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Smart Collaboration: How Professionals and Their Firms Succeed by Breaking Down Silos Hardcover – January 3, 2017

4.2 out of 5 stars 74 ratings

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A Washington Post Bestseller

Not all collaboration is smart. Make sure you do it right.

Professional service firms face a serious challenge. Their clients increasingly need them to solve complex problems―everything from regulatory compliance to cybersecurity, the kinds of problems that only teams of multidisciplinary experts can tackle.

Yet most firms have carved up their highly specialized, professional experts into narrowly defined practice areas, and collaborating across these silos is often messy, risky, and expensive. Unless you know why you’re collaborating and how to do it effectively, it may not be smart at all. That’s especially true for partners who have built their reputations and client rosters independently, not by working with peers.

In Smart Collaboration, Heidi K. Gardner shows that firms earn higher margins, inspire greater client loyalty, attract and retain the best talent, and gain a competitive edge when specialists collaborate across functional boundaries. Gardner, a former McKinsey consultant and Harvard Business School professor now lecturing at Harvard Law School, has spent over a decade conducting in-depth studies of numerous global professional service firms. Her research with clients and the empirical results of her studies demonstrate clearly and convincingly that collaboration pays, for both professionals and their firms.

But Gardner also offers powerful prescriptions for how leaders can foster collaboration, move to higher-margin work, increase client satisfaction, improve lateral hiring, decrease enterprise risk, engage workers to contribute their utmost, break down silos, and boost their bottom line.

With case studies and real-world insights, Smart Collaboration delivers an authoritative case for the value of collaboration to today’s professionals, their firms, and their clients and shows you exactly how to achieve it.

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Editorial Reviews

Review

"[Gardner's research] shows, unequivocally, the business and people benefits of collaboration…Far from being an added cost that clients will not pay for, it is the firms and individuals who do not address collaboration who are at the greatest risk of failing to grow, or even going out of business altogether." -- Journal of the Knowledge and Information Management Group (CILIP)

"This may be the best professional service marketing book for 20 years." -- Professional Marketer

“[Gardner] explains that in the modern world clients increasingly demand a highly sophisticated service when seeking solutions to complex problems. Such issues demand interdisciplinary teams.” ― Forbes

“The book is persuasive and thorough… a good guide on collaboration and how to overcome the resistance of the solo player.” ― Financial Times

“[Gardner proposes] clear methods to help leaders promote collaboration in and between their teams, to improve the client experience and to attract and retain talent…. always with a view to ensuring that collaboration remains a useful tool and does not become an end in itself.” ― Business Digest (France)

“Gardner’s insights offer valuable guidance for any knowledge-based organization that needs to bring teams of people together to innovate, create, and implement complex business solutions… She also offers practical advice on issues such as creating the right compensation systems, knowledge sharing and collaborative technology platforms.” ― Developing Leaders

“a practical, research-grounded, book on collaboration.” ― CHOICE, the publication of the American Library Association

“… valuable material to those of us who recognise that incremental change is, in reality, more sustainable and valuable. And that getting better at this is not a nice-to-have, it is vital.” ― Legal Business magazine

ADVANCE PRAISE for Smart Collaboration:

Scott McDonald, President and CEO, Oliver Wyman Group―
“Drawing on deep analysis and case studies across organizations, Gardner has turned a tricky topic―how to collaborate and why―into a set of clear prescriptions.”

Jami McKeon, Chair, Morgan Lewis & Bockius LLP―
Smart Collaboration makes a bulletproof case for why collaborating provides the best results for clients and just makes good business sense.”

Richard Susskind, coauthor, The Future of the Professions
“A remarkable blend of theory and practice, Gardner’s work on collaboration is at once rigorous and actionable. Backed by extensive empirical research, her book offers crucial guidance for professionals who want to deepen their relationships with clients, improve the service they provide, and increase their profitability―and that should be all professionals.”

J. Michael McGuire, CEO, Grant Thornton LLP―
“In
Smart Collaboration, Gardner uses relevant case studies, sharp analysis, and straightforward writing to make this important point: well-structured collaboration among a firm’s professionals is the path to a more interesting, satisfying, and profitable future for those talented people.”

Matthew Layton, Global Managing Partner, Clifford Chance LLP―
“Gardner’s extensive and robust research, coupled with her trademark humor and warmth, make for a compelling insight into the myths surrounding collaboration while also offering some very tangible solutions to how collaboration can and should be embraced to most powerfully serve clients.”

About the Author

Heidi K. Gardner is a Distinguished Fellow at Harvard Law School’s Center on the Legal Profession, where she serves as a Lecturer on Law and Faculty Chair of the Accelerated Leadership Program. She was previously a Harvard Business School professor, McKinsey consultant, and Fulbright scholar. Gardner has lived and worked on four continents. Find Heidi Gardner at hls.harvard.edu/faculty/directory/11330/Gardner and linkedin.com/in/heidi-k-gardner-ab5b825, and follow on Twitter @heidigardnerphd.

Product details

  • ASIN ‏ : ‎ 1633691101
  • Publisher ‏ : ‎ Harvard Business Review Press (January 3, 2017)
  • Language ‏ : ‎ English
  • Hardcover ‏ : ‎ 272 pages
  • ISBN-10 ‏ : ‎ 9781633691100
  • ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-1633691100
  • Reading age ‏ : ‎ 5 years and up
  • Item Weight ‏ : ‎ 1.08 pounds
  • Dimensions ‏ : ‎ 6.2 x 1.1 x 9.3 inches
  • Customer Reviews:
    4.2 out of 5 stars 74 ratings

About the author

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Heidi K. Gardner
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Dr. Heidi K. Gardner is a sought-after advisor, keynote speaker, and facilitator for organizations across a wide range of industries globally. Named by Thinkers50 as a Next Generation Business Guru, she is a Distinguished Fellow at Harvard Law School and former professor at Harvard Business School. She is currently the faculty chair and instructor in multiple executive education programs at both institutions.

Dr. Gardner works extensively with her team at Gardner & Co., partnering with boards, executive teams, and other senior leaders to boost performance by embedding the principles and practices of smarter, agile, cross-silo collaboration within those groups and across the broader organization and ecosystem—resulting in concrete, quantifiable performance improvements.

Altogether, Dr. Gardner has authored (or co-authored) more than 100 books, chapters, case studies, and articles. Her research received the Academy of Management’s prize for Outstanding Practical Implications for Management and has been selected multiple times for Harvard Business Review’s “best of” collections. Her research has been featured in major media outlets around the globe.

Dr. Gardner has lived and worked on four continents, including as a Fulbright Fellow, and for McKinsey & Co. and Procter & Gamble. She earned her BA in Japanese Studies from the University of Pennsylvania (Phi Beta Kappa, Summa Cum Laude), a master’s degree from the London School of Economics, and a second master’s and Ph.D. from London Business School.

Customer reviews

4.2 out of 5 stars
74 global ratings

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Customers say

Customers appreciate the book's compelling case for interdisciplinary collaboration and its practical tips for leaders. They find it an excellent read, with one customer noting that the heavy content is approachable for any reader.

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14 customers mention "Collaboration"11 positive3 negative

Customers appreciate the book's emphasis on interdisciplinary collaboration and its compelling case for breaking down silos, with one customer highlighting its practical tips for leaders.

"...together more effectively, not as a goal, but in order to produce better client outcomes and better business results for our own organizations...." Read more

"...The book has lots of practical tips for leaders on how to make this kind of collaboration happen more, (I read Chapter 6 on compensation twice)...." Read more

"...Ms. Gardner provides the evidence pointing out the financial benefits of collaboration, the relationship benefits, and the obstacles to collaboration..." Read more

"...Valuable in academic environments was the presentation of the integrative research center construct which applies collaboration disciplines in the..." Read more

5 customers mention "Readability"5 positive0 negative

Customers find the book excellent and easy to read, with one mentioning that the heavy content is approachable for any reader.

"...Gardner has a talent for making heavy content approachable for any reader...." Read more

"An excellent read. Smart insights, backed by data. A must read for anyone focused client development in a law firm!" Read more

"Smart Collaboration is well worth the read..." Read more

"A must read for professionals looking to be successful in the next ten years...." Read more

Top reviews from the United States

  • Reviewed in the United States on January 17, 2017
    With Smart Collaboration, Heidi Gardner has done the impossible...she has saved us from our own instincts as experts! This book enables groups of professionals to work together more effectively, not as a goal, but in order to produce better client outcomes and better business results for our own organizations.

    Like any company, knowledge-based firms tend to organize their business in silos. And these silos can be limiting for clients and the experts who serve them. Gardner, who is ex-McKinsey and teaches at Harvard Business School and Harvard Law School, focuses her research on professional services firms. The principles she discusses in Smart Collaboration, which goes beyond the articles she has published in Harvard Business Review, apply equally well to any B2B organization.

    This book is well organized, very readable and practical. She does a great job incorporating the voice of the client, and bringing in real examples from her research about what experts believe, do and think. She also includes several chapters that appeal to different audiences within the professional services firm. So regardless of your level, there are valuable comments in here for you. Gardner has a talent for making heavy content approachable for any reader. And the tips she offers are grounded in research and can be immediately put to work.

    I highly recommend Smart Collaboration. You'll enjoy reading it and, if you're ready, will gain a return from applying it to your interactions with colleagues and clients.
  • Reviewed in the United States on February 14, 2017
    In a world where collaboration is ever-important, especially within business, it can be confusing or concerning to note that many professional firms are stuck in a silo-based mentality and can struggle to cooperate with peers, rivals and other firms for the benefit of their client. Any cooperative attempts may be sub-optimal, even if the firms believe they are really cooperating.

    This book takes an interesting and focussed look at this collaboration problem and advocates the adoption of a manner of intelligent, smart collaboration. The task of introducing change in some quarters is not underplayed and it can be fraught with difficulties, yet a little pain if necessary can be essential. Within business, many problems require an interdisciplinary team of experts on side and invariably this will require close-cooperation between firms for the benefit of their customer.

    At the heart of this book is a massive research project that involved global professional service firms, digging deep into how they operate, cooperate and function at a deep level. The result is proof that collaboration should be central to their future and a win-win for everybody, even though many firms and their key players don’t seem to see the wood for the trees. With that in mind, guidance is given to help kickstart collaboration throughout the firm, positioning the many benefits and advantages that await them. The author digs deep at the research, building around it a helpful, informative information resources that certainly seems hard to disagree with.

    Despite not working in a large professional service firm, this was an interesting read with potential to reach into companies of all shapes and sizes, whether as client or service provider. It was a deep, expansive read that is capable of being a very knowledgeable, helpful companion for a long time too.
  • Reviewed in the United States on January 6, 2017
    By having expanded into each other’s practice and geographic territories over the last two decades, law firms have given client companies a broad set of possible service providers. With many potential providers of essentially the same service offering, client companies can, and do, push for lower prices. This has set in motion the eroding price and profitability dynamic that has dogged much of Big Law since the last recession.

    The way out of this for law firms is to develop more offerings that other firms can’t match. Gardner’s research shows how ‘smart collaboration’ can enable firms to do this: by integrating offerings across multiple disciplines and geographies, law firms can come up with offerings that are more responsive to client needs and truly differentiated from competing providers. Her data show revenues and margins grow in consequence.

    The book points out an important distinction: collaboration is different from cross selling. Rather than simply introducing your partner so she can provide her standalone service, collaboration is about binding the different specialisms together into offerings that can't be provided on a standalone basis, (Figure 1-3 is worth staring at for a bit to get it).

    The book has lots of practical tips for leaders on how to make this kind of collaboration happen more, (I read Chapter 6 on compensation twice). None of it will be easy to implement. But firm leaders don’t have a choice but to try. Failure to integrate legal specialisms through smart collaboration will consign firms to a doom loop of eroding profitability and loss of their most commercially-capable partners.

    Thank you, Professor Gardner, for explicating the why and how so clearly!

Top reviews from other countries

  • Kevin - London
    5.0 out of 5 stars Crucial advice for firms
    Reviewed in the United Kingdom on January 11, 2017
    This thoroughly researched work by Heidi Gardner is an essential guide for Professional Service Firms who want to thrive in a difficult and uncertain marketplace. Indeed, better collaboration among partners could become the key differentiator because of the benefits that it delivers to clients. Clients have told me time and again that they want to engage with partners who “bring the expertise of whole firm” into the issues that they are facing. But clients also complain that this behaviour is still comparatively rare in a world where partners often hunt alone through their silos of individual expertise. Gardner both explores the differing attitudes and behaviours of various types of partner – whether they are solo specialists or seasoned collaborators - and shows how they can better work together for the benefit of their clients.

    Very importantly, the evidence is clear that improved collaboration will take the firm into better, more strategic and more profitable work, whilst at the same time improving clients’ loyalty. So, the wins available for firms that learn how to harness the power of collaboration are substantial and long term.

    I found the book to be written in a very approachable style and it has encouraged me to look again at the way my partners work together and address this key leadership issue. Lots of helpful insights and ideas throughout the book.
  • Amazon Customer
    4.0 out of 5 stars Four Stars
    Reviewed in Canada on May 20, 2017
    This book was bought for coworkers. It was ask for them to read it before a meeting
  • Charles M.
    5.0 out of 5 stars There are lots of good ideas in this book to help the reader make ...
    Reviewed in the United Kingdom on January 25, 2017
    This book is a valuable tool for law firm or law firm leaders who want to understand the why and how of collaboration. Few can argue that creating a collaborative environment is one of the main keys to unlocking latent value in most law firms. This is a profession that naturally inclines towards siloed thinking. Clients and prospective employees will be drawn to the firm that can overcome it. Innovation, client loyalty, fewer mistakes and a more robust practice are the prizes that await.

    The devil is in the detail and the challenge is to bring about change incrementally. There are lots of good ideas in this book to help the reader make that happen.
  • Daniel Rogoff
    5.0 out of 5 stars Good book
    Reviewed in the United Kingdom on June 16, 2019
    All good.