing: Delays

Posted on January 07, 2008
I owe an apology to many of you who were surprised to discover that, even though I announced a publication date of January 2, Amazon currently lists my book STRATEGY AND THE FAT SMOKER as not being available for 4 to 7 weeks.As best I can tell, this is an initial (and, I?m assured, a temporary) inventory problem based on the fact that neither the printer/distributor nor Amazon were ready for the high volume of orders for a self-published book on the day of publication...

Strategy and the Fat Smoker - New podcast series live now

Posted on January 03, 2008
The first episode of my new podcast series, Strategy and the Fat Smoker, is now live and available for download.It is dedicated to exploring the themes found in my new book by the same name. Each chapter will be accompanied by an executive summary ebook covering the same material...

Ruthlessness and Charity

Posted on January 02, 2008
In an editorial in today?s Wall Street Journal, Lawrence B. Lindsey, author of a new book ?What a President should Know ? but Most Learn Too Late? gives the opinion that we (the electorate) should seek (as our president) an individual who is ruthless about protecting us against others, but (who) acts with charity towards all and malice towards none at home...

Ebook of Fat Smoker available now

Posted on December 27, 2007
The hardback version of STRATEGY AND THE FAT SMOKER will be published next week  (January 2)  but the ebook version  is available now from Atlas Books. It costs US$11.99, compared to the list price of US$29.99 for the hardback. The hardback can be pre-ordered, at discount prices, from Amazon...

Medical Practice as a Professional Service

Posted on December 19, 2007
R Paul L. Shillam, Controller at Pacific Medical Centers in Seattle wrote in to say: ?I just read the excerpt from your book published in Consulting (Nov/Dec 2008).  Each time I read your views on professional consultants, accountants or legal firms, it easily translates to the practice of medicine...

New Business Thinkers

Posted on December 17, 2007
Are there any business thinkers that you are paying attention to that have not been "around" and well-known for years already? Who, if anyone, is an emerging business thinker worth paying attention to? 

Digital Marketing for Professional Firms

Posted on December 13, 2007
David Koopmans, Director of Mokum Marketing in Melbourne, Australia wrote in by email to raise the topic of how professional services firms can use the web in their marketing strategy and what the specific benefits are. He points out that among some types of professional firm there is often resistance to the concept of marketing in general, and the digital space in particular...

Meeting Rules

Posted on December 12, 2007
We all know meetings are a curse.Here are some of the rules I would offer to help make them more productive.Do not call meetings when some other form of information sharing is possible. Since most people can read ten times faster than a presenter can speak, send material ahead...

Reputations

Posted on December 11, 2007
Consistency, dependability and regularity work: occasional peaks of excellence don't. For example, always meet your deadlines. If you are asked to do something, make sure you know exactly what it is and when it is due. If you have doubts about your ability to complete on time or about the task?s priority or importance, raise your concern with your manager or client immediately...

A Video Review of "The Fat Smoker"

Posted on December 10, 2007
Mike De Witt, a participant on this blog, has created a wonderful video review of my new book.He says nice things about the book, and I can honestly return the favor by passing on a strong recommendation that you look at his work in creating the video review...

The Rule of St. Benedict

Posted on December 03, 2007
At a seminar I conducted last Friday, the topic of enforcing standards came up ? as it always does. And, again as always, I made the point that the courage to enforce standards by asking otherwise productive people to leave is both essential and scarce...

More Comments on STRATEGY AND THE FAT SMOKER

Posted on November 30, 2007
Three more reviews of my new book this time from bloggers who focus on (respectively) the accounting, legal and marketing communications agency worlds.First, Dennis Howlett compares some of the points I make in the book to his own experience. He writes: ?When I was in practice I made a conscious decision that I would never compete on price and that I would never take on work I didn?t believe we could execute against...

Mentoring

Posted on November 28, 2007
There?s an interesting discussion this month in the print version of CONSULTING magazine about mentoring programs in consulting firms. What?s notable is how diverse the programs are. Some are highly structured, while others are based on encouraging mentees to seek out their own mentors among the senior staff...

Self-Publishing: The Economics

Posted on November 26, 2007
There are only a few key numbers to pay attention to in self-publishing, which means that each is very important.First comes the book's cover price. There are basically two main strategies that people follow here - stay in line with other mainstream books if you want a shot at a general audience, or consciously set out to extract a premium from the niche audience you are targetting...

Technical Excelllence

Posted on November 21, 2007
In many professional businesses, high technical excellence is taken for granted - we assume that having it is "table stakes" for competing.However, it's not a trivial issue to ask whether and how a firm goes about ensuring that its employees in fact meet high standards of technical expertise, especially in a world where companies tend to signal that revenue generation is a more pressing (if not more important) topic...

Believer or Skeptic?

Posted on November 20, 2007
When working with clients on change initiatives, I notice that they have two widely different strategies for appointing the internal person to lead the project. In some cases, they appoint a "true believer" who really wants to see the change happen. In other cases, firms go out of their way to appoint a skeptic, so that only proposals that can overcome the skepticism emerge from the study task-force, and proposals are not made that will not be implemented...

Another reader question

Posted on November 14, 2007
My question to you and all your website contributors; What have been people's experiences with the strategy of targeting only working with one client per industry sector and deliberately broadcasting to the market that that is your "modus operandi"? It's a bit clumsy, but, for example- "We guarantee our clients that we will not work for their competitors, thereby preserving exclusively for our clients, the commercial advantage of partnering with us"I know the applicability may vary with the type of services one offers, but do others have any thoughts on this approach?

Implementing a Client Service Strategy

Posted on November 13, 2007
One of the most common topics I am asked to advise on is achieving distinctively high levels of client service. I find that many firms underestimate how tough a diet and exercise program (see STRATEGY AND THE FAT SMOKER) it would really take to pull this off...

Managing Professionals in Not-For-Profits

Posted on November 12, 2007
A friend called recently and asked whether I thought the principles of managing professional service organizations applied in the not-for-profit sector.It?s a complex question. Let?s start below the level of the organization and ask whether the principles of managing professionals (not the organization, but the people) differs between for-profit and not for profit...

More Bloggers Review "Fat Smoker" Book

Posted on November 09, 2007
I'm grateful to those bloggers that are reviewing STRATEGY AND THE FAT SMOKER.Clarke Ching says ?The book is full of great ideas.  I'm just over half way through the book and I've had several "ah ha" moments already.  If you've read any of David's other books then you'll lap this one up too...

Screening for Relationship Attitudes and Skills?

Posted on November 08, 2007
Yesterday?s post was about whether relationship skills must be ?found? by firms in their hiring process or whether they can be developed.As I reported, about one-third of a conference of leading management consulting firms felt that these values, attitudes and/or skills are mostly ?hired in? rather than developed once people have reached the age and stage of being hired by consulting firms...

Developing Relationship Skills

Posted on November 07, 2007
At a conference of leading management consulting firms last week, I led a discussion about the barriers to developing strong, deep relationships with clients ? a ?fat smoker? strategy in the sense that we all know we should be good at it, but few of us are...

Firing unprofitable clients

Posted on October 30, 2007
Hi David,I had a question I wondered whether you or your blog readers had any opinions on.Many companies have unprofitable customers. This situation may arise for many reaons including:* Poor pricing controls - offering large and multiple discounts* Historic overservicing and undercharging long-term customers* Lack of understanding of the true cost to serveNonetheless, whatever the reason, when companies do find unprofitable customers they need to manage them...

The Fat Smoker and the Consumer Society

Posted on October 29, 2007
There?s a great blog called SLOW LEADERSHIP which picked up on the dilemmas I pose in Strategy and the Fat Smoker. Here?s what it had to say:*** Somehow the consumer society manages to combine a puritanical obsession with working with a totally hedonistic devotion to getting whatever you want in as short a time as possible...

Bob Sutton wins Quill Award for "No Asshole Rule"

Posted on October 28, 2007
Bob Sutton was awarded the Quill award for "best business book of the year " for "The No-Asshole Rule."Way to go, Bob! As I said on his blog, we all look forward to the movie of the book! 

Consultant Seeks Advice

Posted on October 26, 2007
A consultant sent me this emaial, soliciting advice:Last week I spent a couple of days with group within my client's organization.  The group was all male with one female.  I was appalled by the pre-pubescent behavior of the males towards the female...