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Managing The Professional Service Firm (Paperback)

by David H. Maister (Author) "One of the most interesting discoveries in my consulting work has been the fact that (apparently) every professional service firm in the world has the..." (more)
Key Phrases: service quality program, partner compensation, attracting new clients, Goldman Sachs, Solving the Underdelegation Problem, Guru Associates (more...)
4.9 out of 5 stars See all reviews (53 customer reviews)
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Editorial Reviews

Review
James L. Heskett Professor, Harvard Business School; co-author of Service Breakthroughs David Maister's name is synonymous with the latest thinking in professional service firm management. This book suggests why. -- Review

Review
Frederic W. Gluckformer managing director, McKinsey & CompanyImportant reading -- not just for managing partners, but for new associates.

Tom Petersauthor/co-author of In Search of Excellence, Thriving on Chaos, and Liberation ManagementThe professional service firm is the best model for tomorrow's organization in any industry. When it comes to understanding these firms, David Maister has no peers.

James L. HeskettProfessor, Harvard Business School; co-author of Service BreakthroughsDavid Maister's name is synonymous with the latest thinking in professional service firm management. This book suggests why.

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

  • Paperback: 384 pages
  • Publisher: Free Press (June 9, 1997)
  • Language: English
  • ISBN-10: 0684834316
  • ISBN-13: 978-0684834313
  • Product Dimensions: 9.2 x 6.1 x 1.1 inches
  • Shipping Weight: 1 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
  • Average Customer Review: 4.9 out of 5 stars See all reviews (53 customer reviews)
  • Amazon.com Sales Rank: #5,056 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

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    #30 in  Books > Business & Investing > Small Business & Entrepreneurship > Entrepreneurship

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Inside This Book (learn more)
First Sentence:
One of the most interesting discoveries in my consulting work has been the fact that (apparently) every professional service firm in the world has the same mission statement, regardless of the firm's size, specific profession, or country of operation. Read the first page
Key Phrases - Statistically Improbable Phrases (SIPs): (learn more)
service quality program, partner compensation, attracting new clients, partnership governance, personal billable hours, industry specialty groups, practice development time, work assignment system, fictional firm, most professional firms, practice development activities, many professional firms, origination credits, large professional firms, leverage structure, nonbillable time, motivation crisis, average partner, project team structure, client marketplace, nonbillable hours, professional service firm, performance counseling
Key Phrases - Capitalized Phrases (CAPs): (learn more)
Goldman Sachs, Solving the Underdelegation Problem, Guru Associates, Wall Street, Surviving the People Crisis, Strength of Relationship, How's Your Asset, Coordinating Industry Specialty Groups, The Motivation Crisis, The Art, Hewitt Associates, Grey Hair, Quality Work Doesn't Mean Quality Service, Partner Performance Counseling, Arthur Andersen, Build Human Capital, Creating the Collaborative Firm, United States, Managing the Marketing Effort, The Practice Development Package, Tom West, Marvin Bower, Making the Network Work, Raspberry Jam Rule
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Citations (learn more)
This book cites 3 books:
 
86 books cite this book:
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Customer Reviews

53 Reviews
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 (49)
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Average Customer Review
4.9 out of 5 stars (53 customer reviews)
 
 
 
 
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews

 
31 of 31 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars An utterly excellent guide to managing a consultant firm, January 12, 2001
If you have ever worked in, been a partner or managed a consultancy firm, this book will not only answer a lot of your troubling questions, it will also explain matters that you did not know the questions to - just the obnoxious frustration of something that was not working.

It is with incredible ease, yet depth and understanding that David H. Maister plough through the important issues that concerns not only managing partners in a consultant company, but anyone who wants to climb up the ladder. He explains why you got to balance your workcrew (juniors up to partners) and why it is so vitally important to mix people on the right combination of projects (brains, grey hair and procedure projects) as this builds up the firm's human capital, and provides the means and profitability to continue to grow steadily. I could go on but space does not allow me to. This book is not filled with theoritical babble but practical and useful information, no - knowledge and experience!

The book is divided into seven parts (personal highlights inside brackets): basic matters, client matters (quality work does not mean quality service!), people matters (building human capital, the motivation crises), management matters (creating a strategy), partnership matters (the art of parner compensation), multisite matters (the collaborative firm, hunters and farmers, etc.) and asset management. All in all it comprises of 32 chapters.

You won't find many books that explains service business any better than this one. I know because I went searching.

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16 of 17 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars The top book on the subject, March 31, 2005
By therosen "therosen" (New York, NY United States) - See all my reviews
  
This is the top book on the subject, by the one author who specializes only in the niche of Professional Services Firms. There are numerous tactics in the book for improving one's practice, but it is a couple theoretical points that have the most value.

First, the book describes the pyramid nature of the professional services firm, describing how the profitability of a firm is derived. (A partner bills out the pyramid below him) Therefore, the two drivers for profitability of a partner are how much he can bill his (or her) people out for, and how big the pyramid beneath her (or him) is. There are many tactical points presented for improving these, but it really helps focus the energy of the partner to think about the two main drivers. What about growth? In and of itself, adding partners with their own pyramids will not help the profitability of other partners.

What good is growth, then, if it doesn't drive profitability? Growth is needed to encourage top employees to stay with the firm. A firm that is growing 10% a year has many more opportunities than one growing 5% a year. This counterintuitive idea (growth is more important for career advancement than size) is a great cue for picking the right place to work. If the growth stops, it is time to move on.

The book is near timeless - perhaps the only way time has passed it by is in the ownership structure of professional services firms. At this point in time, many (most?) top consulting and financial services firms are public. Does this change the assumption that growth no longer benefits the shareholders?

Any employee or leader of a professional services firm is well advised to read it!
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16 of 17 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars Consummate Consulting Guide, March 15, 1999
By A Customer
Maister does a great job of summarizing the rules, objectives, and pitfalls of most service organizations. This was required reading (perhaps still is) for Andersen Consulting managers. It is very easy to read and can be put to use immediately.

Some of the basic issues that plague service firms are raised without a proposed fix. Partner billable hours is the metric that drives short term thinking. It would seem that Partner profit would be the better metric.

An Outstanding book that is applicable to law, medical, technology, and strategic service firms.

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Most Recent Customer Reviews

5.0 out of 5 stars Enduring and Reliable Guide
I first purchased this in 1994 while working as senior consultant at Price Waterhouse. It soon became a dog-eared copy as my partners and colleagues borrowed it and used it often... Read more
Published 15 hours ago by Jeff Swystun

4.0 out of 5 stars Great Sales Resource Targeted for Services
Anyone in a professional services firm looking for sales resources has experienced what I experienced in my 15 years in sales and sales management - Many of the sales resources... Read more
Published 2 months ago by Craig Cortello

5.0 out of 5 stars Practical and very accessible
This text is a classic resource on the professional service firm, and as a consultant this reviewer appreciates the accumulated wealth of knowledge the author graciously decided... Read more
Published 3 months ago by Erik Gfesser

5.0 out of 5 stars Informative and Useful
I was recently elected as managing partner of a law firm. I found much of the book very helpful, especially the information about leverage and under-delegation. Read more
Published 9 months ago by Clark D. Opdahl

4.0 out of 5 stars Good Information
While the book lacked some of the details I was looking for, it has excellent information on running a service firm. Read more
Published 9 months ago by Greg E. Fox

5.0 out of 5 stars The First Book You Must Read Before Building Your Own Professional Services Firm
Before you bother to build or "scale" a professional services firm, you must read this book. One of my mentors recommended this book to me in 1995 and it was a "must read" then... Read more
Published 9 months ago by Theresa Moulton

5.0 out of 5 stars Excellent for Law Firm Managing Partners
I purchased this book out of sheer luck, by reading a review to law firm start up book that recommended professional services firm management books. Read more
Published 9 months ago by O. Cazac

5.0 out of 5 stars Great reading for beginners and experienced managers
I have 10 years experience in managing consulting company. When I red just first chapters of this book I immediatelly have started to implement some ideas described there and it... Read more
Published 13 months ago by Jacek Mamot

5.0 out of 5 stars A Great Resource
I have used this book to implement many new processes into my business. This sits in my bag or on my desk all the time. It's a great resource.
Published 15 months ago by Rudy Flyer

5.0 out of 5 stars A classic
This book is worth its weight in gold. Well written, great ideas, very helpful for anyone involved in or starting a consulting firm.
Published 17 months ago by Marc J. Fine

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