The Power of choice architecture to influence change in professional services firms

Exploring ways to affect sustainable change

Change is challenging and even more formidable in professional services firms. It takes two willing and able participants: professionals and organizations. In my last post, I zeroed in on the fast and inevitable pace of change and the individuals' struggles, especially in the professional services domain. I also offered a few tips on accepting and embracing change individually. I received several positive comments from professionals who related to the struggles and the recommended approach. In this post, I'll focus on the responsibility of organizations to enable an appealing and successful change journey by leveraging choice architects.

Choice architecture, as you may know, is a term coined by Richard Thaler and Cass Sunstein in their widely regarded book, "Nudge." The premise is that we all make decisions influenced by the environment, and those who create the background, also known as choice architects, can influence decision-making without forcing pre-defined outcomes. I am a big fan of the concept. It can be compelling in professional services firms, where highly educated and knowledgeable professionals may push back on mandates and change initiatives. They, however, may embrace the opportunity to make their own decisions and follow a change roadmap on their terms. This framework can also be equally valuable in designing client acquisition journeys where clients make choices to fit their requirements and priorities.

The good news is that organizations have a ton of choice architects (we all are!). Inviting professionals to technical training makes you a choice architect. You are a choice architect when you create a feedback form for clients and employees to complete. I suspect you don't fully appreciate the power and responsibility of being a choice architect or leveraging such functions and the choice architecture framework to influence change. I know I need to remember at times!  

The other good news is that the choice architecture frameworks are very effective, even if simplified, as illustrated below. They enable architects to consider how to influence behavior by presenting choices simply and attractively and encourage them to think about how to package options and when and where to offer them. The process takes time and design thinking to map the specific behavior journey. They call for feedback mechanisms to provide real-time views, analysis, opportunities for potential modifications of the various choices, and an incentive system aligned with the journey and the key stakeholders. Technology can enable that process further. More on that in the next post.

For now, please reflect on some of your change priorities, who are your choice architects, and how can you and they embrace the choice architecture framework to influence change in a palatable way. The opportunity is too big to ignore.

IT TAKES TWO TO TANGO…AND GROW AN ORGANIZATION

The roles of the firm and the professionals in business growth

Professional service providers (lawyers, accountants, consultants, etc.) elect to join firms for many reasons: technical and administrative support, built-in infrastructure, environment of colleagueship and continual education, brand, etc. There are two main components to the partnership model - the partnership and its executive management, on the one hand, and the individual professionals, on the other. The model seems to work in most aspects of the business, but often fails when it comes to business growth, however. When implementing a growth strategy, I often see situations where management blames the individuals, and vice versa, when the firm’s growth goals are not realized. Why is that, and who is really to blame?

My strategy development projects require me to work with both firm management and its individual professionals. Over the course of the project however, I sometimes find myself working primarily with one or the other. In that role, I get a close view of the dynamics and dysfunctions of this partnership model, especially as it relates to business growth. I hear objections and complaints - some valid ones - about what’s holding back individual and firm business growth. Instead of playing a mediator or defender, I spend a considerable time explaining the business growth roles of the firm and its professionals. So, I decided to take a few minutes and spell it out: it takes two to tango. In order for organizations to experience sustainable and smart business growth, both parties – the firm and its technical professionals - should accept their business growth responsibilities and work to deliver them.

It starts with the visible disconnect between a firm strategic direction and the one of its individual practitioners…it is a recurring case, unfortunately. Firms should take individual professionals’ business growth goals and activities into consideration when developing strategic development plans. In addition to looking outwards for market trends and competitive analysis, annual retreats should become a series of strategic conversations of how partners see growing their practices over the short term, how such objectives are within the realm of the firm’s aspirations, and how the firm can support them.

Firms tend to load the marketing budget with awareness building activities and internal marketing communication. Instead, they should invest in building internal business growth organizations that reaches beyond branding activities, and cover all steps of the business growth process. They should take a comprehensive view and ensure that this internal platform offers adequate support during the awareness building, education, sales and loyalty phases. They should provide marketing and business development resources and tools, and I am not referring to the basic websites and brochures. The firm should be able to provide thought leadership materials, target intelligence, client data, and facilitate opportunities for the professionals to engage with clients, prospects and referral sources so that they can build meaningful relationships. Firms should adopt and manage systems and processes to help track and measure business growth activities, for more efficient and effective i.e. smart growth. Most importantly, firms should equip professionals with the skills how to best use all of the above. In my professional experience, firms, which have aligned their development inspirations with that of its professionals, have invested and built internal growth engines, see considerable growth results.

Professionals tend to set business growth goals based on anecdotal information (often not due to the lack of actual data) and without regard on how they might achieve them. They should take a more strategic approach and create simple business growth plans (no more than 1-2 pages long), inclusive of measurable goals and specific tactics on how they might reach their objectives. They should get to know and utilize the tools, resources and systems provided by the firm – they are in place for them to use. Equally to their continual thirst for technical knowledge, they should strive to enhance their business growth planning and implementation skills. If professionals take advantage and leverage the full support of the firm, only then can they point elsewhere for poor business growth results.

Firm leaders, professionals, keep in mind for the next round of annual reviews: "it takes two tango". Look inwards and evaluate how you are delivering on your business growth responsibilities before shifting blame and looking for alternative business growth opportunities.

© 2010-2015 Copyright Mira Ilieva Leonard / iStile All rights reserved

By Mira Ilieva-Leonard | Mira.ilieva-leonard@istile.com

COLLABORATE TO INCREASE BUSINESS GROWTH: PART III

Practical tips for unlocking the potential of collaboration

In Part I of the series on collaboration I made the argument that professional services organizations should strive to encourage collaboration, because it leads to business growth. In Part II, I discussed the major obstacles to collaboration, and hinted on how to overcome them. In this last segment, I will take a prescriptive approach, and outline specific measures to unlocking the potential of collaboration. As in the past, I’ll also refer to the Harvard Business Review (HBR) article and study, titled “When senior managers won’t collaborate”, and some of my past writing on the subject.

A collaborative culture must originate with the leadership team. Leaders should consider and explore a firm development strategy with collaboration as a core attribute, or even as a sustainable competitive advantage. Take an all-encompassing approach: from recruiting and retaining talent, to growing the firm and boasting team performance. Demonstrate and communicate the importance of collaborating and growing the organization and the danger of not doing so to the business; become vocal in celebrating client development accomplishments and equally so to learn from failures; and nurture an environment where experimenting with innovative ideas is welcomed.

Leaders should define an organizational structure and compensation models that foster sharing and cooperation, again spreading throughout the firm: back office operations, technical and client facing practitioners. Employ tools and systems that encourage communication, knowledge sharing and transparency, which are some of the key components of collaboration. Establish functions and recruit / develop professionals who not only understand the value of collaboration, but have the necessary skills to build and cultivate collaborative culture. Focus on the system not the individual superstar performance. Set firm-based, common goals, which benefit the firm as a whole rather than the individual performer. For the greater good.

Leadership must adopt a “systems thinking” way to managing professional services organizations. To do so, approach problems by identifying the source of the issues: what’s the core, not the symptom. Employ all disciplines of the systems thinking theory (refer to my past article, "Systematic approach to business growth"), especially the ones of “mental models”, which among other things, explains why change management exercises and introduction to new business growth systems and programs might fail; and the “team learning” one, which casts light on what's behind the “narcissistic behavior” of professional services organizations, ultimately holding back collaboration and limiting business growth.

To my delight, the HBR survey offers professional services organizations tips similar to my prescriptions. It encourages leaders to walk the talk and show first hand by collaborating with others. Create opportunities for the team to connect and build trust. Resist the temptation to bring in rainmakers, but look for individuals with demonstrated collaborative experience. Celebrate team wins. Re-consider the compensation scheme of the firm and question how much weigh is attributed to collaboration, if any. I’ve seen some of this already take place in a few progressive organizations, where collaboration has become a factor in the compensation formula. Build a collaborative culture by tracking and rewarding non-billable collaborative initiatives such as mentoring. Enhance the knowledge sharing culture. Encourage regular workshops and secondment programs, and utilize communication technology and tools to share best practices. Develop teams to lead the way. Build collaboration in the firms’ development strategies.

The HBR survey takes a segmented approach, and in addition to the above-mentioned recommendations geared towards organizations and their leaders, it also speaks directly to individual practitioners. It recommends to professionals to be persistent. Select to collaborate with a firm influencer / rainmaker. Be fair to teammates. Communicate often and openly, and deliver on promises.

Organizational development research, as also confirmed by the HBR study, shows that organizations which build and nurture a collaborative environment manage to turn knowledge into action, share best practices and drive growth at a sustainable and fast pace. So, when examining what’s inhibiting organizational development and growth, reflect on the factors outlined above and most importantly, take immediate actions to close the know-do gaps and create collaborative culture.

For a copy of the HBR article visit: https://hbr.org/2015/03/when-senior-managers-wont-collaborate?utm_content=buffer98a13&utm_medium=social&utm_source=linkedin.com&utm_campaign=buffer

© 2010-2015 Copyright Mira Ilieva Leonard / iStile All rights reserved

By Mira Ilieva-Leonard | Mira.ilieva-leonard@istile.com

POSITION YOUR CLIENTS CENTER STAGE FOR A WINNING GROWTH STRATEGY

"What business are you really in?"

Tis the season when marketers and firm leaders dive deep into excel and power point exercises, as they conduct year-end performance reviews and look ahead towards 2015 planning. I wonder how many will stop for a moment and ask: “what business are we really in?” and take a different approach to short and long term strategy development.

Nearly 55 years ago, Theodore Levitt, a professor at Harvard Business School, articulated the importance of businesses focusing on clients’ needs in an article titled “Marketing Myopia,” which is a Harvard Business Review (HBR) favorite. He posed the question “what business are we really in” and provided a number of case studies, illustrating the peril facing organizations, which have ignored that question. I was recently reminded of this timeless concept not only by re-reading the re-published article, but also because I am beginning to see it more often in professional services firms in the form of marketing officers and firm leadership working together for the benefit of the client. It’s about time, one might say.

Thanks to this “clients first” concept, professional services marketing functions are enjoying a renaissance period. Professional services firms are recognizing the importance of “client centric approach” to their businesses, and thus their business growth strategies, and with that they are changing their historical definitions of marketing to encompass a more strategic and intelligent function. On their end, marketers are doing their part in raising their profiles by utilizing client data and analytics to drive growth and demonstrate their value in terms of dollars and cents. It’s a push - pull process that is leading the way and changing internal growth organizations. This trend is highlighted by the increasing tenure of CMO’s, according to leading executive search firms.

“An industry begins with the customer and his / her needs, not with a patent, a raw material, or a selling skill,” writes Levitt in the aforementioned article. Let that be a reminder that now that the marketing and strategy functions are finally working alongside, it is important to stay focused on what brought them together: the client. While it’s easy to get distracted by budgets, operations and tactics of delivering strategy and business growth plans, put your clients’ agenda first this year.

Consider changing your annual strategic planning process. Facilitate a session to answer the question “what business are we really in,” as well as how have your clients and their needs changed, and whether your business is still in line with them. Put aside the internal political minutiae. Shift your focus from developing new services or re-packaging existing ones to your clients. Expand the scope of the process to include a wider input pool: internal professionals across functions and external industry leaders, and most importantly, your clients. Think innovation, not preservation. Be prepared to reallocate resources in your budgets. And last but not least, make it a dynamic strategic planning / review process that takes place throughout the year.

If all else fails, at least go back through your client satisfaction surveys / interviews and outline just one additional initiative that you are going to undertake in 2015, which will focus on your clients’ needs. It might just help you outpace your competition and re-define your market.

By Mira Ilieva-Leonard Mira.ilieva-leonard@istile.com

© 2010-2014 Copyright Mira Ilieva Leonard / iStile All rights reserved

Clients changing the business of law

How are firms dealing with it and what it all means in practice?

I was recently invited to moderate a panel of law firm CFO’s for the Southeastern Chapter of the Legal Marketing Association, titled “The Evolution of Law Firm Finance and Its Impact on Business Development.” The panel considered the following circumstances and how they have impacted the business of law. As a result of the recent recession law firms are undergoing overwhelming change. Many of them are retooling their financial strategies by adopting alternative pricing methods, shifting operational financing, improving vendor management, and most importantly, how they go about attracting, serving, and retaining top clients. In other words, firms are modifying their way of doing business to better align with the demands of corporate America. So what does that mean for the industry in practice?

Below please find some of the key takeaways from the conversation along with my personal observations. A side note: in my experience this trend is not limited to law firms and is evident across the professional services industries. Many of the points brought up during the conversation are applicable to professionals offering consulting, accounting, and other business services.

The fact that clients today are expecting the same high quality services for lower cost worries some professionals, but hasn’t persuaded them to change their pricing model. Some cling to the notion that this is only a fad and “the good old days” of buyers’ flexible budgets will return. If neither are willing to change their thinking, both groups will soon become industry laggards.

This shift from a revenue- to a cost- based law firm business, where “profit” is the name of the game is clear. It presents many opportunities for firms ready to improve performance and leverage efficiency. However, the transition is not easy, which makes the hesitation of the above-mentioned laggards understandable. It necessitates a “one size fits none” mentality, where firms must take a segmented positioning attitude for various practices and partners, and learn both the consultative and commodity approaches of selling legal services. It requires applying new staffing and project management models, such as “the pyramid” staffing model for consulting and other deep expertise services, and / or “the diamond” model for highly leveraged, packaged services. It also calls for new skill sets: project management, financial understanding, change management, collaborative skills; and new tools: financial dashboards, collaborative index, etc.

Marketers and Billable Professionals: CFOs are your new best friends. In order to succeed in this environment, marketers and billable professionals will need to understand the business of the firm and the various individual practices. In addition to joining forces on addressing RFP’s, they will need to work with CFO’s to package services: define how to sell and deliver them in order to keep healthy profit margins, and create business models to stay competitive and win business. They will need to communicate often to identify where the systems and processes can be improved to serve clients better. They will need to track Marketing/BD spending and measure ROI, to better evaluate business growth initiatives and create more accurate budgets. Ultimately, they need to align their agendas to champion change to create and employ the supporting systems, skills and processes.

The CFO’s sitting next to me for this session might be some of the most progressive ones I’ve encountered. I was delighted to hear them speak about changing behavior, collaboration, and building a different type of organizational culture. They understood what it would take to make the transition: to meet their clients’ expectations and remain relevant.

The bottom line: change is upon us and instead of wasting time and energy fighting it, embrace it. Accept that with the new business model new compensation structures are afoot and necessary to change behavior and overall firm culture. Adopt new KPI’s (key performing indicators) such as team profitability, cross selling, and collaboration. Understand that "not all clients are created equal;” approach them and structure delivery accordingly.

It is indeed a transformative period for the legal and other business services industries. Progressive firms that will act upon this shift quickly, and put the wheels of change in motion, will stand out. Will you join them? At iStile, we work with firms to help them take advantage of such opportunities by structuring and implementing the necessary systems and equipping the management team and professionals with the necessary skills.

By Mira Ilieva-Leonard Mira.ilieva-leonard@istile.com

© 2010-2014 Copyright Mira Ilieva Leonard / iStile All rights reserved

GROWING PAINS: HOW TO IDENTIFY AND ELIMINATE THEM

Focus business growth resources and attention where it counts

I often ask leaders of professional services firms “What is holding back their business growth?” Rarely do I get a clear answer. Why is it that most professional services firms do not have a grasp of their business growth process? How can they know how to solve their business growth issues, and where to focus resources and attention, if they don’t recognize the problems at hand? I often hear the excuses like “it’s the economy”, “the competitors,” and “it’s the people” but, I rarely ever hear plainly articulated points such us: “it’s converting leads into proposals,” “it is the win/loss rate”. In my experience, a leader can troubleshoot those growth pains and address them properly only when he or she has a full picture of the business growth pipeline and can clearly identify bottlenecks. Here are a few questions to help you, leaders of professional services firms, identify where you might have business growth leakage. Start by examining your business growth pipeline. Where’s the bottleneck? Lead generation, conversion, client retention rate, etc…

How are you loading your pipeline? Are you measuring the quality and quantity of your leads? If you are not, consider launching a process to help you do so. Knowing the sources of business so that you best spend your limited money and time is significant to the business growth process. Calculating ROI on marketing and BD spent is a sound, but unfortunately uncommon practice.

How often are you connecting with leads to build awareness and how? Traditional marketing dictates that in order for a message to come across it needs to reach its audience three times (3x). This conventional wisdom is challenged, as recently demonstrated by the Edelman’s Trust Study (see "Edelman Trust Barometer: Where is the Trust?”) and today, it takes a minimum of 5x for a message to resonate. It’s double the work for marketing and communication specialists. The good news is that social media is providing a cost efficient way to communicate and engage with audiences. The bad news is that social media has also created a massive clutter of data and communication apathy. Staying consistent, on point, focused on quality content and respectful is the key to cut through the information mess and connect with your audiences in a meaningful way.

What is your conversion rate? How many of your leads become actual prospects? If the number is too low, consider changing and/or increasing the marketing and BD tactics (thought leadership initiatives at this level work best for professional service firms) to better and more frequently position you in front of prospects, allowing you to demonstrate your technical capabilities, engage in dialogue and identify opportunities. What’s the velocity of your pipeline? Do you have a massive number of proposals that are not moving forward? Why are they not moving forward? Have you rushed into a proposal without fully understanding the situation: the need, the stakeholders, and the purchasing decision making process? If so, work on your advisory and problem solving skills to learn to better scope the problem, and in the process to better help the prospect and move to the next stage of the business growth process.

What is your proposal win/loss rate? What can you do to improve it? If your rate is low, question the reasons: is it pricing or is it the solution? If the latter, take a look at the pipeline velocity questions above and work on improving the problem solving skills (are we solving the right problem?) and solutions offerings (do we have the proper solution?). Professional services firms often bypass an important stage in the business growth process: education, and jump immediately from awareness to sale - this is frequently seen when a firm participates in an RFP or beauty contest. It is likely your pipeline is filled with these opportunities and therefore, whether you know it or not, you are competing mainly on pricing. This is a good place to stop and re-examine your current (and aspirational) position in the market: are you a low cost provider, or a high-end, value-adding adviser? You cannot be both successfully. There are only a select few organizations that can afford to be both and flourish in the long term. If you choose to be a low cost provider, RFP’s are a viable channel to fill your pipeline. In this case, if the win/loss rate is low then I would suggest you revisit your pricing strategies, analyze your efficiencies, and examine how your relationships are managed. You see, even with RFP’s where pricing is usually the lead selection criterion, relationships do matter. Thus, the education stage can mean relationship development.

What is the retention rate of clients? How many of your clients’ needs are you satisfying? How many of your clients are willing to try other of your service offerings and are recommending you to peers? Businesses exist because of a need or love for their services, products, etc. If you can master to win on both counts, you’ve reached the holy grail of business. Thus far, professional service providers have relied on the need of their services and have completely ignored the second, building loyalty. To sustain, if not even grow business, that approach is no longer an option. A couple of months ago I referred to the latest Financial Times survey on Efficient Client Adviser relationships and the importance of the clients’ recommendations it highlights: commercial awareness, added value services, contribution of management and people support. All of these call attention to building trust and loyalty between clients and their professional service providers. If you are having troubles expanding your client relationships or your client retention rate is deteriorating, take a closer look at those points, and better yet, talk to your clients.

Now that you have a few key questions to help you identify the bottlenecks in your business growth process, I urge you to assess your business growth tactics. Hopefully (and most importantly), your firm has a system in place to address the answers to those questions. Look for more on that and how to best leverage your assets in the next segment of this blog.

© 2010-2013 Copyright Mira Ilieva Leonard / iStile All rights reserved

ONE FOR ALL: ALL FOR ONE

Collaboration: a key ingredient for successful development of professional services organizations?

Earlier in the year, after writing an article about narcissistic behavior in professional services firms (PSF’s), “For the Greater Good or Eat What You Kill”, I promised a piece on the importance of collaboration and the impact it has on the overall development of PSF’s. The subject has been on my mind ever since. Recently though, I experienced a few events which have reinforced my strong belief in the idea. One of them is a meeting with the managing partner of a mid-sized PSF who, much to my pleasant surprise, not only understood the value of collaboration, but was also able to demonstrate the direct and impressive business progress as a result of it. You see, most of the PSF’s I’ve worked with employ the “eat what you kill” mentality. If you’ve read my previous pieces you’d know I believe this mentality has mostly counterproductive effects on the development of PSF’s. My conversation with that managing partner was one of the most positive experiences I’ve had in a while. I can’t help but ask myself what’s different about that firm, its culture and its leadership team that allows them to embrace collaboration and sets them apart from the rest and, in my opinion, makes them “progressive.” That, however, is a different question I’ll leave for another time and perhaps an interview with that managing partner.

Before I move on to the other event that pushed me to write this piece, let me take time to articulate the importance of building a collaborative environment in PSF’s. It encourages learning and development, critical for knowledge-based organizations such as PSF’s, turns knowledge into action, which closes “knowing-doing” gaps, and increases the chances to grow business and succeed in the market place. To elaborate on the latter, PSF’s collaboration provides confidence to existing clients that the firm will provide the necessary resources to support them along with richer ideas and solutions; for new clients, collaboration means a stronger and deeper team and higher chances for both the client and the advisor to identify someone to connect with and build trust, and this builds stronger, better relationships between clients and advisors…after all, people like to work with people who they like and trust. When it comes to client development, collaboration helps alleviate the burdensome stigma of sales. Working as a part of a team makes that experience less onerous, and promotes best practice sharing, while keeping everyone accountable. Those are all significant factors for successful and sustainable business growth.

The merits of collaboration within PSF’s are countless. The real question is how to build and nurture such collaborative spirit. I discovered an answer that supports my hypothesis in the most unusual place. I recently stumbled upon an article in the Scientific American, from July 2012, titled “Why we help,” and this article provided the final push I needed to write this piece. The author, Martin Nowak, a professor of biology and mathematics at Harvard University, argues that contrary to what the majority of us might think of evolution and the “dog-eat-dog” concept of survival as its underpinning, cooperation is the driving force for evolution. Using the game theory paradox called the “Prisoner’s Dilemma,” the scientist runs a number of simulations to identify five mechanisms for the evolution of cooperators: direct reciprocity (the “tit for tat” concept), special selection (neighbors or friends in social network tend to help each other and develop a snowball effect), kin selection (think “The Godfather”), indirect reciprocity (based on reputation and “pay it forward” principle) and lastly, group selection (for the greater good). Nowak draws on a number of examples from the animal kingdom and makes a surprising conclusion that humankind is the most cooperative species, mainly driven by the principle of indirect reciprocity, or reputation and the ability to tout achievements. So, would that mean a bit of narcissistic thinking, boasting and peer pressure is not only healthy, but necessary for evolution and collaboration? Yes and no. The professor employs game theory again, this time a series of games called “Public Goods Games” designed for multiple players, to demonstrate that when in a group environment, even when starting with good intentions, collaboration often fails. Individuals will often act in a manner where self-benefit, rather than group benefit, becomes the individual’s preferred option, ultimately resulting in a loss for everyone. With further experiments, and to save my faith in the goodness of humanity, the author offers a solution to fostering collaboration: people need to be convinced that there’s a real problem threatening them in order to adopt “for the greater good” behavior and also be publicly praised and pressured in line with the reputation principle. One could see this sort of framework helping in many different kinds of situations – from officials trying to solve the European debt crisis or U.S. fiscal cliff negotiations, to any kind of business organization including PSF’s.

In my previous writing I suggested making the system / organization the star to build and foster collaborative environments instead of promoting and rewarding individual performance. Applying the principles articulated in Nowak’s work, I can now expand and prescribe that PSF’s constantly must demonstrate and communicate the importance of growing the organization and the danger of not doing so to the business; become vocal in celebrating client development accomplishments and equally so to learn from failures; and nurture an environment where experimenting with innovative ideas is welcomed.

© 2010-2013 Copyright Mira Ilieva Leonard / iStile All rights reserved

Got Growth: how to position your organization for strategic growth and business model renewal?

A PaperJam Business Club Workshop | January 15th, 2013 | Luxembourg

Per request, please find the framework of the workshop presentation.

Got Growth: How to position your organization for Strategic Growth and Business Model Renewal? from Mira Ilieva Leonard

Like most organizations today, you are probably experiencing increased pressure from your clients, demanding high service at lower prices. That, coupled with the global downfall and near future economic uncertainty, incrementally impacts your organization’s profit margins. In addition to these factors, requiring immediate attention, your organization also faces a more fundamental problem: the need for radical business model renewal driven by the changing regulatory environment and the diminishing value of the “Lux Factor”.

So, how do you go about turning these challenges into opportunities? Join the session and learn how to focus and become strategic and efficient in growing your organization’s business, re-energize and enhance your executive team, and prepare to transform your business into less dependent on the “Lux factor”.

During this workshop you and your fellow peer executives will receive a process for developing and executing your growth strategy, frameworks to find and seize growth opportunities for new markets, prospects and business models, an overview of the necessary internal organization and capabilities to support your growth strategy, a checklist for evaluating your organization’s existing growth strategy and related capabilities and a ”no frills attached” ½ day follow-up growth readiness assessment.

For additional details and to join me and my colleague +Marc Sniukas (Doujak Corporate Development), visit: PaperJam Business Club

© 2010-2013 Copyright Mira Ilieva Leonard / iStile All rights reserved

Systematic approach to business growth

Is there a quick way to sustainable business growth and organizational development for professional services firms?

I like to challenge my own thinking and so, after writing my last articles, “Creating a Culture of Business Growth” and “For the Greater Good Or Eat What You Kill?” I questioned whether it is necessary to address the full business growth system – strategy, support tools, and skills - in order to make sustainable business growth progress. After all, many firms claim to be successful by focusing on only a select few of those business growth related segments. Or, are they? And how have they defined “success” and more importantly, how will they define it going forward?

The ultimate question comes down to the aspirations of firms and their stakeholders. Are you looking to build organizations for the long run? Or, do you only seek short term success with a measurable self-centered economic benefit? If the latter represents shareholders’ objectives, then the non-systematic, “band-aid” approach - as I call it - might be considered success. However, if the professional services firm leaders are focusing on long term gains, then I am afraid the long and systematic approach to building or enhancing business growth platform is the way to go.

A selective segment approach to business growth might have worked in the past for some firms due to extraordinary external market conditions. Those, blended with the young and entrepreneurial spirit of newly formed organizations often lead to quick success, but is ultimately unsustainable I am afraid. That opportunistic viewpoint takes a linear approach without seeing the full picture, and focuses on a sliver of information and limited events. This approach tends to address symptoms instead of curing problems, identifying trends, and thinking long term. It employs reactive tactics and doesn’t provide fundamental and sustainable systems support to track and measure performance and return on business growth investments. There is no investment in developing skills and sufficient support tools to allow the executioners to utilize the tools that fit them most (“one size fits none” when it comes to business growth tactics) and ultimately, to execute on strategy.

If that’s how you are running your organization, and you consider the last paragraph to be the “right approach” and you do not have strategic long term aspirations then stop reading here. This will be the top of the bell shaped curve for you. Don’t waste your time learning how to develop a systems-based approach to help you build sustainable business growth platform and move your organization up the S - curve.

When I went back to research, looking to rebuff my own systems theory and to find a quick and easy way to help professional services organizations increase the velocity of their business development, one of the sources I reviewed was an old favorite business read: The Fifth Discipline: The Art And Practice Of The Learning Organization. Reading it was yet again an eye opening experience. Instead of rejecting my theory, the book helped me reaffirm that a systematic way of approaching sustainable business growth is necessary. It provided me with answers of why some of the short term linear approach business development projects work briefly, but not in the long term. More than that, the book gave me possible answers for some of the narcissistic behavior I observed in “For the Greater Good or Eat What You Kill?”, which I determined limits change in professional services firms, and I have been so desperately looking to decipher. Most importantly, the book illustrated that a comprehensive approach to business growth spreads beyond the segments allocated to Marketing, Business Development and Sales. To make a significant and sustainable business growth impact, leaders should employ multidisciplinary approach.

In his book, the accomplished Peter M. Senge, draws on extensive management research and experience to argue that the traditional management approach is not optimal and in order for organizations to survive, continuously adapt, innovate products and services, and overall develop, they should strive to become learning organizations. According to the author, the process of building and running learning organizations rests upon five pillars: systems thinking (the cornerstone), personal mastery, mental models, shared vision, and team learning. And while the majority of examples he uses do not come from professional services firms, I am convinced that applying some or all of the principles from the learning organization model will help firms manage many the challenges they face, and especially the ones related to business growing.

“Systems thinking is both more challenging and more promising than our normal ways of dealing with problems,” says Senge. I agree. It is about seeing the whole, interrelationships and processes. It helps executives absorb increased amount of information, manage complexity and accelerate change. In business growth terms, it clarifies why when marketing is creating powerful lead generation campaigns, there will be limited if any business growth results if the professionals (or the sales force) are not equipped with the necessary advisory skills, sufficient tools and the system to turn those leads into actual business; why when the professionals bring in new clients, these clients will consider such work commodity and as soon as another service provider comes along with a better value offer they’ll be ready to jump ship, if the organization is not ready to commit the resources to support the new clients beyond technical solutions to build strong relationships and loyalty.

Here is another example of the importance of systems thinking which will resonate with most leaders of professional services organizations. If a firm doesn’t pursue business growth and provide opportunities for growth for its junior professionals (directors, associates, etc.), after a period of time it faces high chances of losing its talent, which it has invested in developing over the years. The question often asked is: do we invest in attracting, developing and retaining new talent (HR), or do we invest in building a solid business growth engine (Marketing / BD) to provide for business continuity. I’d argue that the real questions here are how to balance those two processes, and what are the forces that increase or decrease their progression.

To adopt a systems thinking method, the author recommends that executives start to approach problems by identifying the source of the issues: what’s the core, not the symptom; the forces that support accelerating or decline growth processes, and the sources that would bring stability and resistance, as well as identifying organizational behavior patterns limiting growth, shifting the burden of blame, and others. I would recommend that firm leaders do the same to build and manage sustainable business development platform.

Mind that, as the name of this principle implies, this is not a one-time event. A comprehensive and systematic approach to organizational development and business growth today must be constantly monitored and calibrated, as a slight adjustment of one segment might skew another. To use an already mentioned example, a series of successful marketing campaigns might generate extraordinary amount of sales leads, which the organization, this time manages to convert in new projects, albeit scarce capacity of execution resources. If the capacity issue is not addressed, in the long run professionals will resist further marketing initiatives of fear of overload. I’ve witnessed a multitude of such vicious circles and how liner approach might bring a short term relief, but not long term solutions. As you see, employing such systems thinking is critical for firms.

The rest of the disciplines of learning organizations outlined in the book are easily discarded by most firms because they are considered soft, hard to measure, and often threaten the established order. Each of them however offers important supplement to the systems thinking principal and are critical for building strong organizations. Before dismissing them, I'd encourage professional services leaders to consider application to their firms, especially the ones of mental models, which among other things, explains why change management exercises and introduction to new business growth systems and programs might fall short of success, and the team learning one, which casts light on what's behind the “narcissistic behavior” of professional services organizations, ultimately limiting their growth. Contact me for a full copy of this article, articulating the value of all the principals of learning organizations and their function in professional services environment.

Pressured by economic forces and the evolving model of the professional services industry, firms’ leadership should consider innovative management frameworks. A systematic way of approaching professional services organizations is necessary for their survival, it is critical for their business growth, and inevitable as we live in environment moving towards systematic interconnected sharing culture - open source, social networks, etc. To develop a long term sustainable business growth platforms, firms should learn to utilize such comprehensive approach. They should avoid the temptation to employ quick, short term solutions, addressing individual segments (strategy – systems – skills) of the business growth platform and think how specific changes will impact the entire platform and organization.

Special thanks to the author of “The Fifth Discipline: The Art And Practice Of The Learning Organization” for his extensive research, insight and clearly articulated management frameworks. I would encourage the leaders of professional service firms to pick up a copy of the book and think about applying the principles of the learning organization, beyond the points outlined above.

© 2010-2013 Copyright Mira Ilieva Leonard / iStile All rights reserved

Enhancing Business Growth Planning For Superior Results

Learn from past growth strategies and close knowing-doing gaps to achieve your business goals

As a new year approaches, most organizations prepare to set their goals for 2013 and draft Marketing and Business Development plans to reflect their renewed aspirations. Progressive organizations ensure that part of that process involves performance evaluation of past plans and close appraisal of what has worked, what hasn’t, and most importantly, why or why not. Let’s focus on the latter as in my experience it is the most constructive part of this practice. To make intelligent and educated decisions about future growth strategies, one must first evaluate the success or failure of past ones by questioning the entire strategy development and delivery chain – from the viability of the adopted strategy, to the selected support tactics and their implementation. Judging end results only is short-sighted, unproductive and insufficient. “It didn’t work - let’s discard it and move on”: it is certainly the easiest and fastest approach to strategy review, and no blame is attached. While there is something to be said about this quick, back of the envelope exercise, I would encourage professionals to dedicate time to go through a thorough cost-benefit analysis, employing objective and tangible metrics.

In doing so, and prior to drafting a sound future business growth plan, there are a number of key questions one must answer. I’d recommend starting with the strategy itself. Was the growth strategy feasible? Had the organization dedicated the necessary resources and time to properly execute it? Had the organization allowed enough flexibility in the strategy for it to absorb sudden and unavoidable internal and external changes? A critical strategy development criterion is that a strategy is viable and consistent with the internal characteristics of the organization (structure, systems, people and culture), as well as supported by the necessary financial and human resources. These questions here are critical regardless of the outcome of the strategy as their answers provide learning points and a platform to develop not only enhanced future growth strategy, but also other key segments of the organization.

Once the strategy is evaluated, consider whether the firm’s tactics had supported the strategy. Had the organization utilized the proper mix and balance of tactics such as general awareness building (branding, PR), engagement (social media), thought leadership (articles, surveys), and targeted relationship building? What is the ROI on the various initiatives and at what level should the organization continue to invest in them, if at all? The second question begs another more fundamental question: does the organization have the proper measuring mechanisms in place to help executives evaluate the effectiveness of the business growth strategy? Have you ever heard the popular saying “You Can't Manage What You Don't Measure”? It is very true and important in determining the efficiency of the business growth platforms employed. The “new normal,” dictated by economic uncertainty and tighter financial margins, no longer allows professional services executives to make decisions on soft and anecdotal data. Today, if an organization is not equipped with systems to track and measure performance tied to certain financial commitments, the leadership team will struggle to justify business growth spending and obtain budget approvals.

Last but not least, consider what percentage of the past business growth plans had been put in action. The chances are there is a substantial gap between the plan and practice. The “80 / 20 rule” rears its ugly head: unfortunately, most firms see 80 percent planning and 20 percent doing. Because this is where “the rubber hits the road” I would encourage professional services organizations and their executives to ponder the reasons for such discrepancy and look for ways to bridge or decrease the plan–do gap. One of the most frequently encountered reasons for such disconnect in the professional services market is the mismatch between the organizational / professionals’ strengths and weaknesses with the selected strategy delivery tactics. This is something easily amendable but often underestimated. Organizations and professionals have different inclinations and strengths when it comes to business growth; firms must foster and leverage those with well aligned tactics instead of introducing uncomfortable ones, leading to resistance and avoidance of plan implementation.

Other reasons attributable to the lack of action and the development of “the knowing – doing gap” deal with timing (talk happens immediately and actions, leading to results, much later), organizational culture (unconditional acceptance of implicit and inherited mental models), management practices and compensation models. The latter two, especially when expressed by fear inducing management and internal competition policies, are often mistaken for motivation and drivers of action. Organizational development research shows the contrary. Organizations which build and nurture a collaborative environment (not internal competitive one) manage to turn knowledge into action, share best practices and drive growth at a sustainable and fast pace. So, when examining what’s inhibiting implementation of past business growth plans and overall, the organization, reflect on the factors outlined above and most importantly, take immediate actions to close the know-do gaps.

To ensure that a comprehensive overview of past business growth strategies is complete and productive I would recommend that executives identify and address at least 3 points for improvement, perhaps one of each of the stages outlined: strategy, tactics and delivery. Once equipped with the knowledge obtained from the review process the team can then develop a new, and improved, strategic business growth plan. Good luck!

© 2010-2013 Copyright Mira Ilieva Leonard / iStile All rights reserved

To BD or Not To BD?

I recently launched a special series: "Oldies but Goodies" to bring back some of my favorite pieces I've written throughout the years that are still relevant today. Enjoy!

May 2010 USA

To BD or Not to BD = to focus on business development or not? That’s not even a question worth debating when it comes to leading progressive professional services firms (PSF), if you ask me. But let me spell it out: to survive and grow, business development, on a firm, practice and professional level, is not even a choice – it’s a necessity. Instead of my pun on Hamlet’s famous quote, I’d argue the real question at hand is how to go about doing it. After experiencing the recent business slow down, PSF’s seem to agree and are increasingly encouraging business development actions. And, because the question “how to BD” offers many answers, one of the fastest and quick-fix solutions contemplated by firms is hiring BD professionals. That certainly is a solution, however it might not be the most appropriate one depending on the situation at hand. So, for the purposes of this article let’s think of “To BD or Not To BD” as the PSF dilemma of whether to hire in-house BD professionals or find alternative growth solutions. Let the battle of our inner Hamlets commence.

In my experience working with PSF’s of different shapes, sizes and cultures, I’ve had the opportunity to see when bringing in BD professionals is successful and when it fails. And so, before sharing my thoughts and weighing the pro’s and con’s of hiring BD professionals, please consider the following questions… Does the culture of the firm allow for BD professionals? How would your current and prospective clients feel if they were approached by BD professionals representing the firm? Would the technical professionals accept and leverage the skills and actions of that professional or carry on doing things they've always done, which might not necessarily be the most efficient or effective, or worse yet, sit back and relax because the burden no longer lies with them? These are all significant questions, not necessarily pertaining to the growth of the PSF, but to the organizational cultural domain that is just as significant to the firm’s survival. Reflect on these and other similar culture and client related issues before moving forward, I beg thee.

Now, when the firm culture is built to accept and utilize client development professionals, bringing them on board, with the proper expectations, can be a powerful growth solution. One of my business partners likes to say that ”client development is both an individual and a team discipline” and I agree. BD professionals can “hunt” and at the same time offer leverage to the technical professional service providers (i.e. lawyers, accountants, consultants, etc.) by supporting their individual client development actions. Prospect and referral identification and research, as well as relationship building, at both strategic and tactical levels, customarily require unknown or untapped skills for many technical professionals. The right BD executive will act as a mentor and strive to enhance the talents of the technical professionals, amplifying the impact of their collaborative client development efforts. On a micro level, they will also support the proposal process: from scoping to presenting along with the technical professionals, and working along the marketing team on the presentations, in between. Because when it comes to PSF’s, the professionals are the embodiment of the firms’ brands, the proper BD executives will have the executive presence and gravitas to do just that. And so, on a macro level they will also represent the firm in the community, help build and enhance the brand and goodwill and most importantly develop strategic to growth relationships.

I don’t know about you, but I almost convinced myself that hiring BD professionals (the right ones) is the way to go…well, “almost” and the “right” being the operative words here. Before jumping ahead, a few additional to the culture concerns to keep in mind…The economic downfall has purged many PSF’s of excess and unaccounted for spending, making them more efficient and effective. Why should business development and marketing be treated any other way? So, before casting a vote on BD professionals, ask yourself whether the firm is fully utilizing the resources at hand as well as providing the necessary support systems, tools and skills. Audit the firms’ business development organization to identify any opportunities for enhancement or repurpose. The chances are if you look for improvement and leverage you will find it. When you can say - with a certainty - that all of the PSF’s internal client development resources have been tapped in and exhausted, only then would I recommend considering additional growth alternatives such as hiring BD professionals. Even then, keep in mind that ultimately buyers of PSF services buy the people who will do the actual work. In other words, having BD professionals on staff shouldn’t release the technical experts from their own BD responsibilities, nor the firm from its responsibilities to provide them with the proper support tools, systems and skills programs. However, that often is the case, and it brings a whole new set of growth challenges.

To BD or not to BD – that is the question: whether to grow the PSF with the help of BD professionals on staff. That’s your prerogative, dear reader – I only hope my comments encouraged you to consider the full complexity of the situation; one, which might call for support from experts on creating superior, lasting, predictable client development results for professional service firms.

© 2010-2013 Copyright Mira Ilieva Leonard / iStile All rights reserved

Where In The World Is The Next Generation Of PSF Partners?

Now that I've committed to make time for thought leadership, I am launching a special series: "Oldies but Goodies". It brings back some of my favorite pieces I've written throughout the years that are still relevant today. Enjoy!

March 2010 USA

You know how there are some people that you just can’t help but notice when they walk in a room? They tend to carry a certain air of gravitas, walk taller, speak louder (not shouting) with confidence and command immediate respect – present themselves as a proper executive. Where are these people now? I see fewer and fewer of them in the professional circles these days and most tend to be of what I’d call “old school”. Is the notion of “executive presence” extinct? And if that’s the case, what will the next generation of leadership look like?

Executive presence has always been an unwritten requirement for advancement in a professional services firm. But, now it may be unwritten, unspoken and unnoticed altogether. Living in a quick service society, especially in the US, the younger professionals we work with today appear to approach their professional life and how they present themselves in an extremely casual way. It starts with the way they dress, their preferred methods of communication and language, and most importantly, their pride-in-presentation and confidence (or the lack of both). Is this a function of the Millennium, Gen X, Y, Z (can’t keep track of them anymore) overall breeding or something else? Does this mean that the next wave of Managing Directors will text message their teams and clients instead of writing letters or meeting in-person, change the dress code to “no jacket required” at all times, and…?

Call me old fashioned, but I believe we should bring “executive presence”- and the professionalism it implies - back. We need to groom the next generation of leadership so that they are not only a generation of competent technicians but also advisors that capture their clients’ and colleagues’ confidence. I am glad to report that I am not the only one who has noticed this disturbing trend. Managing Partners and Directors are increasingly bringing the matter up during our conversations on how to elevate their professional force and make them better advisors, client cultivators and leaders. And, it all starts with executive presence. So, what do we do about it? In my experience it takes work on both sides of the equation – current and future leadership – to make a real impact. Here’s what I’ve seen work and might stimulate thinking:

Confidence comes with knowing what one stands for and having the internal strength (ego) to defend that position. Managing partners need to encourage their fresh workforce to start identifying specializations and define their professional claim to fame early in their careers. Professionals who know what they are or aspire to be “famous for” tend to carry themselves with a higher degree of confidence. Up and coming partners need to find the balance between improving their technical skills while serving senior partners and navigating internal politics. A lot of this has to do with the ability to establish and maintain peer-to-peer rapport – both with clients and colleagues – and to assert ones’ point of view with conviction yet patience and poise. Be mindful of each interaction and prepare ahead of time. I often hear from our younger clients that they tend to step back and let the senior professionals run meetings. While that’s most natural because the senior professionals most likely have the experience and perhaps the client relationship, I always encourage them to step up. It starts with a brief conversation with the rest of the colleagues ahead of time defining each one’s role during the meeting. Senior partners need to allow the junior partners equal “airtime”, encourage them to participate if not lead the meeting, become mentors and think of how this sharing of airtime supports the succession of the firm’s leadership and sustenance of its value.

Professional service providers are hired by clients for their advisory and leadership skills. Clients look for outside help, a comprehensive view of the situation and direction on how to go about solving a problem, hence leadership influence. And, in order to get a full view of the situation, professionals ought to understand it first and even before that earn the trust of their colleagues and clients so as to gain a better understanding. The latter takes time and patience which is not something junior professionals have in abundance. Yet, there are ways to get there – put oneself in place of the person across the table from you, listen actively and genuinely, demonstrate emotional intelligence. Remember the person I mentioned earlier in this article? The one that everyone notices when he or she walks in the room? That person can be either a completely arrogant jerk or someone that everyone’s attracted to because of the friendly and reasonable nature of his or her personality. Be the latter one! Radiate positive charisma and you’ll be able to lead both colleagues and clients.

So far, I’ve spoken only of what takes place between the ears of young professionals. How a professional’s thinking manifests in verbal and physical presence is equally important. I was recently in Europe for client visits and was reminded of all the small, external items that add up to make an impact. Most of the professionals I met had excellent command of their tone and language (mind you, they spoke at least three languages each), were always dressed a level up (even in casual situations) and seemed genuinely interested in conversations (made eye contact and smiled). It certainly made me feel I was working with an extremely high caliber of professionals – I am sure their colleagues and clients feel the same way as well. So, dear junior professionals, pay close attention to how you dress and carry yourself. If you’d like to move up to the next level in your career, distance yourself from the current casual fad. Communicate in a crisp and concise manner – sometimes, even, face to face rather than by Twitter - dress up (even on casual Friday’s) and build up the internal confidence to embrace stillness and eye contact.

Is there something to this or do we need not worry about executive presence? Is the power of a quick serve cultural trend too strong to overcome? Even if that’s the case, perhaps that allows you more opportunity - dear future leadership – to dramatically stand above your casual crowd of competitors – with a level of professionalism in thought, words and appearance that allows you to claim impact and influence.

© 2010-2013 Copyright Mira Ilieva Leonard / iStile All rights reserved

"Creating a culture of business growth" for PSMG

After taking unnecessary time off from writing about my experience and expertise in growing professing services firms, here is a preview of my upcoming piece for the publication of the Professional Service Marketing Group (PSMG).

May/June 2012 PSMG 33

In times of tight budgets, scarce human resources and market uncertainty one might argue that it is difficult to talk about building a culture of growth. Many professional services firms claim that it is time to think of survival; growth will follow as soon as clients regain their market stability and begin to grow. I would argue the opposite. It is time now, more than ever,to think about building or re-building the firm culture of growth to ensure progression and successful positioning in the professional services market landscape in the future.

A growth strategy which is dependent on the firm’s clients’ growth will result in no growth at all when clients aren’t growing themselves. Thus, the firm risks being left behind by its competitors. Most clients are currently not growing or growing at a very slow rate. That, coupled with the abnormal client churn rate – clients are struggling to a point they are willing to forgo advisory services for low cost, commodity solutions – leads to a net negative client growth rate.

“Old school” marketing is no longer enough. Clients expect more – it is no longer sufficient that the firm tells them how great it is, what services it provides and how well it goes about doing that. That’s a given. Clients expect that the firm and its practitioners understand the relevant-to them business and functional issues, as well as industry and market trends. This calls for a high level of intelligence and constant education – technical and advisory.

Professional services firms are getting smarter and more aggressive. They are looking for better ways to engage with prospects and are willing to reduce their overall economic benefit just to launch an engagement. Beware of the threats and opportunities that come with such behavior. Loyalty is constantly tested. Client relationships are always up for grabs.

A new generation of professionals and clients expect to engage with progressive organizations. Such firms are defined as transparent, and are engaged in multiple ways of communication with clients and employees, welcoming constant feedback. The new generation of professionals expects to live the brand, meaning that they demand social corporate responsibility, active community involvement and leading edge social media engagement.

The current state of the market offers a multitude of opportunities. The cost cutting trends are opening white spaces in terms of service quality, new service offerings, and improved ways to deliver existing services. That, along with the greater availability of billable professionals to employ new projects,further supports that indeed now is a good time to dedicate to building a culture of growth.

In my professional experience, in order to successfully build a culture of growth one must ensure that the business growth strategy, systems, support tools and skills are aligned and closely connected. Addressing one without the others is as if you are to place a band-aid on a knee cut, without caring for a broken leg or a serious heart problem.

STRATEGY
Start with the business strategy of the firm. Work with the executive team to define clear short and long term strategies, taking into consideration clients needs, market forces and current and future service offerings. Have a clear understanding of what clients and markets are most important for the firm (near and long term), and then define how,when and at what cost will the firm work to attract and retain them. Marketing and business development leaders often struggle at this level due to the gap between them and the executive teams. In mature professional services markets (like the US) that gap is closing as firm management increasingly understands the value of those functions being aligned with them and is open to include them in strategic development discussions. In other markets,such as mainland Europe, where the business growth functions are still narrowly defined as general branding, communication and internal marketing, the disconnect between the business strategy of the firm and the marketing and business development tactics is often clearly evident. Bigger yet is the gap in particular markets, where up to recently marketing and business development functions were ‘nice to have’ but not ‘a must have’.

SYSTEMS / SUPPORT TOOLS
Once a clear business growth strategy is outlined,one must ensure that the support systems, processes, and tools are in place and running smoothly. If not, a fundamental exercise of design or re-design and implementation of such processes is necessary. Systems like Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP), which connect across functions – marketing, accounting, and IT– guarantee that the business growth tactics support the business growth strategy. Such systems also track and measure business growth performance, allowing for timely tactical adjustments, when needed. Additional processes that should also be considered are those that connect and run through the entire client engagement process: from the identification of a prospect through the education, sale, and client retention. Mature professional services markets widely utilize Customer Relationship Management (CRM) to support their strategic development. Newly exposed to marketing of professionals services markets and professional services firms alike are still early adopters of such tools and are often building them in-house. A secondary benefit to such systems is that they often help break organizational silos and increase communication flow within practice areas and departments. Building and living a culture of growth is a firmwide exercise. It includes back and front office functions.

SKILLS
Even if all of the above are in line, if professionals are not aware of the support available to them and equipped for business growth, the project of building a culture of growth will have limited buy in and success. I recommend that firms provide professionals and their support staff with the proper skills by investing in training programs and dedicated in-house professionals. Again, having observed mature professional service markets, I notice that most firms there have already invested in professional staff, expected solely to guide, monitor and act as coaches to professionals. Other markets and firms are still experimenting with the idea by bringing in third party providers. In most cases, that’s executed in an inconsistent manner leading to limited success.

Building a sustainable culture of growth is a necessity for any progressive professional services firm and can be accomplished by following a practical formula: Business Growth = [(Strategy + Systems + Skills) Resources] over Time. To ensure success, I would add focus, patience and firmwide understanding of the importance of the project for the overall health and longevity of the firm.

At the time of the writing of this article, Mira Ilieva-Leonard lead Marketing and Business Development at ATOZ Luxembourg, a high-end tax advisory services firm. Prior to joining ATOZ, Mira was a Partner with a US based consultancy working exclusively with professional services firms to help them grow in a sustainable and predictable way.

© 2010-2013 Copyright Mira Ilieva Leonard / iStile All rights reserved