Leading Professional Service Firms
- Upcoming Sessions
- (1 of 2)
- Dates: 21–26 JAN 2024
- Format: In-Person Learning takes place on the HBS campus or a designated location.
- Location: HBS Campus
- Fee: $17,250
- Dates: 05–10 MAY 2024
- Format: In-Person Learning takes place on the HBS campus or a designated location.
- Location: HBS Campus
- Fee: $17,250

Professors DeLong and Fubini examine the issues facing today's firms.

"The biggest lesson I learned at Leading Professional Service Firms was: We are who we recruit!"
Summary
As entry barriers rapidly disappear, competition is accelerating and reshaping the business landscape for professional service firms. Navigating this continual change successfully requires extraordinary leadership abilities. This professional service firm management program provides the frameworks you need to develop and retain talent, deliver outstanding client service, and build a flexible corporate culture that can exploit disruptive innovation and market trends.
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Summary
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As entry barriers rapidly disappear, competition is accelerating and reshaping the business landscape for professional service firms. Navigating this continual change successfully requires extraordinary leadership abilities. This professional service firm management program provides the frameworks you need to develop and retain talent, deliver outstanding client service, and build a flexible corporate culture that can exploit disruptive innovation and market trends.
DetailsExpand AllCollapse All
Design and implement effective strategies that drive growth and profitDesign and implement effective strategies that drive growth and profit
- Differentiate your firm in the context of new competitors and market trends
- Sharpen core competencies to deliver maximum value to your clients
- Maintain strategic and operational alignment and focus through business ebbs and flows
Attract, develop, and retain talented professionalsAttract, develop, and retain talented professionals
- Foster both organizational success and individual achievement
- Create an intimate, flexible culture that is inclusive, supportive, and collegial
- Help professionals manage rising expectations, remain productive, and grow throughout their careers
- Develop leaders at all levels of your organization
Become a more effective, impactful leaderBecome a more effective, impactful leader
- Implement meaningful governance, decision-making, performance approaches, and metrics
- Optimize the use of your time and energy, achieve work-life balance, and help your colleagues to do the same
- Communicate your vision and strategy effectively and inspire others to realize their potential
Expand your personal and professional networkExpand your personal and professional network
- Extend your network by living and working with accomplished executives from various backgrounds, industries, and countries across the globe
- Build relationships with a diverse group of peers who can provide wide-ranging insights into your business challenges and career decisions
Design and implement effective strategies that drive growth and profit
- Differentiate your firm in the context of new competitors and market trends
- Sharpen core competencies to deliver maximum value to your clients
- Maintain strategic and operational alignment and focus through business ebbs and flows
Attract, develop, and retain talented professionals
- Foster both organizational success and individual achievement
- Create an intimate, flexible culture that is inclusive, supportive, and collegial
- Help professionals manage rising expectations, remain productive, and grow throughout their careers
- Develop leaders at all levels of your organization
Become a more effective, impactful leader
- Implement meaningful governance, decision-making, performance approaches, and metrics
- Optimize the use of your time and energy, achieve work-life balance, and help your colleagues to do the same
- Communicate your vision and strategy effectively and inspire others to realize their potential
Expand your personal and professional network
- Extend your network by living and working with accomplished executives from various backgrounds, industries, and countries across the globe
- Build relationships with a diverse group of peers who can provide wide-ranging insights into your business challenges and career decisions
Who Should Attend
- Leaders who define and execute strategy for firms and organizations that provide services and who serve in roles such as chief executive officer, general manager, principal, partner, or head of an office, business unit, or practice
- Participants may be responsible for accounting, architecture and engineering, marketing and advertising, venture capital, investment banking, software development, technical systems integration or law firm management, or may represent a hospital or university
- May also be suitable for: Past participants who attended the program before 2017, when the curriculum was substantially revised and expanded

Program for Leadership Development participants earn 5 PLDA Points on completion of this program.
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Who Should Attend
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- Leaders who define and execute strategy for firms and organizations that provide services and who serve in roles such as chief executive officer, general manager, principal, partner, or head of an office, business unit, or practice
- Participants may be responsible for accounting, architecture and engineering, marketing and advertising, venture capital, investment banking, software development, technical systems integration or law firm management, or may represent a hospital or university
- May also be suitable for: Past participants who attended the program before 2017, when the curriculum was substantially revised and expanded
Program for Leadership Development participants earn 5 PLDA Points on completion of this program.
Dive Deeper into the ExperienceSee how exchange with faculty and peers yields new insights into critical business trends.Thrive in a learning environment that welcomes diverse ideas and perspectives.Global perspectives > Leadership growth > Organizational impact.
Learning and Living at HBS
When you participate in an Executive Education program on the HBS campus, you enter an immersive experience where every aspect of the learning model has been carefully designed to facilitate your growth. Your learning will take place on your own, in your living group, and in the larger classroom, driven by the renowned HBS case method.
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Learning and Living at HBS
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When you participate in an Executive Education program on the HBS campus, you enter an immersive experience where every aspect of the learning model has been carefully designed to facilitate your growth. Your learning will take place on your own, in your living group, and in the larger classroom, driven by the renowned HBS case method.
Admissions Criteria and Process
Answering Your Questions
Application Submission
Application Review
Fee, Payment, and Cancellations
Answering Your Questions
Application Submission
Application Review
Fee, Payment, and Cancellations
What You Will Learn
Your rich learning experience will include multidisciplinary faculty presentations, case studies, and individual and group exercises. Through an intensive and comprehensive curriculum, you will examine the strategic challenges that have transformed the essence of client service, while exploring best practices for developing, governing, and growing a profitable service firm.
During the program, you will develop a personal case based on a specific challenge facing your service organization. After presenting your case and discussing potential actions with peers and faculty, you will leave with a plan you can implement immediately.
Participants should expect to spend at least 9-12 hours on self-paced case preparation prior to attending the program. Case materials will be made available approximately two weeks prior to program start.
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What You Will Learn
-
Your rich learning experience will include multidisciplinary faculty presentations, case studies, and individual and group exercises. Through an intensive and comprehensive curriculum, you will examine the strategic challenges that have transformed the essence of client service, while exploring best practices for developing, governing, and growing a profitable service firm.
During the program, you will develop a personal case based on a specific challenge facing your service organization. After presenting your case and discussing potential actions with peers and faculty, you will leave with a plan you can implement immediately.
Participants should expect to spend at least 9-12 hours on self-paced case preparation prior to attending the program. Case materials will be made available approximately two weeks prior to program start.
Key TopicsExpand AllCollapse All
Managing talentManaging talent
- Why are so many firms about 30 years behind in their appreciation of human capital and talent management?
- What are the warning signs of talent problems?
- What is your talent strategy—where are you going and how will you get there?
- How can you employ big data and artificial intelligence in recruiting and managing talent?
- How are compensation models changing—and what does that mean for your organization?
Managing teamsManaging teams
- How do you get individual contributors to work effectively in teams?
- What is the difference between visible and hidden teams—and why does it matter?
- How do you leverage your time and energy more effectively when managing others?
- How can you be more effective and also have a life outside of work?
Managing attritionManaging attrition
- How should you respond to poor engagement scores?
- Is it enough that your engagement scores remain the same?
- Are you avoiding the tough conversations that you need to have?
Leading with impactLeading with impact
- What does it mean to be an authentic leader?
- Would your team choose you as their boss?
- How can you make a difference in the lives of the people you lead? How will that affect their leadership style and the future of the firm?
- How will you lead change? Can you really change yourself, an organization, and an industry? Why do smart professionals resist change?
Professional service firms and governanceProfessional service firms and governance
- Why are partnerships being used more often as organizing and governing structures?
- How has global firm management changed over the past few decades?
Special sessionsSpecial sessions
- An in-depth look at the major challenges and opportunities facing the global economy
- A hands-on exercise in exploring the assumptions that executives make when communicating without enough information
- A deep dive into the latest strategies in digital marketing, social media, and direct mail
Managing talent
- Why are so many firms about 30 years behind in their appreciation of human capital and talent management?
- What are the warning signs of talent problems?
- What is your talent strategy—where are you going and how will you get there?
- How can you employ big data and artificial intelligence in recruiting and managing talent?
- How are compensation models changing—and what does that mean for your organization?
Managing teams
- How do you get individual contributors to work effectively in teams?
- What is the difference between visible and hidden teams—and why does it matter?
- How do you leverage your time and energy more effectively when managing others?
- How can you be more effective and also have a life outside of work?
Managing attrition
- How should you respond to poor engagement scores?
- Is it enough that your engagement scores remain the same?
- Are you avoiding the tough conversations that you need to have?
Leading with impact
- What does it mean to be an authentic leader?
- Would your team choose you as their boss?
- How can you make a difference in the lives of the people you lead? How will that affect their leadership style and the future of the firm?
- How will you lead change? Can you really change yourself, an organization, and an industry? Why do smart professionals resist change?
Professional service firms and governance
- Why are partnerships being used more often as organizing and governing structures?
- How has global firm management changed over the past few decades?
Special sessions
- An in-depth look at the major challenges and opportunities facing the global economy
- A hands-on exercise in exploring the assumptions that executives make when communicating without enough information
- A deep dive into the latest strategies in digital marketing, social media, and direct mail
The HBS Advantage
Our Executive Education programs are developed and taught by HBS faculty who are widely recognized as skilled educators, groundbreaking researchers, and award-winning authors. Through their board memberships, consulting, and field-based research, they address the complex challenges facing business leaders across the globe.
Senior Lecturer of Business Administration
C. D. Spangler Professor of Business Administration
Baker Foundation Professor of Management Practice
Senior Lecturer of Business Administration and C. Roland Christensen Distinguished Management Educator
Edsel Bryant Ford Professor of Business Administration
Senior Lecturer of Business Administration
Senior Lecturer of Business Administration
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The HBS Advantage
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Our Executive Education programs are developed and taught by HBS faculty who are widely recognized as skilled educators, groundbreaking researchers, and award-winning authors. Through their board memberships, consulting, and field-based research, they address the complex challenges facing business leaders across the globe.
Faculty ChairSenior Lecturer of Business Administration
HBS Unit:Organizational BehaviorFacultyC. D. Spangler Professor of Business Administration
HBS Unit:Technology and Operations ManagementBaker Foundation Professor of Management Practice
HBS Unit:Organizational BehaviorSenior Lecturer of Business Administration and C. Roland Christensen Distinguished Management Educator
HBS Unit:StrategyEdsel Bryant Ford Professor of Business Administration
HBS Unit:MarketingSenior Lecturer of Business Administration
HBS Unit:General ManagementSenior Lecturer of Business Administration
HBS Unit:General Management
Your Peers Expand Your Learning
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Your Peers Expand Your Learning
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Global PerspectiveExperience the world in your classroom.Global PerspectiveExperience the world in your classroom.2%Africa15%Asia Pacific30%Europe6%Latin America4%Middle East43%North America2%Africa15%Asia Pacific30%Europe6%Latin America4%Middle East43%North AmericaExperienceExperienceYears WorkedYears WorkedExperienceYears WorkedLess than 10 yearsLess than 10 years10-14 years10-14 years15-19 years15-19 years20-24 years20-24 years25-29 years25-29 years30-34 years30-34 years35-39 years35-39 years40 years or more40 years or moreLess than 10 yearsLess than 10 years10-14 years10-14 years15-19 years15-19 years20-24 years20-24 years25-29 years25-29 years30-34 years30-34 years35-39 years35-39 years40 years or more40 years or more

Professors DeLong and Fubini examine the issues facing today's firms.
