by Robin Dicks | May 14, 2020 | Robin's Blog, Uncategorized
I’m not going to say “this is a challenging time”. There’s no need to replay all that. You already know. What’s more important is that some of the unknowns may derail your competitive ability to retain work and clients over the next few months. I’ve written about this at more length elsewhere (see here) But some of the key bits are ensuring that not only do you know what your clients want, but you understand how emotionally capable staff – and their line managers – are to deliver it. That requires finding out, in a sensitive, and risk-free way. You can’t be resilient if you don’t know what you need to do to create that...
by Robin Dicks | Jan 24, 2020 | Uncategorized
Shortly after the referendum on UK membership of the EU Robin and Phil Gott of Peopleism created a short “manifesto” for those in key roles on responding to the changed conditions created by the result. This is more true than ever now. You can see the manifesto here. Additionally, its become clear from our interviews of clients of law firms, accountancy firms and other professional advisors that understanding client challenges around Brexit, and providing insight, is a clear route to competitive advantage. Or, disadvantage if you don’t do...
by Robin Dicks | Jan 20, 2020 | Robin's Blog
At the end of 2019 we completed a research programme for a major law firm into the future of in-house legal teams, what they would look like in 2025, and the challenges faced. The results were fascinating and it struck me that they might well also be true for many ‘intellect’ based professions and indeed in-house marketing, BD, HR and other functions within professional services firms. The key behaviours and skills which respondents said they needed to develop included a deeper understanding of the business and the wider sector, stakeholder management, influencing and the ability to understand technology. Soft skills and processes were a higher priority than technical functional skills, and a core challenge was balancing day to day demands with the ability to get ready for future challenges. While some people saw technology as a “magic bullet” most recognised that while it could help, there were many other aspects needed to get a team fit for the future. One of the key results that sticks in my mind was that the success stories we heard about, often were based on creating a team with shared goals, and real clarity of purpose that guided their behaviour, actions, and relationships with colleagues. That seems to me to be very true for marketers and BD people within professional services firms...
by Robin Dicks | Apr 11, 2016 | Robin's Blog
There was a short but thought-provoking piece recently in Accountancy Age on this issue. To slightly paraphrase the article, it suggests that actually many of the approaches and ways of doing business undertaken by ‘professional firms’ or advisors are anything but professional in the 21st century. It also makes me wonder whether the description professional services firms, or indeed lawyers or accountants is the best way of describing what people do and the value they bring. While bolting ‘solutions’ at the end of a name or service descriptions risks an entry in Private Eye, firms would be advised to think about the commercial merit and value of what they do being much clearer in the description, and indeed the undertaking, of their...
by Robin Dicks | Jan 14, 2016 | Robin's Blog
The January football transfer window is pretty bizarre if viewed dispassionately – but in an idle moment it made me think. If your firm were a football team, how would you value your players? Who are your star strikers and which central midfielder would you ideally shift to a lower-league outfit? Perhaps more importantly, what are the characteristics of the players you should recruit, and where are the gaps in your squad? What are your objectives for this season? I’m not suggesting you take this analogy too far but if you’re feeling brave, it might open up an interesting debate with the management team and provoke some creative...
