Professional Atlanta

Digital Stew in the Dangerous Kitchen

2010-02-09T01:21:00Z

Rich Goidel, Managing Director of Dangerous Kitchen www.dangerouskitchen.com discusses how he created - and named - his new communications agency to spice up the marketing services jambalaya and help his clients leap off the menu of competitive choices. Oooo-weee dats sum spicy interview.

Who's Your Mentor?

2010-02-01T23:23:00Z

Have you ever had a mentor or been a mentor to someone? It isn’t easy to do right…either as mentor or mentee. It seems that most of the professional services firms we encounter at Creative Growth Group www.creativegrowthgroup.com really want to be good at mentoring but they are usually shockingly bad at it. Helene Lollis is a master of mentoring and President of Pathbuilders. www.pathbuilders.com Her firm works with companies to shape their futures with high-performing women by customizing and delivering external mentoring programs, Her clients include major professional services firms like Deloitte, KPMG and Kilpatrick Stockton as well as major corporations like AT&T, Cisco and Coca-Cola Enterprises. We asked Helene to share suggestions on what professional services firms can do to more effectively mentor and groom high-potential professional women.

Where Classic Service Still Rules

2010-01-27T03:10:00Z

“Classic” describes something of enduring value and quality. Remember when the classic American brand, Coca-Cola, saved itself from New Coke by reintroducing “Coca-Cola Classic?” Well, there’s nothing like the real thing…in professional services, too. With a legacy of leadership in Atlanta dating back to the 1800s, the Montag family is a classic Atlanta family. In 1945, Louis A. Montag started Atlanta’s first independent investment advisory firm. In 1982, Louis’ son, Tony, launched A. Montag & Associates with a focus on serving high net worth business leaders and their families with a classic kind of individualized, “hand-made” quality of service. That included original investment research done on-site by the Montag team and personalized, direct contact between Montag’s investors and its portfolio managers. Today, A. Montag & Associates www.amontag.com is led by Tony’s sons: Ned and John Montag. It is rare that a family firm can transition successfully from one generation to the next. Montag has not only accomplished this leadership hand-off but also maintained the same classic service quality and reliable performance that it began with in earlier generations. Because we wanted to understand if this “classic” story was “the real thing” we invited John and Ned Montag to join us for this interview. Our discussion ranged from leading a family enterprise to guiding a wealth management organization through the toughest financial market in 80 years.

Banks as Buyers, PSFs as Family Businesses and Creatives as Advisors

2010-01-19T00:22:00Z

Scott Mills is President of William Mills Agency – famous as the leading financial services and financial technology PR firm in the U.S. Scott is also the editor of Bankers as Buyers, an annual guide to technologies and spending trends in the financial services industry. He’s also the catalyst behind the blog www.FinTechMarketing.com William Mills is a family-owned firm. Scott talks with us about serving the financial services marketplace, about managing a professional firm which is also a family firm and about leading creative professionals to deliver consistently great work without burning-out. He’s also been pioneering a new scorecard approach to measuring the value a PR firm provides to its clients. Find out more about Scott and his firm at www.williammills.com

CFOs and Professional Services

2009-12-14T23:35:00Z

CFOs as Advisors and Buyers
More than ever, CFOs now hold the professional services purse-strings. At Interlochen Group, CFOs are, themselves, the professional services advisors. Ben Cass is founder and Managing Partner of The Interlochen Group, a CFO services firm which deploys its seasoned CFOs into middle market companies in the midst of transition. Ben talked to Professional Atlanta about how and why executive services firms like Interlochen are in such high demand. He also provides his experiences and advice about marketing professional services to Private Equity Groups and Commercial Lenders (his primary referral sources) and to CFOs. Find out more about Ben and his firm at www.interlochengroup.com

Developing a Culture of Growth in a Slow Growth Market

2009-11-16T23:55:00Z

I’ve been on a whirlwind tour recently as we expand Creative Growth Group nationally. Here are lessons learned about building a growth culture, avoiding commoditization and building client relationships from my recent multi-market travels to “Professional Cities” beyond “Professional Atlanta” like Boston, Tucson, Chicago and more. Plus, what I learned from Chinese business executives about relationship development. One word: “Guanxi.” That’s the Chinese art of building long term business relationships and networks of influence.

Military Lessons for Professional Services Leaders

2009-11-09T23:48:00Z

Stand at attention and listen here. OK, you can sit if you want to but pay attention nonetheless.

Wednesday, November 11 is Veteran’s Day so we thought it would be appropriate to interview two distinguished military veterans about how they’ve translated their military experience into professional services success.

Battlefield to Business: Lieutenant Jason Jones is a Principal at CresaPartners, an international corporate real estate advisory firm that exclusively advocates on behalf of tenants. Jason focuses exclusively on representing companies and professional service firms and helping them reduce real estate costs by creating competition among Landlords to ensure the lowest rental rates possible. Jason applies lessons learned from his military career to his business processes. His naval service included flying A-6 Intruder attack jets off aircraft carriers. He’s the host of the Battlefield to Business podcast , in which Jason interviews veterans who have become notable business leaders, and he’s the co-founder of the not-for-profit, VetLoop, which helps veterans enter the commercial workforce. For more about Jason Jones and his commercial and non-profit work, see www.meetup.com/vetloop/ , www.cresapartners.com , www.jasonjonesnomad.com/ and http://www.linkedin.com/in/teefus

Certain to Win: Colonel Chet Richards is a member of the professional staff at J. Addams and Partners Public Relations – a full-service boutique communications agency and was a colleague of the legendary, late Colonel John Boyd – who was a United States Air Force fighter pilot and military strategist, whose theories have been highly influential in the military and in business. He is also Adjunct Professor of Strategy and Quantitative Methods in the Family Business Exec MBA program at Kennesaw State University and the author of four books including Certain to Win which develops the strategy of the late Colonel John Boyd for the world of business. In his business affairs, Richards specializes in helping organizations use time as a competitive weapon to increase revenue, market share, and profitability. See www.chetrichards.com and www.jaddams.com for more on Colonel Richards work and ideas.

Building Great Habits and Leadership Influence in Professional Services

2009-10-27T02:31:00Z

Play interview

Cheri Flake is a rocker with one of her songs woven through a Ford ad; she’s a new mom and she’s the spouse of a Partner with a major Atlanta law firm. Cheri is also a highly accomplished therapist and coach and a sparkling light when it comes to helping professionals create successful habits. She says we don’t break bad habits so much as we replace them with better ones. She’ll teach you how to trick your brain so that you’re free to accomplish more before you even know it. http://www.guidinginneraction.com/

Dean Harbry has run marathons, delivered aid in war-torn Bosnia, and served with a leading financial services firm. He now consults to and coaches senior executives at some of the world’s leading companies, professional services firms and non-profits. Dean is a deep expert in Leadership Influence – how professionals can move organizations positively forward through a coaching approach which persuades through engagement rather than brute force. http://www.internalinnovations.com/

If you want to change your mind and change your results for the better, listen to what Cheri and Dean have to say in their Centers of Influence interviews on Professional Atlanta.

Swivel Chairs, Naked Dogs, Evil Kneivel and Stephen King and the Professional Services Marketplace

2009-10-20T00:04:00Z

Centers of Influence Interviews for October 19, 2009:

Hear what Brian Falony, Marketing Director for Habif Arogeti & Wynne LLP, has to say about what marketing swivel chairs and accountants have in common and on his Firm’s recent acquisition and integration of two competitors and about HA&W’s foray into social media and ongoing community commitments. www.hawcpa.com

Then, listen to what Evil Kneivel, Stephen King, and Naked Dogs have to do with Tom Matte and his firm, Max 2.0 www.max2oadvertising.com and what Max 2.0 has to do with Conversational Branding and the Professional Services Marketplace on this Professional Atlanta Centers of Influence interview.

Professional Services between the hedges and in the clouds

2009-10-06T01:24:00Z

On this week’s Professional Atlanta centers-of-influence interview, we uncover how professional services are popping up between the hedges and in the cloud(s)

Between the hedges: Academic institutions can be professional services firms too. Dan Stotz, Director of Strategic Partnerships, University of Georgia Terry College of Business Executive Education Center based in ATL, spoke with Professional Atlanta about how his organization delivers customized business knowledge to the most progressive companies. UGA is also pioneering partnerships and alliances with professional services firms and other business schools (like University of Michigan) to provide a new level of value. This ain’t your daddy’s b-school. http://www.terry.uga.edu/atlanta/

In the cloud: Eric Sanders, Client Manager for Appirio shared his firm’s experiences helping professional services organizations to move their entire business to the cloud. That means major law firms, accounting firms and consulting firms are shifting away from software that is loaded on to their organization’s servers and directly on to their professionals’ PCs. Instead, they’re increasingly using software-as-a-services (SaaS) solutions such as Salesforce.com which are require no software on the Firm’s premise or professionals’ computers. What does this mean for the ability to attract and service clients? One thing seems certain: Appirio is going to play a role in ensuring a positive answer. Appirio is Silicon Valley-based and Sequoia Capital funded but one of its founders, Glenn Weinstein, is Atlanta-based so this is a key market for the company. www.appirio.com

Please listen to the interviews and share your views.

Eric Sanders, Appirio (left) with Dan Stotz, UGA (right) on Professional Atlanta Radio Show

Finding the Balance

2009-09-15T01:42:00Z

Listen: it can be done. If you want a stellar example of work-life balance demonstrated by a professional services firm leader, listen to what Bari Love has to say in this interview for Professional Atlanta. Bari is a Partner with the communications firm, Jackson Spalding www.jacksonspalding.com - a fifteen year old marketing and public relations agency which is the largest independent communications firm based in the Southeast.

We asked Bari to join us because she seems to have a remarkable capacity for achieving success with balance. She’s not only a highly accomplished professional services leader (she’s unquestionably a “prime mover” in Atlanta’s marketing services world), but also a deeply engaged community leader and very successful parent. Every rising professional we know struggles with how to achieve the kind of balance that Bari has apparently managed…In this interview, Bari shares her secret formula…one of the ingredients, it turns out, is Jackson Spalding which actively fosters and encourages a unique balance among its professionals.

Andrew Dietz, Creative Growth Group (Left) with Bari Love, Jackson Spalding (Right)

Connecting with Clients – Online and Off

2009-09-01T01:08:09Z

How do you build relationships with prospects and clients in professional services? Seeking client feedback, sharing content of value and building dialogue with clients and prospects in a comfortable and conducive setting are all keys to demonstrating a professional’s capability and affability. Jennifer Boozer is the Director of Marketing for Buckhead Life Restaurant Group www.buckheadrestaurants.com and Pamela Adams is Regional Development Director for Constant Contact www.constantcontact.com In this week’s Centers of Influence interview, both of these professionals provide insight, tips and techniques for cultivating clients online and off.

Pamela Adams (left) of Constant Contact and Jennifer Boozer of Buckhead Restaurant Group (right)

August 24th Centers of Influence Double-Header

2009-08-25T01:37:00Z

Game 1: Interview with Alan Deutschman, best-selling author of Change or Die on new book, Walk the Walk. Great lessons for Professional Services Firm leaders…only for those who actually want to succeed, that is. www.alandeutschman.com He also provides tips on how to get on Vanity Fair’s Power 100 list (which he helps compile)…hint, there’s no hope for me. Also, we’re proud to announce that Alan is going to be the keynote speaker at the 2009 Client Advisor Awards www.clientadvisorawards.com Alas, that’s still not getting me on Vanity Fair’s list.

Game 2: Interview w/Abe Schear, Partner at the law firm of Arnall Golden Gregory www.agg.com Abe is the Chair of their Real Estate group, Chair of their Israeli Company initiative and he’s also the Firm’s “Marketing Partner.” We talked about the state of Atlanta commercial real estate, power breakfasts, & intersection of baseball & law. In addition to lawyering, Abe’s also the author of a great interview/newsletter about baseball and a book on the topic, too.

Alan Deutschman (Left), Author of Walk the Walk and Abe Schear (Right), Partner, Arnall Golden Gregory

Six Sigma and the Self-Destructive Habits of Professional Services Firms

2009-08-18T01:45:00Z

This week’s Centers of Influence Interview Guests: Paul Mattingly, Atlanta Managing Partner of Seyfarth Shaw www.seyfarth.com and Dr. Jag Sheth, Charles H. Kellstadt Professor of Marketing in the Goizueta Business School at Emory University www.jagsheth.com. Paul Mattingly described how Seyfarth Shaw has embraced the Six Sigma methodology as a tool to dramatically shift how the Firm operates inside and out and especially with regard to serving clients. Dr. Sheth is a renowned scholar and author on topics of relationship marketing and global strategy. Dr. Sheth gave us his direct and up-to-date views on how the themes of his books – especially Clients for Life, Self-Destructive Habits of Good Companies and Chindia Rising - impact the professional services markets.

If you want fresh insights into leading professional services firms, you definitely want to listen to these interviews.

Growing Firms By Acquisition and Alliance

2009-08-11T00:16:00Z

Atlanta harbors plenty of growth-focused professionals who see opportunity in the current market turmoil. This week’s Professional Atlanta Centers of Influence Interviews were with Seth McDaniel of Frazier & Deeter www.frazierdeeter.com and Michael Kogon of Definition 6 www.definition6.com Kogon tells us about how he plans to grow his interactive marketing agency in light of Navigation Capital’s recent commitment of $15 million to help Definition 6 accelerate nationally through hyper-organic and acquisition growth. McDaniel explains how his CPA firm is moving beyond the traditional confines of accountancy and past the geography of Atlanta through a new Alpharetta office and a national alliance it is spearheading. Listen here for growth ideas from two of Atlanta’s smartest young professional services firm leaders.

Acting on Diversity in the Professional Services Firm

2009-08-04T00:18:00Z

How should professional services firms act on diversity? With a broader and more contemporary world view than traditionally conceived say this week’s Centers of Influence interview guests: Richard Smith and Albert George of Atlanta-based, Roosevelt Thomas Consulting. Roosevelt Thomas Consulting & Training ( http://www.rthomasconsulting.com/ )is a full service diversity strategy consulting & training organization. But this is not diversity with a small “d” but rather with a capital “D.” That is, they take a much fuller and more integral view of Diversity than most – and have done long before others. Dr. Thomas was a doctoral student at Harvard Business School when he realized that Big D Diversity goes beyond a focus on race and gender or the work force but on diversity between functions and diversity of thought, style, culture and many other human competencies. Our interview with Richard Smith and Albert George is a mind-shifter – identifying the true challenge that Professional Services Firms and their Clients face as an issue of complexity not complexion. We operate in an increasingly complex and tumultuous global business environment and the organizational adaptability we need to succeed is best found in the diverse capabilities, knowledge and experiences of our workforce. Mr. Smith and Mr. George are clearly champions of race and gender diversity and they also argue that to stop there is to leave too much on the table. For professional services firms to compete most effectively requires building “adaptability through embracing a range of diverse human assets” as an organizational capability. Such a cultural shift can’t be achieved through a check-the-box, afterthought, let’s-do-a-diversity-workshop solution. But the impact may be nothing less than the survival of your firm in times of constant change. Please click on the Podcast Player to hear the full story about how you can achieve this change.

Professional Atlanta - Interview with Brian Betkowski of Jabian Consulting on Growing Up in a Down Market

2009-07-27T22:30:00Z

Listen here.

Could you use a dose of optimism? This week on Professional Atlanta we interviewed Brian Betkowski, one of the founding partners of Jabian Consulting. Brian’s a professional service firm leader who is defying the odds – growing his firm significantly in this crummy economy.

Jabian is a management and IT consulting firm that seeks to bridge the gap between business matters and IT capabilities and helps its client companies can use technology as a competitive weapon. The firm was founded about three years ago and Brian Betkowski is one of three founders. Brian specializes in business financial analysis, program management, business requirements creation, business process creation, and functional/solution architecture. Brian has led large teams through transformational programs involving complex IT systems and massive business change. Prior to co-founding Jabian Consulting, Brian worked with Accenture in their Communications and High Tech practice focusing on business consulting and systems integration. Prior to Accenture, Brian served as a Mechanical Engineer for Nordson Corporation where he was responsible for manufacturing, system design, research, and development. Education: Bachelor of Science in Mechanical Engineering from Georgia Tech.

Jabian’s recipe for success is especially in the rigorous approach they have to finding and integrating the best possible consultants. It’s also in leveraging their team’s brainpower to provide innovative thinking on behalf of their clients – on the firm’s own time and dime. Listen to this interview to hear about Jabian’s secret sauce.

Professional Atlanta | Interview with Scott Sorrels, Partner, Bryan Cave Powell Goldstein & Dr. Paul Voss of Georgia State University and Ethikos

2009-07-21T12:14:00Z

This week on Professional Atlanta we interviewed two guests who are experts on business ethics especially in the relationships between professional services firms and their clients: Scott Sorrels, Partner with Bryan Cave Powell Goldstein and Dr. Paul Voss of Georgia State University and Ethikos.

Scott Sorrels is a Partner with the law firm Bryan Cave/Powell Goldstein where he concentrates in assisting clients in a corporate crisis environment sometimes triggered by ethical or legal challenges facing company leadership. Scott was also part of the leadership team at Powell Goldstein – including serving as the firm’s marketing partner - and now he is leading the merger integration of Powell Goldstein with Bryan Cave. www.bryancave.com

Dr. Paul J. Voss is President of Ethikos and an Associate Professor at Georgia State University where he teaches courses on Shakespeare, Dante, Machiavelli, Business Ethics, Renaissance Literature, and the History of the Book. He’s applied that grounding in the classics to help businesses and professional services firms improve their business ethics processes and corporate stewardship. He’s got clients like the FBI Labs, General Electric Energy, British Petroleum, and the Home Depot. He is currently completing his next book, Loved or Feared: Paradigm Shifts and the Rejection of Machiavelli. www.ethikos.com

Listen to the program for smart talk from a couple of high integrity professionals.

Professional Atlanta - Interview with Gensler Managing Director, Stephen Swicegood on Workplace Design and Branding for Professional Firms

2009-07-13T22:11:05Z

Stephen Swicegood – Managing Director of Gensler’s Atlanta office joined us for a Centers of Influence interview on 7/13/09. Gensler www.gensler.com is one of the world’s leading architecture and design firms with more than 2000 professionals across 32 global locations. Stephen joined the firm in 2005 after 30 years experience as a principal with some of the leading Architecture, Design and Engineering firms in Atlanta. Stephen is internationally known as a leader and trailblazer in workplace strategy and design and his projects and his thinking on workplace design have been featured in international publications such as Chief Executive, Financial Times, Training & Development, Architectural Record, The New Office, and Contract magazine. And, he's received major industry honors such as being named a Fellow of the American Institute of Architects, Upjohn Fellow of the American Institute of Architects, and recipient of the Rothschild Award of AIA Georgia

We asked Stephen to visit with us and share his views on not only running a major office for a global professional services firm but also to describe his experiences serving Atlanta’s professional services community. Listen to the interview to learn how workplace design can serve as a vital competitive weapon for professional services firms.

Professional Atlanta Interview With Loyalty Marketing Expert Phil Rubin Of rDialogue

2009-07-08T04:27:00Z

If you're interested in protecting and expanding existing client relationships, listen to this Professional Atlanta interview with Atlanta's own Centers of Influence and expert on customer loyalty, Phil Rubin, CEO of rDialogue. rDialogue is a consulting firm that designs, implements, and supports a full range of loyalty and relationship marketing initiatives for its clients which include some of the world’s leading brands like Arby’s, Caribou Coffee, Cracker Barrel, Sprint, Merial and Getty Images. We asked Phil how professionals and their firms can apply loyalty-marketing concepts that work for consumer products and services to their own business to business client management efforts. Check it out...and, as a bonus, you'll hear about where Atlanta's professional services advisors are wining and dining their best prospects and clients...and where Phil recommends for the best service quality and customer loyalty program.