The Professional Service Firm50

Fifty Ways to Transform Your "Department" into a Professional Service Firm Whose Trademarks are Passion and Innovation! (Reinventing Work

Tom Peters thinks that you can turn you "dept."--be it the HR "dept." or the payroll "dept."--into a professional service firm with the same level of creativity and commitment of the firms we always seem to hear about--McKinsey & Co., Chiat/Day, and Kleiner Perkins Caufield & Byers. In The Professional Service Firm50, Peters spells out 50 ways to transform your "dept." into a client-centered, passionate organization. His advice ranges from "Bring in wild and woolly outsiders. E-x-p-a-n-d the box" (no. 27) and "A rabid scheduler is a must!" (no. 32) to "Become a Research & Development evangelist" (no. 35) and "Provide 'project management-leadership' opportunities" (no. 45).

The Professional Service Firm50 joins Peters's Reinventing Work series, which also includes The Projects50 and The Brand You50. Like that of all the titles in this series, this book's presentation--especially its bouncing typography--is distinctive and at times overwhelming. Nevertheless, managers looking to inject new ideas and life into their departments will find lots of high-energy advice here. --Harry C. Edwards

50Lists Credo:

Y-O-U CAN MAKE A DIFFERENCE!
BASH YOUR CUBICLE WALLS!
RIP UP YOUR DILBERT CARTOONS!
THE WHITE COLLAR REVOLUTION IS ON!
90 PERCENT OF OUR JOBS ARE IN JEOPARDY!
TAKE CHARGE OF YOUR LIFE! (Life-Time Investments & Peter Drucker's : Managing Oneself)
SUBVERT THE HIERARCHY!
MAKE EVERY PROJECT A WOW!
BE DISTINCT ... OR EXTINCT!
IT'S A NEW MILLENNIUM: IF NOT NOW... W-H-E-N?

5O Lists: Series Introduction:

We aren't knocking Dilbert. Who would dare? But we do believe that work can be cool. THAT THE WORK MATTERS. -Tom Peters

Work—yours and mine—as we know it today will be reinvented in the next ten years. It's as simple as that. And as profound. Here's why...

The tough old union militant remembers. In 1970 (not exactly an eon ago) it took 108 guys some five days to unload a ship full of timber And now? Container daze: eight guys... one day.

It happened on the farm when the thresher came along. It happened in the distribution center when the forklift arrived. And it happened dockside.

But, hey, it's the new millennium. Ninety-plus percent of us—even in so-called "manufacturing" companies—work at white collar jobs. Fact: We haven't touched—or really even bothered with—white collar productivity. Never Until now...

It's a brand-new ballgame. THE WHITE COLLAR REVOLUTION IS ON! The accounting "shop" is coming under the same productivity searchlight that those docks did. And we think we have an inkling of what the new rules will be.

The revolution: Information systems. Information technology. Enterprise Resource Planning systems. Intranets.

Knowledge-capital-management schemes. Enterprise Customer Management. The Web. Globalization. Global deregulation. Etc. Etc. All fueling a—no hype—once every 100, 200, 500 (?) years revolution.

• Contents
  • 50 Lists: Credo
  • 50 Lists: Series Introduction
  • Reinventing Work: the professional service firm 50
  • Introduction: The Inexorable "PSF" Logic
  • I. PSF = Inc. + clients + projects!
    • 1. THINK INC.
    • 1a. Commit "Cool."
    • 2. Think (Eat, Sleep, Breathe, Talk Up) Client. Period
    • 3. Select Clients Very Carefully
    • 3a. Seek Out Client's Who Are Leaders
    • 3B. Fire Clients. Upon Occasion
    • 4. Turn Every "Task" Into Aproject
    • 4a. The Work Matters!
    • 5. Become A Catalyst For Revolution. (Why Not?) (What Else?)
  • II. portfolio quality!
    • 6. Visit Every Client.
    • 7. Create An Immodest Current Projects List
    • 8. You Are A Venture Capitalist
    • 9. Conduct A Weekly—Or A More Frequent—Formal Current Projects Review
    • 9a. Words . . . Matter. E.G.: "Engagement."
  • III. impact!
    • 10. Transform Every "Job" Into A . . . WOW! Project
    • 11. Never Ever Compromise Your Identity
    • 12. Pursue Passion
    • 13. Measure: Did We Make An Impact?
    • 14. Tom's Epithet No. 1: "Thoroughly Professional But Not Provocative."
    • 15. Lead Your Client!
    • 16. Another—Flavor—Of—WOW: Politics
    • 17. PSF Success Boils Down to … The Fine Art of Balance
    • 18. Accounting (Etc.) Is A Performing Art
    • 19. Speaking of Accounting … Remember The Bottom Line: "Business—ing"
    • 20. Got Any Quirky Projects On The List?
    • 21. Think … Legacy
    • 22. Pitch In … Bail Out!
    • 22a. Practice Serial Monogamy
    • 23. PSFs Need Vision Statements!
    • 23a. We Help People!
  • live with 'em!
    • 24. Clients An Integral Part Of Every Project Team
    • 24a. Cohabit With The Client!
    • 24b. Turn The Client Into An Expert!
    • 24c . Engage Client In A Measure "Risk Progression" Process
    • 25. Insist That Clients Submit A Formal Evaluation Of "Your People" (And "Their People") At The End
    • 25a. Think External
    • 26. Client—Centric = PSF Imperative
    • 27. Bring In Wild And Woolly Outsiders. Expand The Box
  • a culture of urgency
    • 28. Create A "Sense Of Urgency"/" Excitement"/"Vibrancy"/"Buzz."
    • 29. Hot Teams Thrive In Hot Spaces
    • 30. Celebrate Constantly. Celebrate Any Success
    • 30a. Projects—Worth—Doing Are Bumpy
    • 30b. You Need A Clown!
    • 31. Love Thy "Support Staff."
    • 32. A Rabid Scheduler Is A Must!
    • 32a. We're In This For The Money!
    • 33. Pay Attention To The "Hard Stuff" … e.g. Methodology
    • 34. Embrace Marketing. (a.k.a. Selling)
  • knowledge—is—us!
    • 35. Become a Research & Development Evangelist
    • 35a. Devote A Sizable Share Of Effort/Revenues To Knowledge Development
    • 36. Turn Your Current Portfolio Of Projects Into A … Research & Development Playground/Gold Mine
    • 37. Think Design
    • 38. Evaluate The Possible Bases of PSF Competitive Advantage
  • VII. talent!
    • 39. Become A Connoisseur Of Talent
    • 39a. We Want To Be A Magnet For Talent
    • 40. Cherish Instability! Mix Up Teams!
    • 40a. Mix Redux: Encourage Turnover!
    • 41. Demand That Every PSF Member Be Known Something
    • 41a. Admiration Beats Affection
    • 42. Champion Passion. Champion Perfection.
    • 43. Create Stories/Mythology Around "Project Winners."
    • 44. Train. Teach The "Professional Service Firm Basics" … With A Vengeance
    • 45. Provide "Project Management—Leadership" Opportunities … ASAP
      • RANKS AT MCKINSEY & CO. A CASE IN POINT
      • T.T.D./ Performance—Opportunity "Culture"
    • 46. Cherish Great Listening Skills
    • 47. Geeks—The Antisocial, Masterful Diggers—Of—Obscure—Facts—Should Be Adored!
    • 48. Challenge! Challenge! Challenge!
  • VIII. it's ours!
    • 49. Think … Dream … Act: WOW! Beauty! Impact! Distinction!
    • 50. We Own This Place!
    • Address To Senior Partners Of A Major International Professional Service Firm
  • The Movement!
  • READING SUGGESTIONS

Books in this series

• The professional service firm50: transform your "department" into a professional service firm whose trademarks are passion and innovation!
• The brand you50: fifty ways to transform yourself from an "employee" into a brand that shouts distinction, commitment, and passion
• The project50: or; transform every "task" into a project that matters!