Managerial challenges in professional service firms: the experience of Lombardini22

Lombardini22 is an architectural practice with over 100 staff and almost 7 million Euros of annual revenues in 2013. The group includes two firms: L22 and DEGW. L22 mainly does architecture and engineering work in the retail, office and hospitality sectors; while DEGW is specialised in workspace design consultancies. Within the architecture industry, Lombardini22 is a “best practice” from a managerial point of view, providing useful insights not only for architectural firms, but also for creative professional service firms in general. The case discusses several managerial challenges Lombardini22 had to face in relation to the business model, the client acquisition, the economic and financial management, and the company growth. These challenges are presented through a set of video interviews to the CEO of the Group. Each video presents the context and the challenge at stake, the approach and the results. Participants are invited to make decisions and evaluate their impact as if they were the top management.