The Firm of the Future


Book Description

Provides accountants in small and medium sized firms the tool to expand services beyond attest and compliance functions. Shows how to transition to other professional services that clients value. Provides a pro-forma business plan for mapping a three to five year plan for the transition to a successful practice. Positions consulting as an extension to traditional services, not just an alternative. Includes many real world examples of accountants who have made a successful transition to new services, discussing the challenges and the results achieved. Focuses on quality of life issues and how to get there.




The Law Firm of the Future


Book Description

During the “golden age of law firm growth” from the late 1960s until 2007, most large law firms adopted a default growth strategy, increasing practice areas and offices, aided by the momentum of the tail winds of law firm growth. Since the recession of 2008-2009, however, the legal marketplace has drastically changed. In this timely book, Jay Westcott suggests strategic building blocks that firms can adopt in order to adapt themselves to this radical change and prosper as lasting institutions.




The Firm


Book Description

Star financial journalist Duff McDonald uncovers how the managing consulting firm of McKinsey & Company and its high-powered, high-priced business savants have ushered in waves of structural, financial, and technological shifts to the biggest and best American organizations, revealing a list of world-shaping successes and striking failures.




The Company of the Future


Book Description

The art of managing innovative companies is disclosed in this unique book which resulted from the first common EU-MITI project. It reveals those practical, simple and effective tools for global success and competitiveness.




Summary: The Company of the Future


Book Description

The must-read summary of Frances Cairncross' book: "The Company of the Future: How the Communications Revolution is Changing Management". This complete summary of the ideas from Frances Cairncross' book "The Company of the Future" shows how the internet is forever changing how good companies will be structured and managed in the future. Irrespective of how the dot-coms are valued in the stock market, great changes are occurring as companies integrate the internet into their existing and emerging processes. In this book, the author explains how the internet now makes it possible and feasible for managers to redefine their companies in ways that are far more efficient and interconnected. This summary demonstrates why you should help your company benefit by changing your corporate structure and management practices and by taking advantage of the new opportunities made possible by the internet. Added-value of this summary: • Save time • Understand key concepts • Expand your knowledge To learn more, read "The Company of the Future" and take advantage of the bright business future offered by the internet.




Implementing Value Pricing


Book Description

Praise for IMPLEMENTING VALUE PRICING A Radical Business Model for Professional Firms "Ron Baker is the most prolific and best writer when it comes to pricing services. This is a must-read for executives and partners in small to large firms. Ron provides the basics, the advanced ideas, the workbooks, the case studies everything. This is a must-have and a terrific book." Reed K. Holden founder and CEO, Holden Advisors, Corp., Associate Professor, Columbia University www.holdenadvisors.com "We've known through Ron Baker's earlier books that he's not just an extraordinary thinker and truly brilliant writer he's a mover and a shaker on a mission. This is the End of Time! Brilliant." Paul Dunn Chairman, B1G1® www.b1g1.com "Implementing Value Pricing is a powerful blend of theory, strategy, and tactics. Ron Baker's most recent offering is ambitious in scope, exploring topics that include economic theory, customer orientation, value identification, service positioning, and pricing strategy. He weaves all of them together seamlessly, and includes numerous examples to illustrate his primary points. I have applied the knowledge I've gained from his body of work, and the benefits to me and to my customers have been immediate, significant, and ongoing." Brent Uren Principal, Valuation & Business Modeling Ernst & Young® www.ey.com "Ron Baker is a revolutionary. He is on a radical crusade to align the interests of service providers with those of their customers by having lawyers, accountants, and consultants charge based on the value they provide, rather than the effort it takes. Implementing Value Pricing is a manifesto that establishes a clear case for the revolution. It provides detailed guidance that includes not only strategies and tactics, but key predictive indicators for success. It is richly illustrated by the successes of firms that have embraced value-based pricing to make their services not only more cost-effective for their customers, but more profitable as well. The hallmark of a manifesto is an unyielding sense of purpose and a call to action. Let the revolution begin." Robert G. Cross, Chairman and CEO, Revenue Analytics, Inc. Author, Revenue Management: Hard-Core Tactics for Market Domination




The Nature of Business


Book Description

The business of biomimicry—companies the way nature intended.




The Business of Platforms


Book Description

A trio of experts on high-tech business strategy and innovation reveal the principles that have made platform businesses the most valuable firms in the world and the first trillion-dollar companies. Managers and entrepreneurs in the digital era must learn to live in two worlds—the conventional economy and the platform economy. Platforms that operate for business purposes usually exist at the level of an industry or ecosystem, bringing together individuals and organizations so they can innovate and interact in ways not otherwise possible. Platforms create economic value far beyond what we see in conventional companies. The Business of Platforms is an invaluable, in-depth look at platform strategy and digital innovation. Cusumano, Gawer, and Yoffie address how a small number of companies have come to exert extraordinary influence over every dimension of our personal, professional, and political lives. They explain how these new entities differ from the powerful corporations of the past. They also question whether there are limits to the market dominance and expansion of these digital juggernauts. Finally, they discuss the role governments should play in rethinking data privacy laws, antitrust, and other regulations that could reign in abuses from these powerful businesses. Their goal is to help managers and entrepreneurs build platform businesses that can stand the test of time and win their share of battles with both digital and conventional competitors. As experts who have studied and worked with these firms for some thirty years, this book is the most authoritative and timely investigation yet of the powerful economic and technological forces that make platform businesses, from Amazon and Apple to Microsoft, Facebook, and Google—all dominant players in shaping the global economy, the future of work, and the political world we now face.




Firms of Endearment


Book Description

Today’s best companies get it. From Costco® to Commerce Bank, Wegmans to Whole Foods®: they’re becoming the ultimate value creators. They’re generating every form of value that matters: emotional, experiential, social, and financial. And they’re doing it for all their stakeholders. Not because it’s “politically correct”: because it’s the only path to long-term competitive advantage. These are the Firms of Endearment. Companies people love doing business with. Love partnering with. Love working for. Love investing in. Companies for whom “loyalty” isn’t just real: it’s palpable, and driving unbeatable advantages in everything from marketing to recruitment. You need to become one of those companies. This book will show you how. You’ll find specific, practical guidance on transforming every relationship you have: with customers, associates, partners, investors, and society. If you want to be great—truly great—this is your blueprint. We’re entering an Age of Transcendence, as people increasingly search for higher meaning in their lives, not just more possessions. This is transforming the marketplace, the workplace, the very soul of capitalism. Increasingly, today’s most successful companies are bringing love, joy, authenticity, empathy, and soulfulness into their businesses: they are delivering emotional, experiential, and social value–not just profits. Firms of Endearment illuminates this, the most fundamental transformation in capitalism since Adam Smith. It’s not about “corporate social responsibility”: it’s about building companies that can sustain success in a radically new era. It’s about great companies like IDEO and IKEA®, Commerce Bank and Costco®, Wegmans and Whole Foods®: how they earn the powerful loyalty and affection that enables truly breathtaking performance. This book is about gaining “share of heart,” not just share of wallet. It’s about aligning stakeholders’ interests, not just juggling them. It’s about building companies that leave the world a better place. Most of all, it’s about why you must do all this, or risk being left in the dust... and how to get there from wherever you are now.




The Future of the Defence Firm: New Challenges, New Directions


Book Description

This book is th e result of a collaborative research project involving the Centre for Defence and Security Studies at the University of Manitoba (Canada) and the Centre for Defence Economics at the University of York in England . Perhaps not surprisingly, given its transatlantic origins, its lineage is somewhat involved. In Canada , its origins can be traced to two earlier research projects on the political economy of arms production undertaken by members of what has since become the Centre for Defence and Security Studies . The first of these , carried out in collaboration with Toronto 's York University, and financially supported by the Centre for Studies in Defence Resources Management at the National Defence College in Kingston, Ontario , was entitled " Th e Implications of Europe 1992 For Canadian Defence and Defence Industrial Interests" . The second , undertaken in conjunction with both York University and Nova Scotia's Dalhousie University , was supported by the now defunct Canadian Institute for International Peace and Security , and dealt with " N a t i o n a l Defence and the Canadian Economy . " Workshops were held in connection with both these studies, which brought together academic, governmental and industry experts in the field of defence production .