I wanted to play the Great Highland bagpipes for as long as I can remember. There is something about the instrument that resists easy explanation to people who didn't grow up hearing it. The sound is simultaneously mournful and triumphant. It demands space — physically, acoustically, emotionally. You cannot play the bagpipes quietly or halfheartedly. The instrument doesn't allow it. When I was in my early 30s, with young children at home and the kind of financial and professi

Over 25 years of advising boutique professional services and advisory firms, I have watched the same pattern repeat itself often enough that I no longer consider it coincidental. Seven times, a firm I was working with — helping them clarify their positioning, build their market credibility, and connect their intellectual capital to their business development process — was subsequently acquired by a significantly larger institution, including investment banks, insurance holdin

Most professional services firms invest time and resources in developing thought leadership. Articles are written. Insights are published. Perspectives are shared. The assumption is that this activity will strengthen the firm’s visibility, reinforce its reputation, and, over time, lead to new business opportunities. But in many firms, that connection never materializes. The content exists. The thinking may even be strong. But it produces few tangible business outcomes. Where

That may sound like a strange question coming from someone who has spent decades advising professional services firms on marketing, visibility, and reputation. But consider this. When growth slows or market engagement weakens, many firms assume the problem lies with their website. The typical response is to redesign the site, rewrite service descriptions, improve SEO, and add more content. Yet very little often changes. That’s because most professional services firms don’t ac

If you’re a B2B firm owner frustrated with marketing, don’t ask whether your campaigns or tactics are working. Ask whether ROI is even structurally possible. Here are five signs that suggest you’re spinning your wheels, marketing-wise. 1. Your B2B firm’s growth still depends on you. If the most meaningful deals originate from the founder’s relationships, reputation, or direct involvement…you don’t have a marketing engine. You have founder-driven selling with marketing support