Pentagram: The Craft of Design - Teaching Note

Pentagram ­ a multi-disciplinary design firm with 19 partners in five offices (London, Berlin, New York, San Francisco and Austin) ­ is considered to be the "Rolls-Royce of Design" by its peers. The company¹s growth is based on adding well-known designers who in turn bring in business under the Pentagram name. The group is facing tremendous competitive pressure from integrated advertising conglomerates such as WPP, Omnicom and Interpublic. Twenty-five per cent of Pentagram's partners feel that the company ought to recruit the first ever MBA consultant-type partner to communicate with larger clients in more corporate settings. The idea of adding a non-practitioner is in direct conflict with the firm¹s original ethos. What changes, if any, should Pentagram consider to remain competitive?