Over the past 24 years DSC has generated a set of operating
procedures. For purposes of discussion here,
we have highlighted the DSC operating procedures associated with DSC Practice
Management, i.e., the organizing of our resources to
perform and deliver client work.
The DSC Mission:
DSC must expend
serious effort on getting to know the client's business and industry in great
depth. DSC must establish opportunities for mutual discussions and explorations
of the issues. DSC must be first and foremost a business partner, not a friend.
The good news is that clients clearly do want to be brought new ideas: They
want a relationship.
The Practice Manager
How does DSC respond
to these client needs? The answer increasingly, has been and will continue to
be Practice Managers (PM) who are responsible for DSC's total relationship with
each key client. PMs have the responsibility of managing (and growing) DSC's
relationship with major clients and coordinating professionals across the
various disciplines required of DSC. The PM role at DSC will continue to
evolve.
Luminary & Manager
The PM must wear
2-hats, a "luminary," the firm's representative to the client (i.e.
facing outwards), and a "manager" (facing inwards) as client's
representative and advocate to DSC, ensuring that all of DSC's resources are
brought to bear on the client's problems.
PM's are primarily
"relationship officers" and must focus on the (long-term) issue of
strengthening the DSC-Client relationship. The job is to manage the
relationship, not to try and build it alone. The total DSC team of people
serving a major client should be made up of individuals from all elements of
DSC, as required, and that total DSC team's responsibility is to build the
DSC-Client relationship.
The job of the PM is
to create and energize the DSC-team to serve their mutual client. This means
devoting significant time to being a terrific coach.
Influence Without Authority
Practice managers
often have responsibility without full authority. DSC team members assigned to
the PM's account will not necessarily be direct reports to the PM. Accordingly,
the PM must learn to manage without having the power of the purse to influence
their team members. Fortunately, this can be done. While money is a major
motivator, there do exist a number of "non-financial currencies"
available to the PM which can be used to attract and energize members of the
client team. Among these are:
• Challenge
• Meaning
• Participation / involvement
• Visibility (inside and outside DSC)
• Contacts
• Special roles or assignments
• Access to information
• Access to additional resources
• Personal interest
• Recognition
• Appreciation and approval.
The PM 's task is to
make the DSC-team members want to participate actively in serving and nurturing
the account. Effective PMs work at helping their team members find the
excitement, the challenge and the drama in their client’s problems. Effective
PMs also work hard to make the people on their team look good. They create
opportunities for other team members to participate in high-visibility
activities, which help their careers. They are willing to suppress their own
ego needs and to work hard to give the team members valuable client exposure.
They work hard to create new contacts for the DSC-team members, and get them
involved in stretching, learning activities which are out of the norm of the
team members' daily lives.
Outstanding PMs are
always looking for ways to be helpful to their people before they need the
people's (often last-minute, emergency) assistance. They think about ways to
make it easier for their team to serve the client. They give them tools,
research, industry and client information, all an easily digestible form. They
arrange for someone to read, summarize and circulate EVERY trade magazine,
industry association publication and financial analyst report in their client’s
industry, so that all team members are up-to-date about what's going on in the
client's world. Since the best way to get someone to cooperate with you is to
do them a favor first.
Above all else, the
best PMs maximize the amount of contact with client personnel and with their
team members. They demonstrate a personal interest in everyone on the team, and
use the immense power of face-to-face appreciation to motivate enthusiastic
involvement on their account. They work on the principle that if they serve
their team, the team will serve the client.
Summary
The most important fact to note about
practice management is that it is an investment activity for everyone involved.
While it is relatively easy to define the roles and responsibilities of the PM,
ways must be found to convince and reassure other DSC-team members that
participation in the key account program is a valid, recognized firm activity,
even when it is not billable. The best news is that practice management is in
everyone's interest at DSC. Clients want it and it benefits DSC by growing
relationships and generating new fees. It also provides career-enhancing
opportunities for every DSC professional involved.