More notes from Managing the Professional Service Firm…

About a third through the book, Maister starts to repeat himself a little, hammering home one of his overarching themes of service. He says you must be client-centered, particularly interesting advice when you’re running a user-centered design firm. This is a balance we’re familiar with, and as designers learn more about business it becomes less a conflict and more a synthesis of the two goals.

• Make clients feel special. Imagine the effect of a hand-written note.
• Explain the process; they should know what’s going to happen before it happens
• It’s not about schmoozing, but simply having a great attitude
• To do this on a firm-wide basis, it must be implemented as a system
• Measurement
• Management
• Tips and tools
• Training
• Rewards
• See the tables on pgs. 106-7, 9