Economics & Institutional Design of Professional Services
Artificial intelligence, private capital, consolidation, global delivery and changing client economics are reshaping professional-services firms.
I am an independent advisor and analyst working with boards and executive teams to understand where their economics, governance and operating models no longer fit the firm they are becoming, and decide what needs to change.
How I work with boards
Most engagements start with one of two questions.
How well do we understand our economics?
That normally starts with an Economic Reality Review and, where the evidence points to a design problem, can progress to Economic Portfolio Architecture.
What do structural changes in professional services mean for our firm?
That normally starts with a Future of Professional Services Board Session and can lead to focused Strategic Workshops.
Selected engagements continue as Strategic Advisory. Where a major transformation is already underway, the Transformation Reality Review provides a separate entry point.
Future of Professional Services
An independent perspective on the structural changes reshaping professional services and what they mean for the firm.
The sessions give the board a shared frame of reference and identify the strategic questions that now need to be answered.
Economic Reality Review
A fact-based analysis of the actual economics of clients, services, teams and institutional costs.
The review reveals where conventional metrics may conceal cross-subsidies, structural costs or economically unsustainable work. It creates a robust foundation for decisions about portfolios, investment and operating models.
Economic Portfolio Architecture
A fact-based redesign of the economic architecture of client, service and team portfolios.
It shows where different business models within the same organisation require different management, investment and operating models. The result is a robust foundation for decisions on portfolio direction, operating models, technology and AI, governance, KPIs, incentive systems and profit pools.
Transformation Reality Review
An independent assessment of critical transformations before operational problems become strategic or financial damage.
The review examines whether objectives, economic assumptions, governance, capabilities and execution are aligned, and identifies the decisions required.
Research meets operational experience
My advisory work combines more than 20 years of transformation experience with an independent research programme focused on the future of professional services.
I have led major transformations with budgets exceeding CHF 30 million and teams of more than 100 people. My work has included Big Four firms, international professional-services organisations and global financial institutions.
Through case studies and industry analysis, I examine how artificial intelligence, private equity, consolidation, platform economics and changing client expectations are reshaping the industry. This research is complemented by confidential work with individual firms and conversations with senior leaders across the Big Four and international mid-tier firms.
This allows me to connect visible market developments with the economic and operational realities inside firms.
Latest research and case studies
My research on professional-services firms, private equity, platform economics, global delivery models, and transformation governance informs the work I do with boards. It is not separate from my advisory work. It is the intellectual foundation behind it.
The Reverse Triple Constraint of Troubled Projects
25. April 2017
Assuming you suspect or know that one of your projects is in trouble the first step is always an extensive project review. After such a review you hopefully have the…
8 Signs of troubled projects for project sponsors
19. April 2017
When you’re dealing with a troubled project, there are usually a number of red flags surrounding you. This article is written from the perspective of senior management (for instance the project sponsor, members…
Building Is the Easy Part…
6. March 2017
Agile Frameworks and books tell us how to build a product–that’s the easy part… What we are not told are equally important things like maintaining, operating, fixing and extending the built…