Managing the Professional Service Firm

International expert and consultant David Maister offers a brilliant and accessible guide to every management issue at play in professional firms.

Professional firms differ from other business enterprises in two distinct ways: first, they provide highly customized services and thus cannot apply many of the management principles developed for product-based industries. Second, professional services are highly personalized, involving the skills of individuals. Such firms must therefore compete not only for clients but also for talented professionals.

Drawing on more than ten years of research and consulting to these unique and creative companies, David Maister explores issues ranging from marketing and business development to multinational strategies, human resources policies to profit improvement, strategic planning to effective leadership. While these issues can be complex, Maister simplifies them by recognizing that "every professional service firm in the world, regardless of size, specific profession, or country of operation, has the same mission statement: outstanding service to clients, satisfying careers for its people, and financial success for its owners."

Author: David H. Maister
Publisher: Free Press
Published: 06/09/1997
Pages: 384
Binding Type: Paperback
Weight: 0.98lbs
Size: 9.26h x 6.14w x 0.95d
ISBN13: 9780684834313
ISBN10: 0684834316
BISAC Categories:
- Business & Economics | Management | General
- Business & Economics | Entrepreneurship
- Business & Economics | Leadership

About the Author
David H. Maister, one of the world's leading authorities on the management of professional service firms, is the author of several successful books, including Managing the Professional Service Firm, True Professionalism, and Practice What You Preach, and coauthor of The Trusted Advisor.