THE PRINCIPLES PRESENTED EARLIER should be adhered to when performing your tasks and using the tools. They provide the framework for the tasks as outlined in the chapters that follow. It has already been mentioned that the following tasks are not the professional's activities related to the provision of various services. Rather, they are key tasks related to the management of a professional services provider's practice as well as self‐management. Key tasks are critical success factors that are essential and decisive for the professional's success. Those who perform these tasks poorly will not be successful in conducting business. Even if a professional is one of the most qualified consultants jobwise – if they do not perform the following key tasks exceptionally or at least well, they will not achieve great success and, in the worst case, will fail.

The following key tasks apply equally to professionals working in a solo practice without other employees and to those who work in a partnership with others. The latter are familiar with the important management principles of delegation. The ability to delegate properly is not a skill all professionals have in common automatically. In particular, proven experts often take the position that they themselves are their best employee. This group of people finds it difficult to delegate both professional and other activities to employees or business partners because, in their view, they can do everything best themselves. If you assign management tasks to such professionals in a partnership, they will not only be overburdened, but will also perform these tasks poorly. Effective management, therefore, includes knowing your own strengths as well as those of your associates, partners, colleagues, and employees.

Professionals who work in management need competencies in the tasks listed below. For the most part, these can be trained for and learned. Malik sees management as a profession itself and clearly demarcates the management of factual tasks. For example, he would classify marketing as a factual task of a manager and not as a management task. In the case of professionals, I do not think a classification into factual and management tasks is appropriate and instead recommend a classification into key tasks. If professionals want to be successful and effective, this is more purposeful than a division between factual and management tasks.

In Malik's understanding, management can be learned and, in his view, it must be learned. Successful professionals have certain things in common. On the one hand, they base their actions on the previously outlined principles. On the other hand, they perform certain key tasks with special care. In doing so, they use certain tools, which will be presented in Part Three.