Introducing the Møller PSF Group

Transcription

1 Strategy Practice

2 Introducing the Møller PSF Group We aim to advise the world s leading professional service firms in solving their most important, difficult challenges.

3 We believe the capital of a professional service firm resides in its people and their knowledge. We deliver practical consulting and learning solutions to leaders of professional service firms and their businesses which have a positive impact and give them a competitive edge. Our partners work with teams to accelerate their ability to exploit the opportunities and overcome the challenges presented by today s continually evolving competitive markets. We provide practical solutions that deliver measurable commercial and personal benefits, tailoring our services to address the specific needs of each client and bringing together experts who focus on leadership, strategy, business development, talent management and coaching issues within the professional service firms market. Although operating globally, we are headquartered at The Møller Centre, Churchill College, in the University of Cambridge; one of the world s leading centres for education and professional development. With access to the full educational and research resources of the University of Cambridge, we are able to offer the highest standard of continuing education to leaders and aspiring leaders. At Møller PSF Group we have 22 Partners, making us one of the largest and most experienced teams of specialist practitioners in the professional service firms market. All of our partners have extensive experience and insight gained from working with and within professional service firms, many having held senior leadership roles within some of the world s top legal and accounting firms. We will be happy to discuss any opportunity, challenge or problem you are facing and with which you feel we may be able to assist you. Kevin Doolan Managing Partner, Møller PSF Group

4 Our view of strategy The world has moved a long way since the days when a linear, mechanistic approach to strategy represented best practice. Today, we know that best practice varies widely according to how quickly markets are changing, the level of competition in those markets and the strategic intent of the particular incumbent in those markets. This is true for all businesses. Professional service firms have additional considerations such as high mobility of talent, relatively thin balance sheets, the tension between managing and practicing amongst the firm s leaders and low switching costs for clients. Most importantly, we recognise that strategy in professional firms is often concerned with the focus and efforts of its senior professionals. For strategy to be viable though, key people in the firm must actively embrace it. In today s hyper-competitive environment, effective strategy is also likely to need to explore areas of competencies outside a firm s core technical focus or expertise. What we seek to achieve, and to an extent already have achieved, is a premium strategy consulting practice focused exclusively on the needs of professional service firms, that can compete toeto-toe with the world s leading management consulting firms. Our strategic intent is to be the advisors of choice to the world s leading law and other professional service firms in solving their most important, difficult challenges Rob Millard Head of strategy practice We have a deep and thorough understanding of what drives performance in professional service firms. We believe that strategy is not something that can be set every few years and followed rigidly. In today s fluid markets, the most successful firms combine a strong sense of direction with the agility to adapt as the market changes. Crafting and executing strategy has become a continuous, iterative process. Much of our advisory work therefore focuses on helping our clients to: identify the areas of highest potential, on which to focus; develop the agility needed to quickly evaluate emerging opportunities and threats and act on these, more decisively than competitors do; provide high-quality market and competitive analysis to help them better understand the drivers of their own success and their options in achieving high performance; translate strategic intent into measurable objectives and targets and into action that is actually executed, either through business plans in the various business units or through strategic projects; solve the most important, difficult challenges that they face along the way; integrate and align execution across systems, practices and functions. Several of our recent clients have achieved very significant improvements in performance during our tenure with them. While we would not suggest that this was entirely due to our efforts, we are nonetheless immensely proud of our contributions to these achievements.

5 Our services The Møller PSF Strategy Group s mission is to be advisor of choice to the world s leading professional service firms in solving their most important, difficult challenges. We provide the full range of advisory services that one would expect of a premium management consultancy, specifically tailored to the needs of professional service firms. Some of the services that differentiate our value proposition are listed below. Please contact us for a wider overview. Strategic market assessments Our market assessments cover the full range of issues affecting the business, from macro-economic and socio-political risk to competitor analyses and existing and potential clients. They are typically focused on specific needs, for instance assessing drivers of growth in a market to identify causes of business under-performance and identifying the best business model and structure to adopt in a new market. Scenario planning Our wider strategy practice includes one of the architects of Shell s groundbreaking scenario planning methodologies and our capabilities in this area are world-class. They include large-scale strategic assessments of possible changes in the market and exploring options for addressing these, as well as complex problem-solving engagements focused on specific challenges.

6 Competitive intelligence We provide leaders of professional service firms with accurate, relevant and up-to-date competitive intelligence (both quantitative and qualitative) on their competitors, clients and markets. This can be essential in maintaining an accurate and on-going view of a firm s competitive market position and of emerging threats and opportunities. Strategy development Our approach to supporting a client through the process of developing strategy and translating that into action combines rigorous research and analysis with an inclusive approach to partner engagement, with deep knowledge and understanding of a range of different kinds of professional service firms. We invest significantly in leading sources of market and other data, to support our research and analysis. The specific methodology that we employ varies according to the scale and complexity of strategic issues that apply. Teams may vary from one partner with limited analyst support up to a dozen or more professionals in well-coordinated teams. Our close interface with our leadership, coaching, business development and talent practice groups and also with the Møller Centre s executive education offering means that our approach to strategy development has a particularly strong bias towards action and execution. Key client identification We have developed a unique proprietary process for assessing the client list of a professional service firm by creating a future-focused view of the likely spend by those clients on services that firm is able to deliver. This yields a clear and well-substantiated view of which clients should be prioritised as key clients. In conjunction with our business development practice, we advise on enhancing key account strategies and business development programmes.

7 Merger support The advice that we deliver can reduce risk and smooth the path of the whole merger process. Key to this is helping identify the best merger partner, establishing the business case, developing the optimum strategy for the joint firm, integrating and aligning systems, structures and cultures following the merger. We have collectively worked on dozens of professional service firm mergers over the past few decades, both as leaders of the firms that merged and as external advisers. Presentations on market trends We are regularly called upon to do presentations to groups of partners and others, on trends in legal and other professional services. We have developed a unique animation that illustrates how the market positioning of the largest UK and US law firms has shifted over the past decade. Updated every year, this provides a clear and provocative view of which firms are winning and which not. It seldom fails to impress. We are also active participants in a range of forums that are tracking changes in professional services and debating the range of futures that might emerge; also leading producers of thought-leadership on this topic.

8 Our Strategy Team Robert Millard +44 (0) (UK) (USA) Des Woods +44 (0) Vicki Kelley +44 (0) Mike Mister +44 (0) Ori Wiener +49 (0) Adam Billing +44 (0) (UK) (USA) Derek Klyhn +44 (0) Mia de Kuijper +44 (0) The Strategic Practice Group Partners Møller PSFG Strategy Practice Group Partners Møller PSFG Strategy Practice Group Associates Other Møller PSFG Partners Other Møller PSFG Associates In addition, we have access to world-class thought-leaders and scholar-practitioners in a range of relevant disciplines from across the University of Cambridge. Møller PSFG Strategy Practice Group Analysts A range of PhD candidates, MBA students at the Judge Business School and independent business management practitioners provide flex when larger teams are required

9 Our other practice groups Leadership A challenge for every firm is to up-skill their partners as rapidly and efficiently as possible. We can help with our consulting, research, coaching and mentoring, bespoke and open education programmes for leaders. We work with leaders of professional service firms to help them meet the challenges they face in today s continually evolving and increasingly competitive markets. We also help develop the leaders of tomorrow. Coaching Coaching is one of the most powerful techniques that can be deployed to support and develop leaders and to effect and sustain behavioural change. Partners invariably operate under incredible pressure as they continually strive to cope with multiple demands and to deliver to numerous deadlines. Coaching is therefore particularly relevant to professional service firms. Our team of specialist coaches and expert facilitators support our clients in every aspect of their work. By managing and scheduling tailored coaching sessions our coaches ensure that the time and effort invested in learning and development is fully leveraged and truly adds value to individuals and to teams. Business development We believe that some of the most important barriers to optimising return on investment for business development in professional firms are internal. Attention and resource are often best directed at aligning a firm s internal resources and processes with its culture, rather than making large scale investments in new resources, systems or processes. Our services extend beyond management education and consultation. We also provide implementation and embedding support, including one-to-one coaching of key individuals, to ensure that client firms realise their full potential.

10 Our other practice groups Talent Professional service firms can win or lose depending on the quality of their people. The challenge is how to continually identify and motivate talented people. Motivating individuals and developing them to their full potential helps firms differentiate themselves via outstanding service delivery - and also ensures the firms can continue to provide innovative and leading edge solutions for their clients. Our talent practice tailor their services to meet the needs of each client, including talent development and retention initiatives, enhancing employee engagement, coaching and mentoring of partners, induction and transition programmes. Our clients While our advisory work is almost always covered by non-disclosure agreements, the Møller PSF Group s clients include many of the world s most preeminent professional service firms, including several of the Big 4 advisory firms, some of the prominent global law firms on both sides of the Atlantic, investment banks and a range of other consultancies and financial service firms. Our clients also include some quite modest-sized firms. Serious prospective clients may be referred to our existing client base for references about our work, where this is appropriate.

11 The Møller Centre The Møller Centre is a place that brings together the worlds of academia and business, an environment conducive to learning, providing the very highest standard of education and customer service a true Centre for Excellence. Our focus on leadership development is inspired by the unique connection between two great leaders, Sir Winston Churchill, and Maersk Mc-Kinney Møller whose vision and benefaction created The Møller Centre at Churchill College. Our mission is to engage with clients to acquire knowledge for professional development, personal and business success in an executive environment. Our programmes are delivered under the Royal Charter of Churchill College, University of Cambridge. We understand the dynamics of leadership in organisations and their strategic challenges, and we strive to provide a learning experience which is fresh, relevant and practitioner-led. Our programmes can be delivered in the purpose-designed collaborative learning environment at The Møller Centre.

12 For further information Møller PSF Group Cambridge Limited The Møller Centre, Churchill College, Storey s Way, Cambridge CB3 0DE. +44 (0) info@mollerpsfg.com