Acknowledgements Introduction: acquiring the key skills of a professional 01 The professional services business Introduction Management and economic performance Business structures Strategic planning and risk management Effective financial management Financial control The engine of profitability Getting profitable work Conclusion 02 Communicating with clients, professionals and third parties Introduction Differences in people What is communication? Verbal and non-verbal communication A communication model -- understanding the process of communication Listening skills Clarifying communication -- asking questions Emotional intelligence Communicating with others in rapport Communicating with clients Conclusion 03 Personal organization Introduction The three circles of personal organization Circle A: forward planning and priority setting Circle B: self-organization Further tools and ideas Circle C: managing relationships and communication Delegation Conclusion 04 Effective business writing Introduction What we want to avoid Your writing strategy Action: making something happen Structuring longer documents Sitting down to write Accuracy: spelling, grammar and punctuation Conclusion 05 Presentation skills Introduction Do your homework Choose your content Structure your content Prepare to present Deliver your presentation Deal with the unexpected Answer questions Conclusion 06 Meetings: making an effective contribution Introduction Before the meeting Effective preparation At the meeting Participating in meetings effectively Dealing with difficult people in meetings After the meeting Video and telephone meetings Conclusion 07 Networking Introduction What is networking? What is a network? Planning your networking strategy Developing your network -- places to meet The networking event What prevents us from networking? Dealing with difficult people and situations Managing your network and yourself Measuring success -- evaluation Conclusion 08 Negotiation skills Introduction Styles of negotiation Principled negotiation Preparing for a negotiation Your negotiation toolkit Tactics in negotiation Completing a negotiation Telephone negotiations Conclusion 09 Team working Introduction Individual performance and motivation Roles, relationships and groups Teams The life-cycle of a team Effective team members The team leader Conclusion 10 Managing performance, setting objectives, maintaining momentum and responding to feedback Introduction The benchmark for good performance Objectives Maintaining momentum Receiving feedback Giving feedback Performance reviews Conclusion 11 Financial and commercial awareness Introduction Types of trading entities The role of financial information within a business Internal application of financial information: management accounts External application of financial information: financial statements The regulatory framework for statutory accounts Interpreting the financial statements: assessing the financial health of a business Conclusion 12 Behaving professionally Introduction Professional behaviour Confidentiality Conflicts of interest Client care Risk management Conclusion 13 Where do you go from here? Index.