From the Ask Tom mailbag:

Question
In your workshop, you use a manufacturing business model to illustrate the levels of work. How does that translate for a professional service organization?

Response
I use a manufacturing model because most of us can remember that video clip at Ford Motor Company, with automobiles coming down the assembly line. It is a quick picture for production work in a manufacturing environment. With that in mind, here is a typical table describing levels of work. The time frame designates the longest Time Span task associated with the role. In manufacturing, most production work falls easily into Stratum I.

Levels of Work

In other business models, like professional service firms, production work (direct output to the customer) may be more complex and require a higher level of capability to effectively complete that work. Supervisory work and managerial work remains the same, it is the shift in the complexity of production work that changes.

For example. A patent case in a law firm, production work (direct output to the customer) might necessarily be done at Stratum III, IV or even V, depending on the complexity of the case. We can measure that complexity using Time Span as our calibration. A patent case still unresolved after five years of litigation might necessarily have required Stratum V capability to effectively deal with the uncertainty in the case.

In a CPA firm, tax production work might effectively be performed at Stratum III. Tax code is typically nailed down in 12 month increments. How a company might prepare for the tax/penalty implications of Obamacare might require Stratum IV capability (2-5 year decisions) to effectively make the right choices.

In summary, the levels of work in a professional service firm will hinge on the complexity of its production (direct output to the customer), and most often, that complexity shifts production toward higher Stratum capability.