Educational Objectives

This course focuses on success drivers for professional service firms (PSFs) and the professionals working in them. Through studying the elements essential for organizational and personal success, the course will help you understand what it takes to be an effective professional in a thriving PSF. It is meant to be particularly useful if you are contemplating (a) working in an established PSF; (b) founding or joining a start-up or an early-stage PSF; or (c) working as a professional in an organization.

Course Content and Organization

Course Structure

A PSF competes in three markets: service market, talent market, and capital market. In the first three modules, we focus on developing and executing strategy in each of these markets.

In the module on service market strategy, we discuss the drivers of economic success in a PSF and their relationship to positioning. We also study the prospects and challenges of establishing an entrepreneurial PSF. Cases include the law firm Wachtell Lipton, the consulting firm International Profit Associates, the investment banking boutique Zaoui & Co., and the entrepreneurial start-up Moksha Data.

In the module on capital market strategy, we focus on achieving both ownership goals and service market objectives. We discuss the pros and cons of private versus public ownership, Cases include Goldman Sachs IPO, Ernst & Young’s proposed split, and the Finsbury Glover Hering merger transaction.

The module on talent strategy emphasizes the centrality of an effective talent strategy for a PSF’s success. We study how PSFs manage their partner promotion process, discuss ways in which PSFs can motivate and develop their professionals, and study how PSFs leverage their star professionals. Cases include partner promotion at Bain & Company, and leveraging star performers in Ecolab.

In the last module on strategy implementation, we discuss the role of leadership and culture in implementing PSF strategy effectively. Cases include Family Feud, which explores tensions within a multi-practice PSF; teambuilding at Lehman Brothers Equity Research; and video cases on a friendly fire incident in the U.S. military, and the response to a terror attack by the staff of the Taj Mahal Hotel.

Approach of the Course

The course employs a combination of: inductive learning through PSF case studies; deepening the learning by comparing and contrasting across multiple PSF cases, adding insights gleaned from reflections of case protagonists and experts; and relating the case-based observations to research findings and concepts related to professional services.

Our primary learning tool is the case study method. We will discuss a mix of cases—some examining the current challenges facing PSFs, others focusing on landmark events that have influenced particular professions significantly, and yet others that look at classic themes that have stood the test of time. Several of the case studies take a longitudinal perspective, following professionals and their enterprises over extended periods of time. Thus, we have the opportunity not only to determine the sources of performance at any given time, but also to identify the capabilities and processes that sustain success over time and to learn how PSFs respond to change.

The cases are situated in different professional service settings: management consulting, financial services, accounting, law, and education. We will study established industry leaders as well as entrepreneurial PSFs. Case protagonists will attend several of the class sessions.

We will also utilize other learning tools besides printed cases. Some sessions will include lectures on PSF concepts. In other sessions, we will employ video cases to discuss topics of relevance and importance.

Course Administration

Course grades are determined by two elements: class participation (50%) and a final exam (50%). The exam will be an open-book, case-based analysis that will allow the students to test their grasp of the course content and concepts.

Students that wish to deepen their understanding of PSFs can take the follow-on fourth quarter course offering, “Leadership in Professional Service Firms.”

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