by Jeff McKay | Prudence
Yesterday my 17-year-old, over-achieving daughter shared her Spring break, social-distancing To-Do list. She put the list together on her own (no parental mandate) because her Spring break plans were canceled and social media just was getting old (there is hope for the world.). With her permission, here are a few items on her list:
by Jeff McKay | Culture, Prudence
If your career with your firm ended today, would you be satisfied with the life you have led and your work’s contribution to it? That’s a big question. AND, perhaps one you might answer differently on a given day. Take a minute, look... by Jeff McKay | Marketing Leadership, Prudence
Human beings love the path of least resistance. We want the easy route to success, fame, wealth or power. Time and effort are for chumps. Managing partners want a brand like Apple. Practice leaders want super-charged growth—today. Business developers want... by Jeff McKay | Marketing Strategy, Prudence
For the past 20 years, the B2C marketing profession has been moving in the direction of professional services. These consumer-focused companies are finally learning what professional services firms have known for decades—dare I say centuries. Sales and Marketing are... by Jeff McKay | Culture, Marketing Leadership, Prudence
“Dr. Martin Luther King dreamed of the day when a man would be judged ‘not by the color of his skin but by the content of his character.’” “What is the ‘content of character’? It is virtue, or, more precisely, the set of classical human virtues–above... by Jeff McKay | Culture, Prudence
The BS of PS leads to one common and inevitable outcome in all professional services firms–a lot of TALKING. Firms talk about culture. Firms talk about cross-selling. Firms talk about brand. Firms talk about innovation. Firms talk about rewards. Firms talk about... by Jeff McKay | Culture, Prudence
Question six takes us out of the firm’s mindset and into our own mind and asks us the powerful question: Am I clear on who I am being called to become? Can I become that person in this firm? This is the first and most important question a prudent leader asks him or... by Jeff McKay | Culture, Prudence
In my last post on the 10 Questions Prudent Firms Ask Themselves, I addressed Question 2 What are our goals? I outlined a continuum of 3 types of organizations and how a firm’s worldview shapes whom it serves, why, and how. Does the firm serve Shareholders, a broader... by Jeff McKay | Culture, Prudence
In my last post, I began a series on the 10 Questions Prudent Firms Ask Themselves. Question 1: Who do we want to become? asks us to order our lives because our lives are shaped by what we live for. Question 2 now asks us What are our goals? in order to declare and... by Jeff McKay | Culture, Prudence
Who do we want to become? This is the first question prudent firms and leaders ask themselves. They ask this profound question to order their lives. Answering the question provides clarity about the legacy a firm will leave behind, including how the firm, its people,... by Jeff McKay | Culture, Prudence
In my 20 years working with some of the world’s top professional services firms, I have seen firms fly high and I have watched firms crash and burn. All the firms had highly educated people, great client relationships, and money coming in the door, but so many of them...