Service, Prosperity and Sanity; Positioning the Professional Service Firm for the Future

Business leaders today are puzzled by Generation-X employees who'd rather play Frisbee with their dogs in the park than put in the long hours needed to 'keep up with the Jones's.' Traditional approaches to dealing with employee retention, rapid technological advancements, changing consumer demographics and increased competition are proven failures. Success requires a sustained, coordinated effort that goes beyond all the business buzz words of the day.

Earl Maxwell shares the story of his six-year voyage through the maze of cultural change, organizational restructure and the continuous quest for improved client service in his tell-all book, Service, Prosperity and Sanity.

Earl Maxwell is the leading shareholder of Maxwell Locke & Ritter, p.c., Austin's largest locally owned and managed accounting and consulting firm. Prior to forming Maxwell Locke & Ritter, he was a partner with Deloitte & Touche, an international accounting and consulting firm. He grew up in Houston, and stayed in the area to attend The University of Houston where he received his Bachelor in Business in Accounting in 1976.

Earl is a business advisor (trained as a CPA and auditor) who helps clients with strategic planning and re-engineering by helping them focus on business processes. His experience includes over 20 years in public accounting including 14 years with Deloitte & Touche and its predecessor Deloitte Haskins & Sells. He has served commercial clients involved in manufacturing, technology, financial institutions, real estate and construction, publications and service providers. He has also served as auditor and business advisor for many governmental and not-for-profit clients.

Earl's innovative, non-traditional experience grew out of the process he and the shareholders of Maxwell Locke & Ritter followed as they established and built a different type of firm.....a firm dedicated to serving people. The firm's philosophy says it all: "We provide highest quality solutions and services that our clients value from an environment which promotes each person's personal goals, self esteem and professionalism."

Earl has spent most of his time in three areas; family, community and business. He has been able to merge these interests by helping to establish a family-friendly workplace and working in the community to support various educational and health and human services programs. He is proudest of his partnership with his wife in raising their two sons. He tries to provide a business environment where his family, the firm and clients can focus on what they are becoming and not just what they are doing.

Having established a team approach at Maxwell Locke & Ritter, Earl is in the midst of a firm continually redefining itself and its mission. This approach has resulted in client service which emphasizes process (rather than product), focuses on human resources (the firm's and the client's) to establish a dynamic business approach for each client based on "what the client is becoming."

"Maxwell Locke & Ritter stands out as a firm," says Earl, "not just because we are technically competent, but because we use that competence as a starting point for a process by which to live our values and serve our clients. The people in our firm are not only bright, dedicated professionals, but they are people of integrity. Most managing partners would die to have the people surrounding them that I do."