JRC International’s Look at Excellence: What Makes the World’s Best Professional Service Firms Tick?

Few researchers have studied professional service firms (PSFs). But there are fascinating questions that call for an answer. Why do some PSFs prosper in extraordinary fashion, while others fail to do so? On Becoming Extraordinary – Star Professional Service Firms unlocks the secrets of leading PSFs. This revised 2020 edition presents an updated and more comprehensive treatment of the subject.

The practices of the elite are streets ahead of other firms. What can those ‘other firms’ learn from the best-of-the-best? Challengers need to be successful in the following areas of competence: (1) People development: attracting, developing, and retaining the right people. There is no substitute for the best-of-the-best professionals; (2) Client development: building and deepening in-depth client relationships; (3) Practice development: creating, enriching, and leveraging knowledge through effective practices (‘centers of excellence’), that is, a high-quality knowledge support infrastructure; (4) Office management: managing professional intellect, core principles and values, and key stakeholders – think of alumni – effectively and efficiently through local and/or global offices; (5) Reputation management: reputation is a vital strategic asset for conveying information about the firm’s capabilities to existing and new clients and the community at large; (6) Information management: managing the flow of information to, through, and from the PSF. Getting the right information to the right people at the right time is key to a firm’s competitive edge; (7) Innovation management: generating and commercializing new and unique value to clients systematically and on a continuing basis, and (8) Continuous performance improvement management: a relentless focus on improvement means constantly searching for a best practice, implementing that practice, and then searching for another best practice.

The following research process was used: (1) 338 Interviews with senior managers, directors, and partners of PSFs; (2) 366 Client executive interviews: senior officials of client organizations (e.g., Fortune Global 500 and Forbes Global 2000 companies); (3) Secondary research (verification and extension of the interview findings), and (4) Interviews with ‘knowledgeable outsiders’, such as industry experts, professors, and experienced journalists.

Since 2010, the 116 star PSFs from nine sectors (accounting, advertising, executive search, management consulting, investment banking, private equity, law, HR advisory services, and IT) have as a group more than tripled in overall profitability, outperforming other service firms in everything that truly counts: reputation and presence, profits and total fee level, status and influence. On Becoming Extraordinary – Star Professional Service Firms is available through Amazon and other retail channels (Inspiration Press | ISBN 9798657031966 | 246 pages | 2020). Pieter Klaas Jagersma, Ph.D., is an independent researcher, business professor and supervisory board member. Earlier in his career, he worked at McKinsey & Company. He can be reached at pieterklaasjagersma@gmail.com.

About JRC International

JRC International is an independent global think tank and research firm. Facts are the servants of the argument.