The Professional Service Firm50 (Reinventing Work) : Fifty Ways to Transform Your "Department" into a Professional ServiceFirm Whose Trademarks are Passion and Innovation!

Author: Tom Peters
List Price: $15.95
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ISBN: 0375407715
Publisher: Knopf (21 September, 1999)
Sales Rank: 21,813
Average Customer Rating: 3.88 out of 5

Customer Reviews

Rating: 5 out of 5
Vintage Tom Peters "Wow"!
This book has several potential uses. Although I have worked in professional service firms almost my entire life, I found this book to be a useful reminder of what makes a professional service firm great. Although Tom Peters did not intend this purpose, I think it may be the best use of the book. The second use is the intended one: Turn your internal business department into a professional service firm look-alike. The book will work well for those who have driving ambition to be the best. For those who do not share Peters' passion, this book may seem over the top. Peters is a very qualitative thinker, so it would be easy to misapply his ideas in a way that created a tough work environment that created little benefit. For example, The Dance of Change warns against trying to create new language and culture in an organizational sector because everyone else may think you are weird and ignore you. Peters could create that kind of tension for a group if you followed his advice too literally (he suggests that you use questions like "How can we wow you?" when working with colleagues in the firm). On the other hand, Peters is at his best when he is a little off-the-wall because he makes you think. There are plenty of references to outstanding books, and he is really trying to create a picture of perfection. That is helpful, because most business books simply share dated information about past best practices. As someone who helps executives design simple, effective approaches to perfection, I applaud the effort. Peters would do well to accommodate other perspectives. Being totally committed to work and perfection through maximum effort often does not appeal to people as a permanent life style. What should the other people do? If you are an ambitious MBA who wants a mentor, you could do a lot worse than adopt this book as your guide. If you want balance in your life, you had better read Life Strategies as well. Keep up the good work, Tom Peters!

Rating: 4 out of 5
You Are The Only Constraint Keeping Yourself From WOW!
I've completed the first three books in the "reengineering work" 50List Series--and think Tom Peters did an outstanding job. For those who read a great deal and believe in these principles to begin with--you may only rate it a "4-Star"--but is still great book--just did not get the "aha's" that someone who has not read as much may receive. His points are right on, and I totally agree with his point that "Knowledge Capital" is key for the PSF--but is especially important to each individual. I love the point he makes that in a PSF--"the people are the only asset"--not only to the company--but, you the employee. You have total control over your own knowledge capital, and if your capital is strong enough--you can select the employer with which to share your knowledge. Dennis Waitley in "Empires of the Mind", comes to the conclusion, that in the future, it will be the employee selecting the employer in which he/she will share part of his working life. This a great read.

Rating: 5 out of 5
Good suggestions for invigorating your department
Tom Peters sees himself as the antidote to the Dilbert mentality -- the relentless negativism caused by workplace bureaucracy that stifles creativity, stamps out individuality, and does its best to turn people into uninspired, clock-watching drones.

Peters seems to understand that many workplaces ARE uninspiring, but he urges you to DO SOMETHING ABOUT IT. And those of you who run departments are in a great position to turn your department or company into a nimble, energetic Professional Service Firm that empowers employees and sees clients as equal partners in a creative, exciting task. Whether you work in a law firm, an accounting office, or a purchasing department, Peters thinks you can make your work dynamic, inspiring, and challenging -- and treat your employees like valuable individuals.

This book is divided into fifty chapters, each of which offers a suggestion for ramping up into the dynamic world of the Professional Service Firm. The book reads like a management consultant who has been reading too much beat poetry (lots of ellipses, exclamation points, and all caps) but it works -- the book reads like an energetic screed that packs a punch.

If you're interested in books that empower and inspire, please read my book "The Rules of Ruthlessness," which offers a message somewhat similar to Tom Peters' books. You can buy "The Rules of Ruthlessness" on Amazon, and you can learn more about the book at ruthlessness.com.

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