Although outdated (1993), I picked this book up after a recommendation by one of my collagues. Maister provides an overview of all aspects of a professional service firm such as managing clients, people, strategy and performance. All chapters are short, well-structured and provide practical tips and examples.
The best way to read this book is to select one topic of your interest (f.a. systematic underdelegation) and spend some time to make the link back to your own work. In this way, it remains a valuable guide for all people managing professionals.

If there’s any one book that summarizes my career, it’s this one. The principles are just as relevant today as they were when this was first published nearly 25 years ago. It’s THE definitive work for leaders of professional service firms. Gold.

Good actionable advice for those working at/for professional services firm.
Even if you're not exactly at partner level - it would help you to understand how the firm works (or should work

This was one of those books that would’ve been my recommended reading in business school.

It’s dense, dry and took me forever to get through

great book for consulting firms and other professional services. It is more directed to corporate sector though. Anyway it could be found great advise for all consultants..

For me this was a great introduction in how to manage a services business. I was recommended this book by my manager at the time.

I like the models/metrics the book introduced. For example, I liked the explanation of the Dupont formula and how to apply it to a services firm.

Surprisingly, this book dives into the software house industry's challenges, transcending its roots in traditional consulting and legal frameworks. It nails the real issues of companies trying to break free from standard body leasing model and try help customers on the higher level. An eye-opening read that feels uniquely grounded in today's tech consulting challenges.

Read NOV 2003

A near-mandatory read for anyone managing, aspiring to manage or just wanting to understand how a professional service firm (consulting, law firm etc.) works.

This is an excelent book for anyone effectively running or working or even considering hiring a professional services firm. The book is extremely structured. It begins with the basics, the fundamentals of the business model, defining concepts like leverage, classifying the engagements by types, etc. After the basics are established, it goes through the most important elements for defining success: client, people etc. It is an excelent book, and after reading it, you don't need much more than that to understand this kind of industry. It is a deep work, very clearly written and useful to read. The only things that could be explored are some "real-life cases". All the concepts are developed in a pretty general way. Anyone experienced in the industry knows that all the topics are solidly rooted in practice, but discussing some cases could add some "spice" to the text and make the reading more pleasant.

A surprisingly great book, although a bit dense. Reads more like a text book than most other business books I’ve read. Although 30 years old, still a ton of great information.

Not because the information wasn't useful, but somehow it got less and less interesting the deeper I got. Great read though, it helps to know what real professional service firms out there are doing.