Accelerated Best Practice Implementing

The professional services market is under continuous pressure to change. Some firms have responded well, many have tried and failed. Professionals are trained to analyze and debate, rather than decide and act. Implementation and speed of response within professional firms remains a key problem. While there are many management books focusing on strategic change, few tackle change in the context of professionals. This book provides practical tools and techniques to harness the intellect and energy of professionals and achieve buy-in and commitment to change in their firms.

Fiona Westwood was a solicitor for 20 before setting up Westwood Associates in 1994 as a management and training consultancy specializing in strategic planning and management development for professional firms from a wide range of sectors, including law, accountancy, surveying, architecture and engineering. Her first book, Achieving Best Practice: Shaping Professionals for Success, was nominated by McGraw-Hill as their September 2000 Book of the Month. She writes regularly for business and professional publications, including The Journal of the Law Society of Scotland and the English Law Society Managing for Success.

Preface

x

Acknowledgements

xi

About the Author

xii

Chapter 1 Introduction

1

(10)

1.1 Introduction

1

(1)

1.2 Pressure to change

2

(1)

1.3 What is the effect?

3

(1)

1.4 Who is this book aimed at?

4

(1)

1.5 What this book sets out to do

4

(3)

1.6 How manageable are professionals?

7

(2)

1.7 Implementation is the key to success

9

(1)

Conclusions

9

(1)

Key Action Points

10

(1)

Chapter 2 Achieving Best Practice

11

(34)

2.1 Introduction

11

(1)

2.2 The Model for Success

12

(1)

2.3 How do we use it?

13

(1)

2.4 Segment 1 Sustaining effective management and leadership

13

(8)

2.4.1 The crucial importance of values

15

(2)

2.4.2 How to identify our values?

17

(2)

2.4.3 Developing trust

19

(1)

2.4.4 Planning

20

(1)

2.5 Segment 2 Maximising our resources

21

(4)

2.5.1 Informed discussions

22

(1)

2.5.2 The Resource Audit

23

(2)

2.6 Segment 3 Building valuable client relationships

25

(6)

2.6.1 Asking our clients

26

(1)

2.6.2 Delighting the customer!

27

(4)

2.7 Segment 4 Choosing the correct development option

31

(5)

2.7.1 Strategic thinking

32

(1)

2.7.2 What choices do we have?

33

(1)

2.7.3 How are we going to get there?

34

(1)

2.7.4 Putting it into practice

35

(1)

2.8 Segment 5 Shaping up for success

36

(5)

2.8.1 The correct structure?

37

(1)

2.8.2 Shaping the skill base

38

(1)

2.8.3 Does size matter?

39

(1)

2.8.4 Moving through the partnership structure

40

(1)

2.8.5 External structures

41

(1)

Conclusions

41

(1)

Key Action Points

42

(1)

Appendix - Business Plan Template

43

(2)

Chapter 3 Tackling Current Challenges

45

(23)

3.1 Introduction

45

(1)

3.2 Review of current professional trends

46

(5)

3.2.1 Key changes in the past 10 years

47

(3)

3.2.2 Strategic shifts for the professional sector

50

(1)

3.3 Review of current management experts

51

(8)

3.3.1 Knowledge Management - what it means in practice?

52

(2)

3.3.2 Innovation instead of creativity

54

(2)

3.3.3 Learning organisations

56

(1)

3.3.4 Partnering - what we all should be doing

56

(1)

3.3.5 Emotional Intelligence

57

(2)

3.4 Where is professionalism going?

59

(1)

3.5 What do professionals want?

60

(1)

3.6 What do clients want?

61

(1)

3.7 The importance of cross selling

62

(1)

3.8 Dichotomies of managing continuous change

63

(2)

3.9 Role of the outsider and objectivity

65

(1)

Conclusions

66

(1)

Key Action Points

67

(1)

Chapter 4 Sustaining Effective Leadership and Management

68

(25)

4.1 Introduction

68

(1)

4.2 What makes a good leader or manager?

69

(1)

4.3 Inspire trust and build relationships

70

(2)

4.3.1 Follow our instincts

71

(1)

4.3.2 Develop and use shared values

71

(1)

4.3.3 Keep using and reinforcing them

72

(1)

4.4 Influencing without authority

72

(3)

4.4.1 Be clear about what we want to achieve

73

(1)

4.4.2 Identify and influence the influencers

74

(1)

4.5 The impact of behaviour

75

(4)

4.5.1 Reward good behaviour

76

(1)

4.5.2 Deal with bad behaviour

77

(2)

4.6 Managing conflict constructively

79

(7)

4.6.1 Identify the sources of conflict

81

(2)

(a) Fight versus flight

82

(1)

(b) Making mistakes

82

(1)

(c) Underlying causes and tensions

83

(1)

4.6.2 Tackle them and allow people to learn

83

(3)

4.7 Ability to listen and communicate well

86

(3)

4.7.1 The power of the story

87

(1)

4.7.2 Learning to listen

88

(1)

4.8 Solve problems and achieve solutions

89

(2)

4.8.1 Plan ahead

90

(1)

4.8.2 Achieve a win-win solution

90

(1)

4.9 How to develop these abilities?

91

(1)

Conclusions

92

(1)

Key Action Points

92

(1)

Chapter 5 Maximising Our Resources

93

(25)

5.1 Introduction

93

(1)

5.2 Implementation is the key to success

94

(3)

5.2.1 The key elements of implementation

95

(2)

5.3 Time Audit

97

(7)

5.3.1 Analysis

98

(3)

5.3.2 Identification of bottlenecks and time stealers

101

(1)

5.3.3 Tackle them

101

(6)

(a) Emails

102

(1)

(b) Meetings

102

(2)

5.4 Focus on achieving results

104

(1)

5.5 Speed, accuracy and consistency

105

(2)

5.6 Risk management

107

(7)

5.6.1 Managing stress

108

(1)

5.6.2 Dealing with mistakes

109

(1)

5.6.3 Client management

110

(4)

(a) Risk Assessment Analysis

111

(1)

(b) Risk Workload Analysis

112

(2)

5.7 Right people in the right jobs

114

(2)

5.7.1 Developing good people

116

(1)

Conclusions

116

(1)

Key Action Points

117

(1)

Chapter 6 Building Valuable Client Relationships

118

(25)

6.1 Introduction

118

(1)

6.2 Good versus exceptional

119

(2)

6.3 What do clients value?

121

(10)

6.3.1 Establish and agree clients' expectations

123

(1)

6.3.2 Agree timescales, levels of service and costs

123

(2)

(a) Talking about money

124

(1)

6.3.3 Develop and retain trust

125

(2)

6.3.4 Be responsive to their needs

127

(1)

6.3.5 Be good listeners

127

(1)

6.3.6 Find proactive solutions to problems

128

(2)

6.3.7 Deliver results not processes

130

(1)

6.4 Implementing cross selling

131

(4)

6.4.1 Educate our clients

132

(1)

6.4.2 Hand holding is not a waste of time

133

(1)

6.4.3 Make sure we reward cross selling

134

(1)

6.5 Value-based selling to win new clients

135

(5)

6.5.1 Winning pitches

136

(3)

(a) Contextualise what we do

136

(2)

(b) Listen to them

138

(1)

6.5.2 Informal presentations

139

(1)

6.5.3 The importance of stories

140

(1)

6.6 Marketing and branding

140

(1)

Conclusions

141

(1)

Key Action Points

141

(2)

Chapter 7 Choosing the Correct Development Option

143

(24)

7.1 Introduction

143

(1)

7.2 Know what we want to achieve

144

(1)

7.3 Stage 1 Market analysis

145

(5)

7.3.1 Application to our own firm

146

(2)

7.3.2 Use what clients want and value

148

(1)

7.3.3 Focus on the long term

148

(2)

7.4 Stage 2 Identifying and developing options

150

(5)

7.4.1 Innovative thinking

151

(2)

7.4.2 Expansion as an option?

153

(1)

7.4.3 What do we need to be sure of?

153

(2)

7.5 Stage 3 Selection and implementation

155

(8)

7.5.1 Organic growth

155

(3)

7.5.2 Accelerated growth

158

(2)

7.5.3 Downsize

160

(1)

7.5.4 Niche

161

(2)

7.6 Market positioning

163

(2)

7.7 Knowledge Management - knowing what we are good at

165

(1)

Conclusions

166

(1)

Key Action Points

166

(1)

Chapter 8 Shaping up for Success

167

(25)

8.1 Introduction

167

(1)

8.2 The correct structure revisited

168

(3)

8.2.1 Emotional Intelligence and its effect on our shape

169

(1)

8.2.2 Knowledge Management and its effect on our structure

170

(1)

8.3 Flexibility and the ability to change

171

(4)

8.3.1 Reward people

172

(1)

8.3.2 Instil energy and innovation

173

(2)

8.4 Mobility in the market

175

(6)

8.4.1 Why is this happening?

175

(2)

8.4.2 The problems caused

177

(1)

8.4.3 What needs to be done

178

(2)

8.4.4 Opportunities created?

180

(1)

8.4.5 How to prevent it happening

181

(1)

8.5 Shaping the skill base and sustaining success

181

(9)

8.5.1 What makes a good partner?

183

(3)

8.5.2 The selection process

186

(2)

8.5.3 What do we need to do to make it?

188

(2)

Conclusions

190

(1)

Key Action Points

190

(1)

Appendix - Career Profile

191

(1)

Chapter 9 Putting it into Practice

192

(15)

9.1 Introduction

192

(1)

9.2 What skills do we need and how do we develop them?

193

(2)

9.3 What does a successful firm actually do?

195

(3)

9.4 Techniques and tools

198

(2)

9.5 Flexible and adaptable

200

(1)

Conclusions

201

(1)

Key Action Points

201

(2)

Appendix - Detailed Action Plan

203

(4)

References

207

(2)

Index

209

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Accelerated Best Practice Implementing Success in Professional Firms

Summary

Author Biography

Table of Contents

Supplemental Materials