How to Lead a Values-Based Professional Services Firm

We live in a values-driven world.

As times change, businesses must evolve. The way that leaders have run companies for generations is no longer relevant.Today -- Purpose wins over products. Values win over features. Stories win over pitches.Everyone everywhere craves fulfillment. You must share the reason why you exist and infuse it into everything you do, in order to thrive.

Many leaders see the shift in the market and make an effort to adapt. Companies quickly learn that one-off workshops and off-sites are not enough. Purpose is more than a press release. Your vision and mission statements should live in practice as well as print, and permeate through every aspect of your organization. You must close the gap between the messages you declare and the experiences you deliver.

How to Lead a Values-Based Professional Services Firm shares the vital experience and valuable insights that leaders require to evolve their organizations and navigate the values-driven world we live in.

• Live your purpose to stay alive and build a faithful following of clients and team members.
• Employ your authentic values as your guide through the modern market and drive profitability.
• Share meaningful stories that emotionally connect with today�s clientele to transform them into tomorrow�s brand ambassadors.

3 keys to unlock purpose and profit will enable you to turn the obstacles of the shifting market into your greatest opportunities, soar above your competitors, and grow your revenue beyond your highest projections.

About the Authors xvii

Introduction 1

Half a Century of Combined Experience 2

We’re Not in the Business We Think We are 3

Not Just a Logo 5

The Slog 7

Finding the Three Keys 12

Chapter 1 Create Your Three Keys 15

Understand Your Brand Foundation 16

Understand the Three Keys 18

Purpose: The First Key 18

Values: The Second Key 21

Story: The Third Key 25

Apply the Three Keys to Your Business 27

Are You a Values-Based, Purpose-Driven Firm? 28

What Can You Do Now? 29

Chapter 2 Values-Based Culture 31

Three Building Blocks of Culture 33

Innovate and Evolve Culture 42

Create a Culture of YES! 43

Culture and the Three Keys 45

What Can You Do? 46

Chapter 3 Leadership 49

What is Leadership? 50

Leading in the 21st Century 51

What Type of Leader are You? 53

Leadership, Purpose, and the Service-Profit Chain 55

Look to the Three Keys 56

What Can You Do? 60

Chapter 4 Hire Leaders 63

The Hiring Process Has Changed 65

Align Values and People 67

Invest in Your Hiring Process 69

Involve the CEO 71

Interviewing with the Three Keys 72

Link Hiring to Your Bottom Line 76

Plan for Leadership Succession 80

Compensation 83

Leadership, Purpose, and Performance 87

What Can You Do? 88

Chapter 5 The Purposefully Structured Business 91

Design Your Organization 92

Fewer Hands, Lower Risk 101

Is It Time to Change? 103

Infuse Values throughout Your Firm 104

Organizational Design and the Three Keys 106

What Can You Do? 107

Chapter 6 Messages Matter: Marketing and Communications 109

Marketing Today 110

How the Three Keys Affect Marketing 113

How to Market: A Tactical Discussion 118

Data: Opportunity or Overload? 122

The Chief Marketing Officer is Dead, Long Live the CMO 124

What Can You Do? 127

Chapter 7 Clients Matter 129

Purpose before Services 130

Align with Purpose 132

Align at a Higher Level 133

Flip the Funnel 137

How Clients Buy versus Why 139

Learn What Your Clients Need and Solve Their Problem 141

What Can You Do? 147

Chapter 8 Mergers and Acquisitions 149

Spend Time to Align 150

Connect on Beliefs 152

Embrace the Future Together 152

Be Ready to Compromise 158

A Quick Thought on Earn-outs 160

What Can You Do? 162

Chapter 9 Measure Your Purpose 165

Who Owns the Key Purpose Indicators? 167

What to Measure? 168

How Do We Measure These Things? 169

Measurement and Performance 183

What Can You Do? 184

Conclusion: Use the Three Keys 185

Appendix: The Three Keys to a Purposeful Brand Foundation 189

Find Powerful Purpose 190

Identify Values 194

Tell Your Story 196

Acknowledgments 199

Fran’s Acknowledgments 201

Don’s Acknowledgments 203

Index 205

DON SCALES has more than three decades of experience leading professional services firms and has driven exceptional growth by aligning people around core values. He currently serves as Global CEO for Investis Digital, a groundbreaking digital communications firm. Prior to Investis Digital, Don was CEO of iCrossing, a performance marketing company that Don sold to Hearst Corporation for $325 million. Don holds an MBA from the Harvard Business School.

FRAN BIDERMAN-GROSS is the CEO and Founder of Advantages, an Inc. 500 global digital branding and marketing agency. A graduate of MIT's Entrepreneurial Master's Program and Goldman Sachs 10,000 Small Businesses program, Fran is a master at helping others translate their vision and values into a consistent and authentic brand experience. Fran is the developer of the Three Keys Workshop and an in-demand speaker and consultant who has empowered countless leaders to form the emotional connections that drive revenue growth.

Those of us who lead professional services firms may think we sell billable hours. We don't. Not anymore. The traditional way of doing business no longer suffices for today's clients, who crave a sense of meaning and purpose in every transaction. To survive in this unprecedented environment, we need to start selling stories—ideas and narratives that guide our everyday operations and will inspire those we work with to trust us over the long haul. How to Lead a Values-Based Professional Services Firm makes the case for building purposeful brands and guides readers through a series of steps to transform their organizations and inspire stakeholders.

The Three Keys—Purpose, Values, and Story—form the lens through which readers will come to view every aspect of the brands they lead. This simple yet powerful framework is a guide to remaking the foundation of your brand. Executives who have undertaken this process agree that a strong sense of collective purpose improves customer loyalty, facilitates change, and motivates employee satisfaction. These proven outcomes will inspire readers to undertake the transformative shift to a values-based culture, with the help of the insights, examples, and key tactics in this book.

But making that culture shift won't quite be enough. After you've identified your brand's core identity, you'll need to build that identity into your organization's culture. This is easier said than done, as it requires bold leadership and the strength to model authentic commitment. Therein lies the real value of How to Lead a Values-Based Professional Services Firm. The authors developed the Three Keys framework in action and have led their own business to market dominance and brand success. They provide their tested takeaways on how to:

• Link leadership to purpose and profit in the 21st century
• Hire leaders who will carry the torch of values and purpose
• Infuse your Purpose, Values, and Story into all communications
• Strategically align mergers and acquisitions around core beliefs
• Measure the bottom-line impact of a values-based culture

The brands that endure over the coming decades will be those that clearly understand and adhere to the Three Keys to brand identity. This book is for leaders who are ready to commit to the Purpose, Values, and Story that will propel their firms into the future.

Praise for HOW TO LEAD A VALUES-BASED PROFESSIONAL SERVICES FIRM

"Don and Fran have mastered the art of leading with purpose, values, and story. . . and now they're giving you the playbook." —Larry Weber, Chairman and CEO of Racepoint Global and Founder of Weber Shandwick

"This important book is a must-read for every leader striving to build a successful values-based organization." —Doug Fletcher, Co-Author of How Clients Buy

"It's no longer enough to just define your purpose; your customers need to experience it. Ensuring that it's communicated through every interaction has proven to be a challenge. This book provides an excellent roadmap for you to become a purpose-driven organization." —Deborah Leff, IBM CTO | Data and AI

"Travel is complex. Every day, Delta transports millions of travelers across the globe. The only way to make that happen is to align people around our purpose, values, and story. This book will guide you to uncover your Three Keys." —Henry Kuykendall, Senior Vice President, Delta

"For over two decades, Gallup has studied how individual strengths impact organizations. In this book, Don and Fran explain the three critical organizational strengths that impact your company and the world. The Three Keys form a strong foundation for any organization to thrive." —Maika Leibbrandt, Senior Executive, Gallup

"This book intelligently outlines a cardinal truth I've discovered myself, over my ample experience in leadership positions at top companies. Purpose is absolutely necessary to produce profit in the current market. Your business will thrive if you can successfully infuse meaning and values into everything you do, and this book discloses how." —David Grigson, Chairman, Investis Digital

"Twenty years ago, David Maister taught us how to manage a professional services firm. Now, it's all about leadership. Leading with purpose, values, and story will change everything. This book will show you how." —Cliff Farrah, CEO and President, The Beacon Group