The Professional Services Firm Bible [Hardcover]

John Baschab (Author), Jon Piot (Author)

Book Description

ISBN-10: 0471660485 | ISBN-13: 978-0471660484 | Publication Date: November 19, 2004

Spanning everything from legal firms and architects to fundraisers and dentists, the professional services industry continues to experience spectacular growth yet remains largely undocumented in business literature. Until now.

The Professional Services Firm Bible is a sophisticated and comprehensive guide to running a highly productive professional services organization. Top consultants John Baschab and Jon Piot provide specific and sharply defined policies, practices and tools for each important aspect of managing the professional services firm, allowing you to assess current operations and develop a step-by-step plan for realising measurable productivity improvements. Further, the book will help you improve financial performance by managing costs, getting the most from external vendors and improving revenues.

The Professional Services Firm Bible is full of best practices, proven advice and practical techniques and includes a CD-ROM with customizable tools every professional services firm can use to achieve improvements.

Please visit www.iig1.com and www.impactinsights.com for more information on the book and top consultants John Baschab and Jon Piot.

Editorial Reviews

From the Inside Flap

The Professional Services Firm Bible is a comprehensive, sophisticated guide to every aspect of operating all types of mid-sized professional services firms—from law and accounting firms to consulting, real estate offices, and marketing companies. Focused primarily on growing firms with several to hundreds of professionals, it presents a wealth of expert advice for firm partners and managers who want to dramatically improve their business and keep their clients and professional staff happy.

Each chapter is written by a well-known expert practitioner who shares his or her knowledge, experience, and personal stories, providing a wide range of perspectives on a specific topic area. Together, these different voices present a complete set of best practices for modern firms, as well as practical, real-world solutions for every vital function—from sales and marketing to operations to human resources to staff management.

Focused on what it takes to successfully grow a small to mid-sized firm, readers will find field-tested advice on such important topics as:

• Building a sales approach that meets the needs of a growing firm
  
• Designing marketing, sales, and businessdevelopment strategies that really work
  
• Expanding firm business through the development of new product offerings and strategic partnerships
  
• Creating an optimal partnership and organization structure
  
• Managing and developing professional staff
  
• Accurately auditing and measuring the firm's performance and developing meaningful improvement plans
  
• Growing and leveraging firm assets and resources
  
• Designing the ideal information system for the firm
  
• Effective management of functional areas, including HR, finance, and accounting
  

Most important, readers will find specific policies for building a management and decision-making structure that ensures accountability and efficiency, as well as a wealth of management tactics specifically designed for small to mid-sized firms. Best practices offer invaluable help for back-office functions such as accounting, legal, and IT, while the accompanying CD-ROM includes diagrams, spreadsheets, checklists, and other useful tools. With expert guidance on every facet of professional services firm operation, The Professional Services Firm Bible is the one resource no firm can do without.

From the Back Cover

THE PROFESSIONAL SERVICES FIRM BIBLE

A comprehensive guide to every aspect of firm operation:

• Governance
  
• Organizational structure
  
• Compensation
  
• Sales management
  
• Marketing and advertising
  
• Business development
  
• Contract negotiations
  
• Intellectual property
  
• Writing proposals
  
• Strategic partnering
  
• Quality assurance
  
• Training and professional development
  
• Recruiting and retention
  
• Project management
  
• Risk management
  
• Finance and accounting
  
• Purchasing and procurement
  
• Vendor management
  
• Information technology
  
• Legal issues
  
• Office management
  

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Hardcover: 576 pages
• Publisher: Wiley (November 19, 2004)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0471660485
• ISBN-13: 978-0471660484
• Product Dimensions: 9.2 x 6.8 x 1.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 2 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 2.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (1 customer review)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #190,349 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
  • #93 in Books > Business & Investing > Industries & Professions > Consulting

More About the Author

John Baschab is the author of three books from John Wiley & Sons on financial management, services firm management and technology.

His latest book, Outperform, highlights the investment practices of billion-dollar endowments and relates them to concepts for individual investors.

Bio
John is a graduate of the University of Alabama and the University of Chicago Booth School of Business.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

8 of 14 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars No the bible, July 1, 2005

By 

Leopoldo Gomez (Dominican Republic) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: The Professional Services Firm Bible (Hardcover)

Sorry, but this is not the bible of PS. It is too superficial and very basic. There are other books on the subject tha can claim the bible title, i. e. The Business of Advising, or Maister's books.