Leading Professional Service Firms

Your Course of Study

Through in-depth case analysis of successful service firms, you and a select group of leaders from other firms will explore the latest strategies for building world-class, highly profitable service companies. By analyzing issues common to the service-driven business model, you will acquire the skills to define the best strategy for your firm and to drive the execution of that strategy. Just as important, you will assess and improve your own performance, balancing leadership responsibilities with your client-service demands.

Curriculum topics include:

Addressing Industry Challenges

  • Examining how the service sector has grown and evolved, and what these changes mean for company leaders
  • Establishing and communicating service value throughout the organization

Creating the Best Professional Staff and Corporate Culture

  • Reviewing key considerations for hiring, developing, and motivating a highly skilled professional staff
  • Rewarding your star performers on service delivery or management tracks
  • Creating staff incentives to ensure the effective execution of your strategy
  • Operating as one company across offices, divisions, service lines, and geographies
  • Fixing broken or suboptimal cultures in teams, groups, or companies

Controlling Your Destiny

  • Responding to market shifts with innovative services
  • Leading change in your industry and your company to maintain your competitive edge
  • Establishing best practices for corporate governance, including frameworks for formulating strategy and making informed strategic decisions
  • Implementing models for scaling successful services and managing mergers and acquisitions
  • Understanding the leader's role and balancing both short—and long-term demands on your time

"Leading Professional Service Firms has helped me to become a better leader. The program addresses major issues that relate to people, business, governance, and values. As a result, I am now focused on rewarding people who develop others and on aligning individuals' interests with the firm's goals. I believe that this will improve their motivation and also will lead to better long-term productivity."
Aimee George-Leary [Senior Associate], Booz Allen Hamilton, Inc., U.S.