Professional Services Management

We are in the golden era of boutiques. The business models of your clients are being disrupted. This makes it virtually impossible for them to have all the required expertise in-house. They are looking for external expertise. They have big budgets to spend. Clients are buying from boutiques in record numbers. The sun is shining. Time to make hay.

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.

Years ago, developing and sustaining a book of business was not as big a problem for accountants, attorneys, financial planners, and other professionals as it is today. Clients were more loyal to the firms they worked with, and unlikely to shop your services, compare rates, or jump ship. Times have changed! And if you don't change along with them...well, you're not going to enjoy yourself or have as much control over your career as you deserve. Believe it or not, you can enjoy the process of expanding your client base.

The Customer Success Manager has become a critical asset to organizations across the business landscape. As the subscription model has spread from the cloud and SaaS to more sectors of the economy, that pivotal role will only grow in importance. That's because if you want to compete and thrive in this new environment, you need to put the customer at the center of your strategy. You need to recognize you're no longer selling just a product. You're selling an outcome.

Are You the Biggest Obstacle to Your Own Law Firm's Growth? You didn't go to law school to become a professional bottleneck. Yet here you are—reviewing every document, approving every decision, wondering why your talented team can't function without you. You've hired smart people and worked harder than ever. So why does everything require your approval? Why does growth feel impossible? The truth: you've trained your team to be helpless. Every time you step in "just this once," every time you redo their work, you reinforce their dependence. Meanwhile, you're drowning in work that shouldn't...

Productize draws on the 25+ years of experience that Eisha Armstrong has in successfully creating, launching and growing productized services. Eisha knows what works and what doesn't and she is passionate about making sure organizations learn from each other and avoid reinventing the wheel.

The Blue Square Method is a philosophy and process for the enlightened fee-for-service professional who is striving to grow on their own terms. Panoramic success requires continual refinement and optimization both personally and professionally. This actionable playbook is designed to put you on a predictable trajectory and ensure you never plateau.

"Conquer the CSCP Exam: Your Guide to Becoming an APICS Certified Supply Chain Professional" is an essential resource for individuals aiming to achieve the prestigious Certified Supply Chain Professional (CSCP) credential from APICS. This comprehensive guide is meticulously designed to cover all the critical areas of the CSCP exam, including supply chain design, planning and execution, supply chain improvements and best practices, and compliance. Each section is structured to provide a deep understanding of the concepts, supported by real-world examples and case studies that bring ...

Healing through Connection is more than a book—it’s an invitation to rediscover yourself as a healer and as a human being. Written with deep compassion and honesty, it reimagines what it truly means to serve, to care, and to heal—both within your profession and within your own life. Inside this book, you’ll find practical tools, communication strategies, and restorative practices you can use right away. But you’ll also encounter something far more rare: a safe place to explore the emotional landscape of healthcare.

In this first-of-its-kind book, seasoned security pros Christian West and Brian Jantzen share lessons learned from years of protecting some of corporate America's most prominent people. Full of practical, hands-on information, this guide provides a comprehensive overview of how to conceive, build and run successful executive protection programs in corporate settings. With insights that only experience in all phases of program execution can provide, the authors dig into the key questions that corporations need to ask and answer.

Never Say Sell explains how to scale individual engagements into long-term business relationships. Cowritten by Tom McMakin, the coauthor of How Clients Buy and expert in account development, and colleague Jacob Parks, this book provides insights into how key rainmakers at firms like Accenture and IBM drive growth from existing relationships. Never Say Sell is a business development guide for professional service providers like consultants, accountants, and lawyers, whether they are sole proprietors or members of account teams tasked with expanding key accounts.

This book is your step-by-step guide to building something bigger—something durable. With 50 succinct, hard-hitting lessons, you’ll learn how to create a business that is valuable, profitable, investable, and able to grow well beyond your career. Unlike selling to a third party, succession planning is a gradual transition of ownership and leadership—often over 10 to 20 years. If done right, it can change not just your exit, but your entire approach to building and leading your firm.

Passing the ITIL exam is not about memorizing definitions. It is about understanding how the ideas fit together and being able to recognize the best answer when the wording gets subtle. ITIL For Busy People was written for candidates who do not have unlimited study time but still want to walk into the exam prepared, confident, and clear-headed. This book strips away unnecessary theory and focuses on what the ITIL exam actually tests, using practical explanations and exam-aligned practice to turn short study sessions into real progress. This guide is designed to work especially well ...

Anyone can have a good idea. Very few can turn it into a million-dollar one. Until now. It’s challenging to start and scale a business. Choosing the cloud as your platform for delivery and headquarters presents a whole new set of obstacles. This guide will allow you to leverage the cloud to streamline your processes and maximize your profits.

Turn Your Photography Passion Into a Profitable Business Success in portrait photography isn’t just about mastering your camera — it’s about building a powerful brand, understanding your clients, and creating a business that thrives. In The Professional Photography Playbook, acclaimed Master Photographer and Photographic Craftsman Jeff Lubin shares the exact strategies he used to build a 7-figure portrait studio. This no-fluff guide is packed with tools to help you: Craft a signature style that sets you apart Attract high-paying, loyal clients Build long-term marketing partnerships ...

There's a Customer Born Every Minute reveals the lost wisdom of famous entrepreneur and showman, P. T. Barnum. Barnum was much more than a showman; he was a dedicated businessman and entrepreneur with a razor-sharp mind. In this delightful and absorbing new edition, Joe Vitale reveals the secrets of Barnum's success and shares the 10 key business practices that Barnum developed and lived by.

Amazon Description (Single Option, Long, Scannable, Enticing) Understanding ITIL is only half the battle. Remembering it clearly and quickly under exam pressure is what actually moves your score. ITIL Flash Cards was created to solve the recall problem busy candidates face after reading and listening. You may understand the concept when you hear it in the audio or read it in the book, but days later the definition is fuzzy, the terms blur together, and confidence drops. These flash cards are designed to stop that from happening. This book contains 1,000 digital flash cards built to work ...

There will always be a need for excellent school leaders. Bret Allan Anderson is one of these, as his career shows. Unlock the secrets to transformative leadership with Bret Allan Anderson’s Urban Principal: Leadership Lessons. This riveting journey of insights and strategies will inspire you to lead with purpose and impact. Anderson shares what he has learned as an educator and long-term administrator—lessons that transcend the world of education which would be helpful to any leader. Developing and mentoring leaders is his passion. Bret Allan Anderson has over 30 years in education—...

Getting ahead requires you to think strategically, embody specific values to help you stand out amongst your peers, and successfully navigate and build relationships with internal stakeholders. ‘How to Advance Your Career in Professional Services Marketing’ takes a deep inside look into how to go from a junior role to a senior role within the world of professional services marketing. Previously, if one wanted to learn how to advance their career within the industry in marketing and career management, they would have to learn on the job, read multiple books and combine the information of...

Conventional wisdom says most startups need to be in Silicon Valley, started by young engineers around a sexy new idea and backed by VC funding. But as Mikkel Svane reveals in Startupland, the story of founding Zendesk was anything but conventional. Founded in a Copenhagen loft by three 30-something friends looking to break free from corporate doldrums, Zendesk Inc. became one of the hottest enterprise software companies, rapidly growing with customers in 150 countries. But its success was anything but predestined.