Category Archives: Professional Services

Float Like a Butterfly, Sting Like a…?

In watching the rerun of “Ali” over the weekend, I was transfixed by the man on a mission, the fighter originally known as Cassius Clay. Muhammad Ali was motivated by multiple factors. He fought for Allah…for the repressed…for black men and women who yearned to be free…for his own self-worth. Stronger, more experienced fighters were knocked down and out time and again by this focused innovator of the boxing ring. Ali had the incredible footwork that made him elusive and seemingly able to “float like a butterfly.” Added to the footwork, he had a lethal left hand that, in his words, “stung like a bee.” This formidable combination proved almost unstoppable throughout a career that spanned a couple of decades.

In what ways is a prizefighter like a business executive? There’s the obvious–not everyone will agree with your beliefs and practices. Sometimes, we are called to make a stand on a life issue that is much bigger than ourselves or event the moment of competition. For many, a career pursuit is an opportunity to find fulfillment as we exercise our gifts and abilities and hope that our contribution to society has been positive and enduring.

But, beyond the esoteric comparisons, what else can we as business leaders derive from Ali and his legacy? He came into boxing at a time when standing toe-to-toe and slugging the other fighter into submission was the conventional wisdom. What did he do differently? He changed the game! By incorporating speedy footwork designed to force others to come to him, emphasizing endurance, and furious arm/hand speed, Muhammad Ali demonstrated that brute force could be overcome, just as other methods of warfare have been replaced over time. The “sting” of Ali was his counterpunching capability–to absorb what the competition threw his way, and to come back with a vengeance and knockout blow to the head.

In what ways have you undertaken a game-changing strategy? When your industry, product, service, talent, etc would dictate the terms to you, do you roll over and take it? Or, do you devise a unique approach that suits your unique competitive advantage and exploit it to gain an upper hand? Are you daring in the face of such long odds? Most of the innovators of our time have been

As to your counterpunch, do you have what it takes to observe the competition’s best effort, take it in stride, and initiate your own offensive? Does it deliver a “sting?” Or, is it benign and overlooked for lack of potency? Arise and conquer! Find a way to “punch” back when your adversary is resting on laurels. Develop your own effective means to TKO them and win your prize.

May you develop the knack to float like a butterfly and sting like a…

 

Tsunami On Hold

In a recent article, “Six Reasons the Tidal Wave of Business Transitions Has NOT Happened,” Wayne Rivers of The Family Business Institute in Raleigh NC suggests why the huge predicted transfer of closely held business ownership and management has not occurred. He writes of delayed retirement, lack of specific vision for retirement, and inability to sell the businesses as key factors. The result is that the outcomes anticipated have been put on hold–but it’s still a question of when and not if.

We concur with Mr. Rivers’ assessment that most businesses are not ready for sale. Some do not generate enough top line revenues; others do not create enough earnings/profits. As we have mentioned in prior posts, a critical part of any business–be it a family-owned one or professional services firm, or any of a myriad of other combinations–is the executive acumen of the team leading the business. If too many decisions are made by to few people, the business is flat out worth less money. Since the person/people selling are planning an exit, what executive prowess exists prior to the sale either will not persist in the near term or soon thereafter. Any buyer studying this phenomenon would have to be wary of buying a controlling position or entire company under these conditions. The buyers, in most cases, do NOT want to manage the company; they want a qualified team in place who can manage it well on their behalf.

When privately held business owners recognize this major hurdle, they can begin to devise a way to leap over it. Often, the advice of a consultant or coach can help in multiple ways. First, by preparing the management team to grow in their authority and decision-making. (The team must, of course, be committed to stay as well.) Secondly, the senior and retiring leaders can be coached to build a new future for themselves that is challenging and rewarding. Finally, a plan can be developed that takes into consideration how to prepare the various stakeholders for the transition to come.

For those who prepare their business systematically for sale, there is better news on the horizon. Private equity groups have money to invest, are paying more than they have in four years, and are looking for opportunities to build a segment presence through roll-ups or narrowly focused portfolios. According to a mergermarket.com report last year, 19% of deals were in industrials and chemicals, 18% in services, and 15% in technology, media and telecommunications in the twelve month lookback period.

In the same mergermarket report, private equity executives said that inadequate management reporting was a top problem 47% of the time and management capability limitations 33% of the time. Shore up your management methods! Prepare to ride the tidal wave of interest in buying private companies as an outcome of the hard work you perform to get your leadership team up to speed to lead without you.

 

 

Super Blues Day

When we are in a presidential election year, the first Tuesday in March brings a flurry of primaries and caucuses that are a strong influence in the nomination process. Often, the candidate who does exceptionally well on that date is propelled into a position of strength at the convention due to the results. The other candidates can be left “singing the blues” if their candidacy is negatively impacted by their showing. In many ways, business performance has its own “Super Tuesday” impetus.

The budgeting process in professional services firms can be likened to the Super Tuesday effort. Once per year, strategic planning leads to goal setting and the development of the financial plan for the upcoming fiscal year. Decisions are made to invest in recruiting, professional development, marketing, client development, client retention, and the other line items that constitute the operating accounts of the firm.

Champions of the first five listed disciplines are almost pitted against one another in vying for limited “discretionary” funds. The opportunity to articulate a business case for greater investment in the category of one’s specialty is a beauty pageant “won” usually by the fortunate individual(s) whose programs align with where the executive committee is motivated to invest. Those who do not receive the funding they would like are similar to political candidates who do not win enough states–their careers are not over, but they realize that they have suffered a setback that is visible to all.

To avoid the “bluesy” sense of winning and losing, firms need to become more savvy in the way they approach the process. Many firms with less than 50 total employees don’t have the luxury of having full time staff for even one of these very specific roles. There may be a generalist who oversees multiple categories (e.g. an HR director, firm administrator, or combo marketing and business development person), but not specialists with an experience base as deep as the billable professionals have in their own respective fields. What’s a firm to do? How about hiring the expertise on a fractional basis? In this modern age of telecommuting, contract workers, and flexible work environments, chances are high that one could secure insightful contributors without having to provide benefits or create a new full-time position.

The bigger challenge, however, is not simply getting professional (in their own field) leaders, but changing the strategic planning process to become more inclusive. Having these leaders participate earlier in the strategic planning process can yield great results for your firm. It may very well be that they would bring competitive intelligence about what other peer firms are doing. It is likely that they can sharpen one another’s areas by hearing what is of concern and passion. At the very least, they become more actively engaged stakeholders in the decisions that are made with regards to goals, budget and direction.

Avoid the post-budgeting blues by changing the way you develop your strategic plan and goals. Professionalize the management of your firm through intentionally building a team of smart leaders in the “back office.” Create the culture where your firm looks forward to your internal Super Tuesday season as a way to coalesce and build momentum!

Firms Outperform Industry By 22% With Design, Develop Deploy Approach

Would you like for your firm to be a market leader? Who wouldn’t, right? Yet, are the firm leaders willing to do what it takes to distinguish themselves from the crowd? If you are the managing partner, practice group leader, executive committee member, or key client group leader, you set the tone for culture and performance.

McKinsey found in a 2010 study that organizations who rank in the top quintile in talent management outperform their industry by 22%. By talent management, we mean grooming professionals throughout their careers to enhance competency, contribution, and performance–regardless the yardstick. However, traditional talent programs often fall short because they do not incorporate the best practices of organizational development.

Layers for Development

Organizational development components are more holistic and  include organization design, business development, work generation and management, and strategic business model communication.  The OD spectacles view recruitment, nurture, and retention of  legal talent as an expression of firm values, identity, vision, goals, strategy, and essence.  As Jim Collins in Good to Great describes the importance of helping the right people find the right seat on the bus, it is important inside firms to develop a system for aligning talent management with firm management.

The graphic to the right depicts the need for a cascading set of goals whereby organizational goals are broken down to team/practice area/section goals, and further still to individual goals. As firms find a way to chart a career development path that includes a competency model and clear role maps, the members of the firm and the teams on which they serve become more proficient in serving client needs and reaching business objectives.

Clarifying responsibilities for client acquisition, project management, and client retention guides the development of assignments that groom not just the technical, but also the soft skills necessary for achievement.  Competencies such as self awareness, self regulation, motivation, empathy and social skills  can be developed as a vital part of an overall career development plan that intentionally aligns experience, assignments, and mentoring needed with the exigency of getting billable work done.

  • Design your organization for success
  • Develop your people for greatness
  • Deploy human capital to serve meaningful client needs

Content With No Content

Does your professional services firm have a strategy to produce, distribute and repurpose content for multiple market segments? If it does, you are in the minority. Best practices are to create and disseminate content to enhance search engine rankings. Philosophically, billable professionals have insights to share and there are numerous venues for thought leadership to be established. The fact of the matter is, sadly, that the professionals simply are not easily engaged to sit down and generate the content.

The almighty billable hour, the internal metrics, and the likelihood that most would prefer to do the work than to write about it, are all reasons one may choose not to blog, write articles or white papers, or post updates ad tweets. Simply put, very few firms have much experience creating an environment that acknowledges and rewards contributions to thought leadership that do not produce an immediate return. Performance measurement and incentive compensation practices will need to be revised in order to encourage content production as a preferred behavior within the daily, weekly, etc schedule.

If, like other forms of outsourcing, the firm were to contract with a contractor to produce content on behalf of the billable professionals, it would most likely lack the technical acumen and personal passion necessary to be an intriguing, gripping read. However, contract content editors may be a very good idea. Either a staff person or outsider could help to determine themes, subjects, and nuances that would make the content more readable in layman terminology.

Revise & Refine

 

Become discontent with unsatisfactory content–both in terms of volume and quality. Find ways to change the corporate culture to celebrate the content revolution. Articulate the increased stature and visibility that authors enjoy. Recruit firm leaders to demonstrate their personal commitment to writing–even when it produces no immediate revenues. Finally, make writing an assignment. Section/niche leaders should have a scheduled slot for covering their “beats.” Those aspiring to become partners can demonstrate their drive by taking on writing responsibilities. With content editors, these activities can be managed to successfully produce great content, repurpose it for other social media uses, and promote firm expertise.