The Future of the Firm

Source

Conversations with experts that explore the big trends shaping the professional services industry.

  1. 11/18/2025

    Building Unity Advisory, a disruptive, AI-enabled consulting firm

    Marissa Thomas, CEO and Co-founder of Unity Advisory, joined Emma Carroll, Head of Content at Source, on the latest episode of our The Future of the Firm podcast to discuss the learnings and challenges of combining deep expertise with AI-enabled delivery to create a new advisory firm that's fit for the modern market.   Marissa shared her insights on the following matters and more:     How co-founders Thomas and Steve Varley saw a disruptive opportunity from three angles—AI and other exciting technologies, what experts want from their careers, and what clients really need—to launch Unity Advisory in March 2025.    One benefit of launching a firm in today's landscape is being able to take a comprehensive AI approach: Unity Advisory is "AI born, not AI-retrofitted".  Unity strives to focus on the service areas where clients want more choice, feel there is a supply shortage, or are inconsistently served.   Having found that the traditional hours and rates model is not well-loved by clients, Unity is using a combination of fixed and outcomes-based fees, including fees linked to metrics like satisfaction and cost savings.   The combination of engineering or coding skills and deep technical knowledge in areas like finance or tax is becoming an increasingly valuable asset when forming a team of experts.  If you enjoyed this conversation, don't miss our sister podcast, Business Leader's Voice. In a recent episode, we talked to Ahmed Abdel Wahab, General Manager for India at Mars, about how to be a truly authentic leader in a time of volatility like today.

    35 min
  2. 11/04/2025

    The professional services rebrand journey

    In this episode of the Business Leader's Voice podcast, Antonia Wade, Global Chief Marketing Officer for PwC, joins our Head of Content, Emma Carroll, to share her experience of PwC's recent rebrand.  Antonia shares insights on these matters and more:  Rather than focusing solely on demand generation, it is important that firms strategically invest at the broader brand level to increase awareness, perception, and consideration, especially as modern business requires reaching a broader set of C-suite executives than before.  Define distinctiveness through how work is done: Consulting firms should differentiate themselves by focusing on how they execute their services, rather than just what services they offer. A core component of brand strategy should be identifying and amplifying the distinctive ways your firm operates, which also aids in winning work as well as attracting and retaining top talent. It's important not to treat a brand transformation solely as a marketing exercise; instead, firms can establish co-ownership of the programme with other senior stakeholders and colleagues, including those from Human Resources, Account Management, and Client Experience, to achieve greater impact, relevance, and longevity.  Prioritise internal training for people. The workforce is the ultimate expression of you brand, so don't neglect internal buy-in. Provide compelling training on the brand's value and their ambassadorial role. Think about giving local teams the flexibility to adapt core materials and use other ways to secure commitment across regions.  To ensure brand efficacy, firms must establish a continuous client feedback loop. This process allows for constant refinement of the brand system, media spend, and service offerings. Effectiveness can be validated using tangible metrics like advertising recall, share of search, and proprietary brand consideration data.  If you enjoyed this conversation, don't miss our sister podcast, Business Leader's Voice. In a recent episode, we talked to Ahmed Abdel Wahab, General Manager for India at Mars, about what it takes to be a truly authentic leader today, particularly in a time of volatility.

    26 min
  3. 10/08/2025

    The Top Challenge for Legal CMOs: Building a Next Generation Growth Engine

    In this episode of the Future of the Firm podcast, Emma Carroll, our Head of Content, speaks to Karen Morton, the Chief Marketing Officer of Cleary Gottlieb and President of LMA Europe. They discuss the newly launched report, produced in a collaboration between Source and the Legal Marketing Association Europe, that examines The Top Challenge for Legal CMOs: Building a Next Generation Growth Engine.  Karen and Emma shared their insights on these matters and more:  Revenue generation is a core part of the CMO's role, and 67% of those surveyed say it is set to become even more important. With growth a big goal for firms today, their marketing leaders need to free up time and resource to support them with this.  96% of marketing leaders say they'll be investing more in technology within their function over the next 18 months. Challenges they face include knowing the optimal timing for tech investment, guaranteeing seamless integration across disparate systems, and transforming raw data into meaningful insights.  Over 50% of respondents from the survey say that using technology and analytics to better understand client behaviour and deliver an exceptional experience is crucial. This shift further towards data-driven insights is now central to the role of CMOs.  Law firm marketing and business development leaders should prioritise using technology to increase efficiency and output by automating mundane tasks and reducing human error, thus creating a high-performing and sustainable team.  Law firms need to move away from mass content distribution and instead focus on delivering personalised, targeted insights that really resonate with clients.  If you enjoyed this conversation, don't miss our sister podcast, Business Leader's Voice. In a recent episode, we talked to Aurelija Pletiene, Director of Product Management at Vinted, about how you can cut through the noise to align, focus, and deliver innovation around trust and safety.

    17 min
  4. 09/08/2025

    How to talk to your clients about value

    In this episode of the Future of the Firm podcast, Emma Carroll, our Head of Content, interviews experts from across Source to unpack what "value" really means in consulting today. Drawing on our Emerging Trends Report and our latest research, we explore the persistent gap between quality and value—and what firms can do to close it.  We discussed the following matters and more:    According to our research, 79% of clients rate consulting quality highly, but only 49% believe they get enough value over and above what they pay in fees. Our experts offer some advice on how firms can close this gap, including by communicating the value they create.  In today's climate of economic uncertainty and tighter budgets, clients are demanding a clear, measurable return on investment (ROI) from every engagement. Before they pursue any new initiative, they need to be certain they will get a tangible return.  Clients see "better" value as being created in many ways, including:   more innovation  stronger stakeholder influence  lasting education for their teams While over 80% of firms discuss value with clients during a project, only 17% continue that conversation once the work is done. This means the vast majority are leaving future opportunities—and important insights—on the table.  High-quality thought leadership creates lasting value when it's differentiated, engaging, credible, and actionable. For example, executives are constantly horizon scanning for market signals and trying to anticipate change. In an unreliable business landscape, thought leadership provides them with data-backed research, expert analysis, and fresh perspectives that help them make smarter decisions and challenge their assumptions.

    38 min

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Conversations with experts that explore the big trends shaping the professional services industry.