As the chapter on relationship building suggested (Chapter 5), we must find ways not only to be credible, but also to give the client the sense that we are credible. We must illustrate, not assert. Wh...
Managers should be hassle absorbers, not hassle creators.
Make sure you’ve done absolutely all your homework on the client company, the client marketplace, and the client individual, and that it’s absolutely up to the minute. Even if you know them and their...
WHAT IS IT?The one-firm firm approach is not simply a loose term to describe a culture. It refers to a set of concrete management practices consciously chosen to maximize the trust and loyalty that me...
It is important to note that while goods are consumed, services are experienced.
Make sure meetings have clear goals, not just agendas, and ensure the goals are met. 4.
Speak with expression, not monotonically. Use body language, eye contact, and vocal range. Show the client you have energy around the subject at hand. 5.
We don’t want people to be interested in us as a means to an end, as a destination for their own purposes. We want people to be interested in us as fellow-voyagers, people who care about us enough to...
The solution for an individual firm must always address three perspectives in any organizational review: structure (how we are formally organized); processes (how different types of decisions are to b...
The biggest leverage for reliability enhancement probably lies in the emotional realm. The more a provider can do to understand and relate to the usually unconscious norms of the client, the more the...
The best service professionals excel at two things in conveying credibility: anticipating needs, and speaking about needs that are commonly not articulated. For
The attitude of exclusive professionalism (which restricts the label of professionalism to the advisor) manifests itself in a number of dysfunctional ways. It reinforces a misleading belief that the a...
It is ironic that a business in which the serving of clients depends so heavily on interpersonal psychology should be peopled with those who believe in the exclusive power of technical mastery. And
Sincerity, the way we usually mean it, has to do with intentions; we assume it comes from within. But our clients have no way to observe sincerity except through external behaviors. From certain behav...
Send meeting materials in advance
By starting with caring (working from the inside out), we open ourselves to possibilities and become willing to go where the client will take us. The skill or action behaviors can then fall on fertile...
These goals are not unique to us. Our best competitors almost certainly have similar, if not identical goals. If we are to outperformthem, we don't need a better vision, but a better approach to makin...
In early Greek society, particularly in Athens, democracy meant the equivalent of a permanent town meeting—all decisions of consequence were made in public assembly. As many professional service firms...
Profitability will not come from managing hygiene factors alone: Future profitability depends on health as well—and firms’ methods of measuring, reporting, and managing need to reflect both.
Less formally, we consider the time it takes someone to return a phone call, whether meetings are canceled or kept, and whether to-do lists are completed. Reliability
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