1st Edition

Innovating Professional Services Transforming Value and Efficiency

By Alastair Ross Copyright 2015

    Innovating Professional Services provides a practical and detailed guide for change agents and leaders in professional service firms who are seeking to transform their firm’s performance through innovation.

    Focusing on the professional services sector, the book highlights process innovation - the re-engineering of services and internal support processes to reduce cost and increase value to clients. Detailed techniques such as the use of lean, process mapping, waste identification, service experience mapping and value profiling are explained, drawing on the author's extensive experience in working with leading law, business service and consulting firms to create measurable improvements.

    With case studies to illuminate the challenges of driving major improvement through innovation, this book is valuable reading for leaders and change agents in law firms, accountants, consultants, architects, financial services and engineering services.

    Part 1: Opportunities for Innovation

    Part 2: Establishing a System for Innovation

    Part 3: Innovation Through Smarter Working

    Part 4: Managing Key Challenges

    Biography

    Alastair Ross is a highly experienced change leader having consulted globally to service and industrial businesses for nearly twenty-five years. He founded Codexx Associates Ltd in 2002, with the goal of ’energising change’ for businesses. He provides consulting services in innovation and re-engineering, following a career in IBM in manufacturing, management and consulting. Since 2005 Alastair has worked extensively with a number of major professional service firms in innovation and re-engineering. Alastair has written and spoken widely on business improvement and his book Dynamic Factory Automation was published by McGraw-Hill in 1992. He is a Chartered Engineer, has a Bachelor of Science degree from Southampton University and a Master of Science degree from Imperial College, London. His recent publications include: Lean for Lawyers, Business Process Re-engineering in Law Firms, Innovating Professional Services, The Innovation Journey, Innovation in a Law Firm and Increasing Client Loyalty. Alastair is a visiting lecturer on service innovation for the MSc in Strategy & Innovation at the University of Southampton.

    'This book makes a really helpful contribution to our understanding of how innovation works, and more importantly, how we can manage it in the particular context of professional services. Drawing on both a strong academic research base and his own practical experience, Alastair Ross has done a great job in shedding light on this important field and doing so in a readable and practical fashion.' -- John Bessant, Professor of Innovation and Entrepreneurship, University of Exeter, UK

    'Practical and insightful, this book is clearly the result of someone who has made innovation work in the challenging environment of the professions. Ross combines an understanding of partnerships with a deep knowledge of innovation to create an indispensable guide for an era that demands change.' -- Robert Pay, Director of Business Development, Alvarez & Marsal

    'Lots of initiatives are launched but many fail to deliver any discernible business outcome and yet clients are screaming out for better ways of doing business. This practical book - filled with insights, case studies and useful tools - offers a blueprint for the creation of a sustainable innovation system. I recommend you read it for the benefit of your clients.' -- Andrew Clinton, Managing Partner, ASB Law LLP