Effective people and productivity management Peter Scott Peter Scott Consulting.
PETER SCOTT CONSULTING PETER SCOTT CONSULTING Briefing Note May 2007.
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Transcript of PETER SCOTT CONSULTING PETER SCOTT CONSULTING Briefing Note May 2007.
PETER SCOTT CONSULTING
PETER SCOTT CONSULTING
Briefing Note May 2007
PETER SCOTT CONSULTING
Developing clear and realistic strategy
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Adapting to change ‘It is not the strongest of the
species that survive nor the most intelligent, but the ones who are most responsive to change’
Charles Darwin ‘Origin of species’
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Challenging your thinking
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Challenging everything about your firm as it is today
Your Firm?
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Do you recognise any of these?
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Are you forever pushing at a closed door?
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Is this one of your major problems?
This will happen to your talent unless………
TALENT£
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Do you have partner behaviour issues?
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“That’s a great idea …for the rest of you!”
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“Heavyweight gorilla”
“You can’t manage me.
I’m a big biller!”
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“Ahh…only five more years to go”
Can you answer ‘YES’ to the following questions?
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Is your firm firing on all cylinders?
Answer – Yes / No
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Are all your partners hungry?
Answer – Yes / NO
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Do you have the ‘right partners’ on board to help you achieve your goals? Answer – Yes / No
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Are all your partners prepared to be managed?
Answer – Yes / NO
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Are all your partners prepared to be accountable?
Answer – Yes / NO
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Do your partners have sufficient financial discipline?
Answer – Yes / NO
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Can you say your firm has no under performing partners?
Answer – Yes / NO
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Should all your equity partners really be equity partners? Answer – Yes / No
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Are there sanctions on a partner who refuses to comply?
Answer – Yes / NO
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Is it clear who is running your firm?
Answer – Yes / NO
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Are you prepared to change every ‘NO’ to a ‘YES’?
Answer - ?
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Are you prepared to provide the LEADERSHIP required for change?
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Developing your strategy
Understanding the process
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Strategy is a continuous journey…
focus on BIG ISSUES make decisions
implement decisionsbank progressmove on
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We need to understand the meaning of ‘strategy’
‘A realistic plan or course of action to gain competitive advantage; Which has clear and achievable objectives; andUses available (but scarce) resources (existing or to be generated)
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What should be our realistic objectives in….
2008 / 9?2009 / 10?20010 / 11?
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For example….Which parts of our firm are we going to:
Grow / invest in?Dispose of?
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2008 / 9?WE ARE GOING TO earn PEP of£[ ]K
Is this realistic? – must be testedDo we all want this?
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Differentiate strategy from…
An unrealistic and unachievable wish listImplementation of plans – ‘the making it happen’
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Strategic thinking should not be routine or superficial
Thinking based upon sound
knowledge
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Where to start?Strategic planning is a process of:
Logical analysis of internal / external forcesPlanning and decision-making based upon that analysis
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In partnerships there is a particular need to focus on…
Internal attitudesExternal perceptions
in order to formulate a realistic plan
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However something needs to be present first…
Leadership
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Leadership…Thinking and visionaryChallengingInspirationalAbility to take partners with youA determination to implement change
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Challenging leadershipThat challenges everything Above all leadership that is prepared to face up to a firm’s SACRED COWS
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Internal attitudesCultureValuesBehaviour
What kind of firm do we REALISTICALLY
want to be?
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Take an internal reality checkIssue a [confidential] partner / staff questionnaire to find out what your people REALLY think about your
firm.
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External perceptionsDo you know what your clients think about your firm?Do you know what they want from your firm?
Often a perception ‘gap’
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Take a reality checkCommission an external survey of:
Client/referrer opinionsClient/referrer reasons for using othersAnalysis of firm’s performance viewed by clients/referrers Benchmarking against competitors
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What can a law firm learn from a client perception survey?
Highlights issues that need to be addressedPartners should not go into ‘denial’
‘they are not talking about us’! or ‘its not true’!
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Value Clients Care AboutYour clients’ perspective
Not your own perspective
Is there a gap?
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Some client perceptions…‘I don’t think they show adequate interest in our business’ ‘They are not proactive with their own clients’ ‘They don’t think laterally’‘They never visit, and they should if they want to increase the quality of the relationship’
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How well do you communicate with your clients?
‘Out of sight, out of mind. They must ensure regular communication’‘I am not convinced I have their message or why they are different’ ‘Their profile is very low – they need to create more noise in the market’‘They must not assume that people know what they do’
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Is lack of resource making you uncompetitive? Some of your clients may think so -
‘I don’t believe they have the resources’‘Sometimes they lack polish and quality in depth’‘Depth of expertise – I have only one partner to contact on a day to day basis, which is a little limiting…’‘City firms have greater depth of expertise’
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The value gapIt is the client’s perception of value that mattersToo much emphasis on service attributesNot enough on helping clients achieve results
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You will add value if…You provide clients with what they want – and moreAt prices they perceive to be value for money; andyou do this better than the competition
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Each part of your firm needs to position itself…
Client
Perceived
Value
Client Perceived Price
High
HighLow
Low
Ave
Ave
X
Suicide Zone
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Groups doing volume work
Where should they position themselves?
How should these groups work to add value?
PETER SCOTT CONSULTING
Each part of your firm needs to position itself…
Client
Perceived
Value
Client Perceived Price
High
HighLow
Low
Ave
Ave
X
Suicide Zone
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Volume / Low Value – Added Services
Value enhanced by - driving down cost - facilitating implementation of solutions
Low value –added groups will compete on processes and price – technology driven services with minimum professional input
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Issues in providing volume / low added value services
Understand the need to move north to hold position - must constantly squeeze out more value for same cost
Invest in standardising processes
Ensure financial strength to stay the course
Avoid creating the perception of reduced “quality”
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Other work types Where should these groups position themselves?
How should they add value?
PETER SCOTT CONSULTING
Each part of your firm needs to position itself…
Client
Perceived
Value
Client Perceived Price
High
HighLow
Low
Ave
Ave
X
Suicide Zone
PETER SCOTT CONSULTING
High Value – Added Services
Need to:Nurture wisdom/experience within the firmEnsure added value is perceived as valuable
High value- added services – strategic impact on client – generally wisdom/experience driven
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Moving to High Value Added Services
Focus on specific client types / work typesSeek leadership in a few, cohesive segmentsUnderstand how brand influences PAV
- brand is about differentiating yourselves
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Moving to High Value Added services
Do not add too much PAV – especially in a price sensitive market Focus cost reduction only where it will not jeopardise value addedEnsure added value is always perceived as valuable
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Above all…
Be realistic
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A final thought…“Change before you have to”
Jack Welch
Any questions?