Publications

September 2013
Case

Professional Development at DLA Piper—Building the Strength of Global Legal Talent

By: Heidi K. Gardner and Nicolas Thornley

Program

Leading Professional Service Firms

achievement Create an intimate, flexible culture that is inclusive, supportive, and collegial Help professionals manage rising expectations, remain productive, and grow throughout their careers Develop... View Details

Keywords: Professional Services; Professional Services

22 Jan 2008
Research & Ideas

New Challenges in Leading Professional Services

Professional service firms—law firms, financial services firms, money management firms, private equity firms, hedge funds, management consultants, advertising agencies—are the most challenging and exciting organizations to lead, maintain... View Details

Keywords: by Sean Silverthorne; Consulting; Accounting; Legal Services

Research Summary

Building Capabilities in Professional Service Firms

One of the most distinctive aspects of professional service firms is that the vast majority of the people who work in them are directly involved in serving clients. Long-term success in a professional service firm requires obtaining and developing the right... View Details

2002
Chapter

Making Sense of Officership: Developing a Professional Identity for 21st Century Army Officers

By: George B. Forsythe, Scott Snook, Philip Lewis and Paul T. Bartone

Keywords: Leadership; Identity

09 Feb 2015
Research & Ideas

Professional Networking Makes People Feel Dirty

professional networking conjures unctuous thoughts of pressing the flesh with potential employers, laughing at unfunny jokes, and pretending to enjoy ourselves. No wonder a recent study found that View Details

Keywords: by Carmen Nobel

12 Sep 2018
Blog Post

Optimizing the Coaching Experience for Midcareer Professionals

Most HBS students are aware of the complementary coaching opportunities available through Career & Professional Development (CPD). Yet many of them, and their alumni colleagues, may not know that... View Details

January 2004 (Revised May 2004)
Background Note

Strategy and Positioning in Professional Service Firms

By: Ashish Nanda

This case provides a definition of strategy, distinguishes between corporate and practice strategy, and discusses how and why developing and implementing strategy for professional service firms is different from developing and implementing strategy for commercial... View Details

Keywords: Corporate Strategy; Service Industry

May 2010
Article

Leadership Effort in Professional Radiology Associations

By: Srikant M. Datar, John Tan and Sanjay Saini

Professional associations advocate for their members' interests; provide forums for education, training, and certification; and support domain-specific research and development efforts. The purpose of this study was to determine the amount of resources devoted to the... View Details

Keywords: Leadership; Cooperation; Society; Health Industry

October 2000 (Revised March 2001)
Case

eLance.com: Building a Professional Services Marketplace

By: Lynda M. Applegate and Kristin Kohler

Launched as an eBay for services, eLance promises to leverage the capabilities of the Internet to not only change the way services are bought and sold, but change the fundamental dynamics of the global economy. Building on theories posited in the HBR article by Tim... View Details

Keywords: Entrepreneurship; Technological Innovation; Job Search; Business or Company Management; Growth and Development Strategy; Business Strategy; Competitive Strategy; Web Sites; Information Technology Industry; Service Industry

06 Apr 2010
News

Harvard Business School Career & Professional Development Receives IBM Excellence In Career Services Award

June 2013 (Revised August 2013)
Background Note

Crafting a Career Narrative for New Professionals

By: Heidi K. Gardner and Adam Zalisk

Description: This note suggests an approach for developing an effective "career narrative"—a tool for packaging and sharing a professional's past achievements, long-term goals, and forward-looking needs through a compelling story. It focuses mostly on the ways junior... View Details

Keywords: Personal Development and Career

May 2003 (Revised March 2006)
Case

Carol Fishman Cohen: Professional Career Reentry (A)

By: Myra M. Hart, Robin J. Ely and Susan Wojewoda

Explores the career challenges facing highly successful women who leave the full-time workforce for several years to manage family commitments. Carol Cohen is a 1985 Harvard MBA who has professional line experience in a manufacturing environment, followed by a... View Details

Keywords: Work-Life Balance; Family and Family Relationships

Research Summary

Reinventing Yourself: Identity and Transformation in Professional Careers

Professor Herminia Ibarra is working on a book about people who change careers. The book explains why, when, and how people find themselves at a crossroads in their career and how they develp the skills they need to make their way successfully to a new professional... View Details

April 1999 (Revised August 2004)
Case

Women's Professional Basketball and the American Basketball League

By: Stephen A. Greyser and Natalie Zakarian

Chronicles the growth and development of women's professional basketball. Particular emphasis is on the impact of Title IX, the 1996 women's gold medal Olympic team, and the advent of the American Basketball League (ABL). The structure and "basic business model" of the... View Details

Keywords: Business Model; Problems and Challenges; Sports; Gender; Planning; Growth and Development; Sports Industry

April 2000 (Revised October 2002)
Background Note

Career Strategies and Tactics in Professional Service Firms

By: Ashish Nanda, Thomas J. DeLong and Scot H. Landry

Presents suggestions for ensuring a good start in a professional services career. View Details

Keywords: Personal Development and Career; Performance Expectations; Performance Effectiveness; Customization and Personalization; Practice; Valuation; Performance Evaluation; Business Startups; Competency and Skills; Learning; Talent and Talent Management; Management Skills; Consulting Industry

November 1999 (Revised November 2000)
Background Note

Overview of the Professional Services Course, An

By: Thomas J. DeLong and Ashish Nanda

Provides an overview of the HBS MBA Professional Services Course. Presents a structure and an outline intended to serve as a reference and provide orientation to students as the course progresses. View Details

Keywords: Business Education; Curriculum and Courses; Personal Development and Career

Person Page

Course Development

By: Debora L. Spar

Managing International Trade and Investment

Despite the ease with which it is often conducted, doing business across borders is not the same as doing it at home. Rather, it entails a whole new set of managerial challenges: re-assessing competitive... View Details

2008
Other Unpublished Work

Punctuated Identities and the Careers of Professional Women

This paper proposes a punctuated equilibrium model of identity change to explain how professional women's career goals and attitudes can change rapidly and dramatically during mid-career years. Data collected from interviews of 43 women alumni of an elite business... View Details

Keywords: Work-Life Balance; Decision Choices and Conditions; Identity; Personal Development and Career; Gender