Smart Collaboration

Collaboration: Yes, Your Clients Care227

is turning against them, and what got them here won’t get them

there.

What will get them there? Smart collaboration.

As I’ve said throughout this book, collaboration is not a nice-

to-have; it’s increasingly a strategic imperative. The market for

professional services is bifurcating into high-profit, customized

work versus lower-end, routine work. Many professional sectors—

indeed, much of the broader universe of knowledge work—will

soon arrive at an hourglass shape. At the top of the hourglass, col-

laboration that spans specialties within your firm will allow you to

earn higher margins, inspire greater client loyalty, mitigate lethal

risks, and gain an important edge when competing for a shrinking

segment ...