A guide to project-based success

Leadership, efficient business systems and clear goals are the key ingredients to business growth.

Great leaders will have a fully rounded 3D perspective of their business; they understand that while clients are important it is equally important to focus on being a great leader. It is about both doing business and running a business. According to the University of Cambridge Judge Business School there are five topics that are vital to the success of any professional service firm. These five topics are: strategy and differentiation, leadership, people management, client service and business development. Key to the success in a growing professional service firm is transparency and action, turning concepts and ideas into specific actions that will improve individual, practice and firm performance.

The key signposts for any growing project-based firm must include enterprise resource planning (ERP). You should ensure your ERP system is set up for your project-led business infrastructure. Finding a solution that connects all aspects of the business both front and back end will increase efficiency, decrease confusion and create accurate proposals that turn into projects and invoices.

1. Project-based firms need a project-based ERP that drives billable capacity and project profitability. An ERP system that best suits professional service firms will avoid complex and costly customisation, enabling quicker growth and immediate tangible value.

2. Having a completely connected and well-designed planning solution ensures low maintenance, as you will only need to look after the one system. Using a cloud-based solution will further lower maintenance costs as maintenance, upgrades and security is handled by a vendor whose focus is solely on an impenetrable data centre.

3. You want to find a proven professional services project-based ERP system that is easily adapted. The system should allow you to personalise views, create your own reports and add new workflows as necessary.

4. Project-based firms are only as good as their leaders. To successfully grow, those leaders need to have three-dimensional vision, the knowledge on how to lead and which paths they should take. Leaders don’t just wear one hat or have one responsibility; they must be unique and strategic, manage employees, manage clients and manage business systems.