Soft is Hard and Hard is Soft

Peters and Waterman published In Search of Excellence in 1982. It had a profound impact on the direction of my life but that’s not important. What is important is the 7-S model that they revealed in that publication remains today, one of the mainstay’s of the McKinsey consulting methodology. Continue reading “Soft is Hard and Hard is Soft”

Some Observations on Where Technology is Taking the Profession

Recently I was writing a piece for inclusion in the 2014 Good, Bad and Ugly inter-firm comparison study being done by Business Fitness in Australia. I thought some of my readers might be interested in the thoughts I had back in March 2000 when I wrote this and the references to an earlier paper I wrote in 1998. Continue reading “Some Observations on Where Technology is Taking the Profession”

The Mindset of a Winner

Can you imagine going to McDonalds and asking for a curry then wait while they shut down the grill so they an make your meal?  I laughed when I hear this question posed by David Maister. In the conversation I’m referring to he added a hugely important point that is not understood by so many practitioners and that is, if you really want to known for something you can’t do a little bit of a lot of things.

This is precisely the same point Seth Godin makes in the video interview below that is appropriately titled the Mindset of a Winner. The interview took place around the time he published his read-in-an-afternoon book called The Dip which is well worth reading.

In the Dip, Godin starts by taking issue with an inspirational Lombardi quote about quitters never winning and winners never quitting. He suggests that winners often quit but what makes the difference is they know when to quit: they just quit (or choose not to do) the right stuff at the right time. He then goes on to give guidance on when to quit and when to persevere. I think this is essential reading for people who have a tendency to FTI.

shutterstock_44027830I wrote a Briefing Paper for our Practice Innovation Workshop participants that draws together Godin’s thoughts with the Hedgehog Concept that Jim Collins talks about in Good To Great – another book worthy of your eyes if you want to build a great firm. If you would like to download a copy of the briefing paper click here.

 

 

 

 

 

Customer Centricity vs Organization Centricity: Where does your firm fit?

Could I be so bold as to ask you a question? When you visit a service provider (e.g. your accountant, lawyer, dentist, doctor – whoever) are you thinking to yourself “gosh I hope she makes sure she benefits from our relationship?” Or are you thinking to yourself “gosh I hope I get some value from our relationship?” Continue reading “Customer Centricity vs Organization Centricity: Where does your firm fit?”