Developing Knowledge-Based Client Relationships: The Future of Professional Services

by Ross Dawson and Ross Dawson B.Sc. (Hons.) in Physics Br

An exploration of the importance of information and knowledge in business transactions and client relationships. It discusses what knowledge organizations can do to enhance the value of knowledge they... This description may be from another edition of this product.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0750671858
• ISBN13: 9780750671859
• Release Date: January 2000
• Publisher: Butterworth-Heinemann
• Length: 304 Pages
• Weight: 0.93 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.6" x 6.0" x 9.2"

Customer Reviews

Essential reading for consultants

As a consultant who lives from one engagement to the next one of the buzzwords as projects are wrapped up is "knowledge transfer". It is almost like an afterthought and triggers some frantic activity to throw together a last minute plan, get the client's staff to absorb an array of information in a compressed timeframe, and sign off. This book changes that approach for me, and does so in a big way.After reading the proactive approach to planned knowledge transfer, which needs to be a part of the initial project plan, I would consider the approach I cited above to not only be unprofessional, but borders on malpractice.This book treats knowledge as a valuable commodity (something the business development types certainly preach, but the engagement team misses), and provides a methodical approach to using knowledge as a the product. Given the fact that we consultants are selling that very thing (knowledge) in a perfect world there should be no need for this book. Unfortunately, this book is sorely needed, and should be required reading for every consultant, regardless of whether he or she is a independent or member of one of the "Big 5".Rarely do I read a book than makes a dramatic impact on my thinking, or fills me with resolve to immediately assimilate and use the content - this one does. I think it is an important work that is well written and gives a strong foundation for ethical practices and professionalism.

Deceptively Simply, Seriously Valuable

A great deal of work went into conceptualizing and crafting this book, and I give very high marks to the author, who does a really superb job of integrating insights from knowledge management, information technology, cognitive modeling, and client relationship or account management. This book makes the jump from airplane reading, to "hold and read several times more." At the heart of the book, and many appear to miss this on the first reading, is the author's distinction between commoditized information services and differentiated information services. The first, aided by automation, is on a downward spiral in terms of both value and pricing, and competition is fierce. The second, partially aided by automation but ultimately being unique for rising to a higher level of knowledge service delivery that can only be done by expert humans, is where value pricing and differentiation can be found, and where professional services need to go if they are to remain profitable. The second urgent and valuable insight the author shares with us is the co-evolutionary nature of a service that evolves through constant knowledge transfer to the client and constant co-creation of new knowledge as the competitive advantage; and a very deep and broad relationship with the client at all levels of both organizations. One leads to the other, the other leads to finding new business with the same client, and the cycle repeats itself. This insight is especially relevant to all those who are using information technology to force single human account managers to handle more and more accounts remotely, all the while "losing touch" with their clients for lack of time to make the personal visit or personal telephone call. This is also explicitly contrary to the prevailing "black box" model where knowledge is withheld as proprietary--the author makes it clear that in this new era, withheld knowledge is much less valuable and much less survivable--this is a dying model. Among the sections of the book that I found especially worthwhile, partly for their elegance of expression and partly because they represent a considerable professionalism in distilling vast arrays of writing by others, were those that itemized the seven processes for adding value to the client relationship by adding converting information into knowledge (filtering, validation, analysis, synthesis, presentation, ease of access and use, customization); the rare simplicity of the distinction between implicit and explicit knowledge and how to communicate both kinds of knowledge; the brief but sufficient discussion of four key humans in the loop: the senior representative, the relationship coordinator, the knowledge specialist, and the knowledge customer; and the more general discussion of the various means for communicating knowledge value to the client, both in terms of channels and in terms of events including scenarios and wargaming. Contrary to the publicity, this is not a case study book, although th

Knowledge management is about relationships

Although written for and about professional services, the analysis and prescriptions in this book apply to any organisation that is concerned with building value-adding relationships with its clients. That is almost every business except one that is purely in commodities.It is a first class book: well argued, well written and structured, clear and easy to reference and use. It succeeds admirably as a practitioner's manual. Prior understanding of the field is not essential, while established practitioners will find much to learn.Knowledge is defined as 'the capacity to act effectively' and 'knowledge management' as referring to the dynamic processes associated with recognising knowledge as a primary asset and attempting to make it more productive. An important consequence of the definition is that knowledge is held only by people. The core of knowledge management initiatives lies in building and developing relationships between people, and knowledge transfer occurs between people. The key to effective knowledge transfer is therefore intimacy and trust.He argues that knowledge, how it is generated, used and transferred, is probably the key source of differentiation in a world that is heading rapidly to commoditisation. Adding value to clients through knowledge transfer "can only be done with a highly interactive approach that draws on and develops relationships."There is a detailed discussion of the role of information and the critical importance of understanding how to add the greatest value to information so that it can become can become valuable knowledge for clients.

Finally a book that blasts past all the buzz words!

Dawson hits it right on the head. His no nonsense approach allows the reader to dig into the subject of managing client relationships in the new economy better than anyone else I've read.I found the beginning a bit slow, but only because it explains the context for readers of all experience. I highly recommend pushing through the introductory chapters as quickly as possible because the meat of the book is excellent and exciting, particularly the discussion on linguistics. (And, I'm not a big fan of linguistics!)Michael Ross EVP Capital Markets Thomson Financial Boston, MA

A Refreshing Approach to Developing Client Relationships

Ross Dawson states what many of us in professional service firms have known for some time: that black box solutions to our clients' needs quickly become commoditised (and suffer declining margins) and that knowledge sharing is the only way to build successful (profitable) and lasting client relationships. Dawson's approach to knowledge management is refreshing; he correctly concludes that KM is not just about an organisation's internal processes and systems but first and foremost about people. And the most important people are our clients. Dawson analyses the ways in which effective knowledge transfer can add value by facilitating better decision making by our clients and enhancing their capabilities. He deals directly with the risk of educating clients to the point of self-sufficiency and the ways in which we can join with our clients in the 'co-creation' of knowledge. There is a wealth of well presented and instructive material in this book and I would highly recommend it to anyone responsible for building and sustaining client relationships.