Unequaled

CHAPTER XVHOW FIRM STRATEGY IS COMMERCIAL

KNOW YOUR FIRM'S STRATEGY

The ability to formulate and implement business strategy is one of the most important enablers of sustained organizational success. Every professional services firm has a strategy. How are you going to get ahead at your firm? You need to know your firm's strategy and what it means for you and your clients in order to get ahead at your firm.

Professional services firms deploy business strategies to drive revenue growth, gain market share, generate productivity, respond to regulatory reform, manage risk, control costs, and maintain or restore trust and credibility. Those strategies usually contain the same basic elements: what we do, how we do it, and the results we would like to achieve for our shareholders and employees. The strategy for a professional services firm has to be dynamic. It continues to evolve because of competitive, regulatory, technological, and market changes. It is important to stay current on your firm's strategy.

Knowing the strategy is also a core part of your job as an officer of a professional services firm. If you run into a senior leader of your firm in the elevator, don't be surprised if the senior leader asks you about the firm's strategy. You might even want to take the opportunity to talk about how the strategy is working or what you are doing to help execute the strategy.

When you are talking with a client, you need to be articulate about your firm's strategy. Your clients need ...