Staffing & Recruiter Training Podcast

Michael Roch joins Scott Love to unpack a deceptively hard leadership challenge in professional services: getting partners to consistently do business development, and designing incentives that actually drive the right behavior. Roch’s central message is that there’s no universal compensation fix—the right approach depends on firm size, strategic priorities (rapid growth vs. deepening key relationships vs. refreshing a stale client base), and even national partnership culture (e.g., UK lockstep traditions vs. more individualistic U.S. models). He stresses that compensation is only a “lever,” not a self-executing solution: it works best when paired with strong leadership, clear expectations, and accountability conversations that tie each partner’s strengths and goals to the firm’s strategy. Roch describes practical incentive strategies that go beyond simple origination credit. He argues firms should recognize that partners contribute differently—some excel at landing new clients, others at expanding existing