Here you will find a series of articles dealing with key strategic issues affecting professional services firms.

The articles have been published in a broad range of specialist journals and magazines.

The Role of Competitive Intelligence in Shaping Strategy
Published in Competitive Intelligence for Law Firms
(June 2008)                  
There are many models in use that help decision makers better understand their competitive position and to guide their strategy formulation. They range in complexity from the intellectually impenetrable through the overwhelmingly obtuse to the stunningly simple.
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Powers of Persuasion
Strategy series opinion piece published in Managing Partner Magazine (June 2008)
When Dale Carnegie said: “There is only one way to get anybody to do anything. And that is by making the other person want to do it”, he struck at the essence of the art of persuasion. In Verbal Judo George Thompson reinforced this view: “The goal of persuasion is to generate voluntary compliance… The great communicators have that art. They somehow get people to do what they want them to do by getting them to want to do it.”
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Driving Growth
As the gravy train grinds to a halt...
Masterclass article published in Managing Partner Magazine
(May 2008)
Following a number of years in which revenue growth has been achievable without too much effort, there will be many management teams with the misplaced belief that they have a strong business model. In truth, during the bull years, the volumes of work available means that all can feast. A period of recession will provide evidence of those businesses with underlying strengths, as opposed to those that were simply in the right place at the right time.
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You Don’t Know What You Don’t Know:
How to use superior knowledge to drive business development
Strategy series opinion piece published in Managing Partner Magazine (April 2008)
When boiled down to its essence, what does a professional-services firm do if not manage knowledge and ideas (in the broadest definition of these words) and develop relationships. Indeed, from a business-development perspective, one of the most interesting areas to explore is the knowledge embedded in client relationships, both individual and systemic, that can be used to shape better ways to build a strong client franchise.
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The White-Knuckle Ride of Reputation Management
Strategy series opinion piece published in Managing Partner Magazine (March 2008)
As Benjamin Franklin so wisely said, “It takes many good deeds to build a good reputation, and only one bad one to lose it”. His words should be a wake-up call for managing partners that have placed their trust in the fingers-crossed method of reputation management, rather than adopting a more thoughtful and measured approach.
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I’ll tell you what I want, what I really, really want...
Article published in Legal Marketing Magazine
(February 2008)
The return of the Spice Girls and their Wannabe anthem offers a timely reminder to professional services marketers of the requirement to understand and deliver the needs of their clients. This is best achieved by listening instead of telling and by acting on the basis of a deep understanding rather than a range of self-serving suppositions.
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Avoiding a Cultural Cacophony
Strategy series opinion piece published in Managing Partner Magazine (December 2007)
Everyone accepts that we live in a multicultural society and operate in a world where barriers to business across national frontiers are dismantling at an ever increasing rate. There is positive potential for firms in their response to these cultural challenges and opportunities.  Culture is a key driver for professionals. The overriding cultural norms of any profession govern the behaviour of its members and the unique culture of any firm is also a huge potential source of differentiation.  
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Is Anybody Listening?
Strategy series opinion piece published in Managing Partner Magazine (November 2007)
Technology has enabled mass communication at a level never before experienced. With over 12,000 specialist publications in the UK, enabled by improved technology and ever-reducing production costs, the ability to talk in a highly focused way is at a new threshold. This promise of highly targeted messages together with the compelling propositions they can carry
has enticed many professional firms into the brave new world of direct marketing communications with their clients and prospects.
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Moving from Technical Excellence to Business Nous
Case Study published in Professional Development Strategies for Law Firms (October 2007)
Ambitious firms recognise that being excellent at their core legal skill is simply not enough – creating an enhanced commercial understanding of their clients’ needs and building the business development skills of their people are two ways in which the firm can create a strong and enduring brand position.
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Time to wake up and smell the coffee
Feature published in Legal Marketing magazine (October / November 2007)
The best businesses have an insatiable hunger to make things better for both their clients and themselves. For those law firms which have adopted a less ambitious approach to marketing and business development strategy, it is time to take a long hard look at their existing processes and how these can be strengthened for business success.
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Sometimes You Must Burn Your Boats
Strategy Series opinion piece published in Managing Partner Magazine
(October 2007)
Keeping your options open is a philosophy to which many management teams subscribe, either overtly or by their actions. This isn’t to say that unwavering dogma is a good thing, but rather that a clear sense of direction, being prepared to say ‘no’ to ideas that don’t fit, and a commitment to achieving objectives, are crucial components of a successful firm.
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Do you judge a book by its cover?
Strategy Series opinion piece published in Managing Partner Magazine (September 2007)
For professional firms too much emphasis on the cover and not enough on the content has heralded the demise of many a branding initiative. Moreover, firms’ inability to walk the talk of their brand promises has sadly done more than waste oodles of money. It has actively disenfranchised clients and confused the market.
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Ch-Ch-Ch-Changes (turn and face the strain)
Strategy Series opinion piece published in Managing Partner Magazine (July / August 2007)
The trepidation with which David Bowie’s lyrics approach the topic of change is mirrored by the behaviours of management teams in professional firms everywhere.
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Horses Choosing Courses – How Refreshing!
Legal Marketing Magazine Cover Feature (Volume 2, Issue 2, June / July 2007)
Every horse can win a race, but selecting the right race to run in is key. Law firms should choose the arenas best matched to their capabilities for differentiation and competitive advantage.
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Balancing the business
Strategy series opinion piece published in Managing Partner Magazine (June 2007)
The ‘balanced scorecard’ has taken its place in the glossary of management terminology to such an extent that it is easy to assume all managing partners are fully conversant with the theory and are applying it to their firms on a daily basis. Neither of these assumptions is necessarily true, however.
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Opportunity Knocks?
Thought Leader article published in KM Legal Magazine (May / June 2007)
The support departments in major law firms have proved as effective as their practice group counterparts at building edifices and creating silos.
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More Than Embossing The Wallpaper
Published in Professional Marketing Magazine (June 2007)
The twelfth annual PM Forum Global Conference in September will address one of the biggest challenges facing professional service firms today; how does a firm create an environment in which innovative thinking can flourish, that allows clients and firms to create deep bonds and where the best ideas are used to create compelling marketing propositions?
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Birds of a Feather
Cover feature of Legal Marketing Magazine (April 2007)
A perplexing question: Are business development and knowledge management strange bedfellows or birds of a feather? The insightful answer: When boiled down to its base elements, all that a law firm does is leverage knowledge and leverage relationships.
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It’s my ball and you can’t play with it
Published in Legal Marketing Magazine (April 2007)
“It’s my ball and you can’t play with it!” is both the mantra of the incorrigible infant and the modus operandi of the petulant professional. Behind the phrase lies an implicit understanding, “we can play together, perhaps even playing the game that you want to play, but only if ultimately I’m in control. Take away my control and I’ll take away my ball!”
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Is unqualified success possible in the 21st Century?
Published in Professional Services Marketing Group Magazine (January 2007)
The credibility of marketing and marketers within professional services is a perennial issue.  Many marketers in the sector find the low esteem in which they are held by the firms that employ them both frustrating and demotivating. However, credibility and the opportunities to do stretching and challenging work are not birthrights but must be earned. One of the foundations is a solid grounding in marketing theory coupled with its application to professional services.
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Innovate or Die!
Opinion Piece (September 2006)
Innovation is like managing a football team, everyone thinks that they can do it, a few people actually do it, but only a handful make a success of it.  It is also widely recognised as being one of the most important pre-requisites for building a sustainable business in the 21st Century.  But what is it? Why is it so important and how can we foster an innovative climate within the professional service sector?
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What can knowledge management contribute to
business development?
Published in Know-How in the Legal Profession, Managing Partner Best Practice Management Series (April 2006)
What about the knowledge embedded in the relationship with the client or contact? Why isn't this seen as being and integral part of knowledge management by many law firms?
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Differentiation: Developing the right approach for you
Published in Managing Partner Magazine (April 2004)
The strategic approach that you adopt for your firm is unlikely to provide a complete solution to the differentiation challenges that you face. This is because you will have to decide a practical path that reconciles your strategic theory with the reality of your firm and all of its idiosyncrasies, personalities, politics and taken-for-granted assumptions about the way that it operates.
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Differentiation: Choosing the battles to fight
Published in Managing Partner Magazine (March 2004)
In any business situation, it is crucial to make active choices about the battlefield on which you wish to compete. These choices also direct the investment of scarce resources within a firm, which need to be prioritised and aligned with clear strategic objectives.
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Differentiation: Why does it matter?
Published in Managing Partner Magazine (February 2004)
There must be a clear framework that allows coherent decisions to be made about the future direction of the business. These decisions will not just guide marketing and sales activity but will also influence recruitment policy, IT strategy, working practices and indeed the whole shape of the business going forward. If the strategy fails to do this, then it isn’t a strategy, it’s just window dressing.
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