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Tom Peters thinks that you can turn you "dept."--be it the HR "dept." or the payroll "dept."--into a professional service firm with the same level of creativity and commitment of the firms we always seem to hear about--McKinsey & Co., Chiat/Day, and Kleiner Perkins Caufield & Byers. In The Professional Service Firm50, Peters spells out 50 ways to transform your "dept." into a client-centered, passionate organization. His advice ranges from "Bring in wild and woolly outsiders. E-x-p-a-n-d the box" (no. 27) and "A rabid scheduler is a must!" (no. 32) to "Become a Research & Development evangelist" (no. 35) and "Provide 'project management-leadership' opportunities" (no. 45). The Professional Service Firm50 joins Peters's Reinventing Work series, which also includes The Projects50 and The Brand You50. Like that of all the titles in this series, this book's presentation--especially its bouncing typography--is distinctive and at times overwhelming. Nevertheless, managers looking to inject new ideas and life into their departments will find lots of high-energy advice here. --Harry C. EdwardsTransform white collar departments into "professional service firms" whose sole, powerful asset is knowledge.Idea: You are boss of a 23-person finance department in a division of a big company. Or, rather, you were boss of the finance department. Now, per our suggestion-model, you are Managing Partner, Finance Inc., a full-fledged professional service firm which is a wholly owned subsidiary of your division.Goal: Learn from the best professional service firms! Transform your unit! Today, even after re-engineering done well, the "department" doesn't look much like McKinsey, Andersen or Chiat Day. (And that's an understatement!)Aim, in short: Cool people (call them "talent") working on cool projects with cool clients. The aim redux: A cool Finance/Purchasing, IS, HR, Sales department. Why not?The cool professional service firm is just that: cool people/talent, a portfolio of cool projects, cool clients. Period. It's only asset -- literally -- is brains. It's only product is projects. It's only aim is truly memorable client service.So step #1, then, is the organization (PSF) . . . transforming "departments" in which white collar folks work into way cool professional sercie firms adding way cool value by doing way cool "stuff". Peters discusses making the most of presentations, working with outsiders on market analysis, how to imporve brainstorming meetings, how to develop relationships with clients and get the most out of them. 50 of Tom Peters's trademark insights on how to get the most our of your department.See also the other 50List titles in the Reinventing Work series by Tom Peters -- The Brand You50 and The Project50 -- for additional information on how to make an impact in the professional world. Transform white collar departments into "professional service firms" whose sole, powerful asset is knowledge. Idea: You are boss of a 23-person finance department in a division of a big company. Or, rather, you were boss of the finance department. Now, per our suggestion-model, you are Managing Partner, Finance Inc., a full-fledged professional service firm which is a wholly owned subsidiary of your division. Goal: Learn from the best professional service firms! Transform your unit! Today, even after re-engineering done well, the "department" doesn't look much like McKinsey, Andersen or Chiat Day. (And that's an understatement!) Aim, in short: Cool people (call them "talent") working on cool projects with cool clients. The aim redux: A cool Finance/Purchasing, IS, HR, Sales department. Why not? The cool professional service firm is just that: cool people/talent, a portfolio of cool projects, cool clients. Period. It's only asset -- literally -- is brains. It's only product is projects. It's only aim is truly memorable client service. So step #1, then, is the organization(PSF 1.0) ... transforming "departments" in which white collar folks work into way cool professional sercie firms adding way cool value by doing way cool "stuff." Peters discusses making the most of presentations, working with outsiders on market analysis, how to improve brainstorming meetings, how to develop relationships with clients and get the most out of them. 50 of Tom Peters's trademark insights on how to get the most our of your department.
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