ICON upcoming events

The David Maister Series (01 September 2026)

Tue, 01 Sep 2026 03:00:00 GMT

The Thinking Behind the World's Best Professional Firms. Now Yours to Learn

For decades, the most successful law firms, consulting practices, accounting firms, and advisory businesses have been shaped by one person's ideas. Now, with David Maister's permission, those ideas are available to you in a learning experience built for the way professionals actually work today.

The Authority Behind the Course

David Maister isn't just an academic voice. As a former Harvard Business School professor who spent decades consulting to professional partnerships across six continents, he built his frameworks inside real firms facing real challenges — growth, culture, client trust, profitability, and the relentless pressure to perform.

His books — Managing the Professional Service Firm, True Professionalism, and The Trusted Advisor — aren't just well-regarded. They're dog-eared, underlined, and sitting on the desks of partners and leaders who built careers around his thinking.

Who This Is For

If your work lives at the intersection of expertise and relationships, you'll find this course immediately useful. That means fee earners like lawyers, accountants, consultants, engineers, architects, financial advisors, and bankers — but equally, the business development managers, marketers, client relationship leads, and growth strategists who make professional firms competitive.

Great BD and marketing in professional services isn't just campaigns and collateral. It's trust, positioning, and understanding how clients buy expertise. Maister understood this better than anyone.

You can register for the complete eleven-module series, or choose the individual modules most relevant to you. The modules can be taken at any point within 12 months of purchase.

What Clients Really Buy From You
The Trust Equation
David Maister's Frameworks for an AI World
The Economics of Law Firms
Business Development For Professional Services
Managing Up & Working with Senior Colleagues
Professionalism and Ethics in Practice
Shaping Culture & Managing Team Performance
Productivity & Time Management
Mastering Peer Collaboration in Professional Services
Building Trust & Service Leadership

in partnership with

BD to Bottom Line (02 September 2026)

Wed, 02 Sep 2026 03:00:00 GMT

The BD to Bottom Line Series is built on a single, practical insight: most damage to profitability does not come from poor work or bad decisions. It comes from good work that quietly drifts beyond what was agreed, from habits that were never examined, and from economics that were never fully explained. Together, these courses give professionals a clear understanding of how firms actually make money, what sits between the hours recorded and the fees collected, and why everyday choices around scope, time, billing, and client communication have a far greater impact on margin than most people realise. Rather than focusing on theory, the series develops the commercial language, habits, and judgment that professionals can apply immediately — helping them spot problems earlier, respond more confidently to client and partner pressure, protect realization, and start thinking and acting like someone who understands the business behind the work.

Module 1: The Commercial Mindset — From Hours Recorded to Value Created

Many lawyers are taught to measure their contribution in hours, but clients and firms care most about outcomes, value, and profit. This course helps lawyers develop a genuine commercial mindset: understanding how realisation and margin work, seeing how everyday behaviours create or destroy value, and knowing when and how to raise commercial questions with partners and clients.

Through practical concepts and adaptable scenarios, it shows how to think and act more like an owner while still delivering excellent legal work.

Module 2: Law Firm Economics — From Hours to Realisation and Margin

Many lawyers are taught to judge their performance by hours recorded, but firms only earn money from fees that are billed, collected, and aligned with what clients value. This course demystifies the economics that sit between the timesheet and the firm’s profit and loss. Using simple numbers and practical examples, it shows how realisation and margin work, why write-offs and discounts matter so much, and how lawyers can influence commercial outcomes in everyday work.

Module 3: The Real Cost of Write-Offs, Discounting, and Billing Leakage

Write-offs, discounts, and billing leakage often feel like small, routine decisions, but together they can have a major impact on profitability.

This course helps lawyers understand how margin works in practice, why seemingly minor fee reductions have an outsized financial effect, and how better billing habits can protect both matter economics and firm performance.

These modules can be taken at any point within 12 months of purchase.

in partnership with

ICON NSW: Coffee catch up - R U OK? Day but with a focus on workplace relations (30 September 2026)

Tue, 29 Sep 2026 21:30:00 GMT

Hello Sydney!

September's Coffee Catch-Up is one close to our hearts. In the spirit of R U OK? Day, we're dedicating this morning to an open conversation about mental health and wellbeing in the workplace.

It's a chance to connect with colleagues, share experiences, and talk honestly about how we look after ourselves, and each other, in our professional lives. Whether you've got a story to share, a question to ask, or simply want to connect, you're very welcome.

As always, it's a relaxed, informal setting - just great coffee and good people.

Event Details:

Date: Wednesday, 30 September 2026

Time: 7:30 am – 8:45 am

Location: Little Duck, 50 Margaret Street, Sydney

Price: Pay for your own coffee

Please note: Seating may be inside or outside depending on the weather, dress accordingly!

We look forward to seeing you there.

The ICON NSW Committee

ICON Conference 2026: Uncharted Melbourne (07 October 2026)

Tue, 06 Oct 2026 21:30:00 GMT

Challenge conventional thinking and explore new paths to growth at our Melbourne ICON Conference 2026: Uncharted. Designed for BD, marketing and communications professionals, the conference will explore how firms are responding to changing client expectations, economic pressure, evolving buyer behaviour and the rapid impact of AI and technology.

Across the day, speakers and panels will share practical ideas, real examples and honest conversations about what is working, what is changing and where firms are finding growth opportunities. From client experience and reputation to commercial decision-making, strategic marketing and business development, the program is designed to help BDMC teams think differently about the road ahead.

Member Pricing
ICON Member Early Bird*	$460
ICON Member Group Pricing*	$490
ICON Member Single Ticket	$575
ICON Lead Member Ticket**	$350
Non-Member (includes 12 months membership)
Early Bird*	$710
Single Ticket	$825
Job Seeker***	$120
APMP Members	$725

*Ticket is for individual use only and cannot be shared amongst team members. Available until 15 July 2026.

**Available to members of our ICON Lead program, who have registered at least two of their team.

***Available 3 weeks before the conference. Contact events@iconapac.com

ICON thanks our Melbourne conference sponsors

ICON NZ: Growing Client Obsessed Leadership Capability in Your Firm (15 October 2026)

Wed, 14 Oct 2026 18:30:00 GMT

Why do this and how to take the first steps, guided by behavioural science

We know that nothing truly impactful happens in CX without the endorsement, buy-in and role modelling from senior leaders.

Skillful 1-1 client conversations, seeking and acting on client feedback to drive relentless improvement, highly responsive and reliable client practices - these things (ideally!) start with senior leaders showing others how it's done.

But many firms leave CX leadership capability to chance.

During this fast-paced and interactive talk, we'll explore why leaving CX leadership capability to chance causes significant issues, and what some firms are doing to resolve these issues.

We'll then outline the steps firms can take to put a CX leadership capability plan in place to achieve lasting CX behavioural change, via the influential attitudes, habits, practices and behaviours of its senior leaders.

During the session we'll also share:

what a truly client-obsessed professional services executive team looks like
behavioural science principles for lifting CX leadership capability
organisational change tips for expanding the influence of these leaders across the front line

Speakers:

Peter Johnson
Consultant

PJ is a client transformation and leadership specialist, helping founders, CEO's and senior client leaders differentiate through well defined, innovative and ambitious client leadership. PJ was recently a judge for the global ICON Client Experience awards, and has published with Oxford University Press on leadership, motivation, culture and behavioural change. He partners with tier 1 universities to advise on leadership curriculum, and to develop and deliver Master's level courses on leadership, critical thinking, collaboration and problem solving in the age of AI.

Event Details:

Date: Thursday, 15 October 2026

Time: 7:30 am – 9:00 am

Location: Beca, 124 Halsey Street, Auckland CBD, Auckland 1010

Price:
Members: $40.00 | Non‑members: $90.00

ICON Conference 2026: Uncharted Brisbane (22 October 2026)

Wed, 21 Oct 2026 22:30:00 GMT

Challenge conventional thinking and explore new paths to growth at our Brisbane ICON Conference 2026: Uncharted. Designed for BD, marketing and communications professionals, the conference will explore how firms are responding to changing client expectations, economic pressure, evolving buyer behaviour and the rapid impact of AI and technology.

Member Pricing
ICON Member Early Bird*	$460
ICON Member Group Pricing*	$490
ICON Member Single Ticket	$575
ICON Lead Member Ticket**	$350
Non-Member (includes 12 months membership)
Early Bird*	$710
Single Ticket	$825
Job Seeker***	$120
APMP Members	$725

*Ticket is for individual use only and cannot be shared amongst team members. Available until 15 July 2026.

**Available to members of our ICON Lead program, who have registered at least two of their team.

***Available 3 weeks before the conference. Contact events@iconapac.com

ICON thanks our Brisbane conference sponsors

ICON NSW: Coffee catch up - pre conference networking (28 October 2026)

Tue, 27 Oct 2026 20:30:00 GMT

Hello Sydney!

The ICON conference is almost here, and this month's Coffee Catch-Up is the perfect warm-up.

Join us to meet fellow attendees, reconnect with familiar faces, and build out your conference network before the main event. Starting conversations is always easier when you've already shared a coffee and a chat.

Whether you're a first-time conference attendee or a seasoned ICON regular, come and get connected.

Event Details:

Date: Wednesday, 28 October 2026

Time: 7:30 am – 8:45 am

Location: Caffeine Cartel, 32 Martin Place, Sydney

Price: Pay for your own coffee

Please note: Seating may be inside or outside depending on the weather, dress accordingly!

We look forward to seeing you there!

The ICON NSW Committee

ICON Conference 2026: Uncharted Sydney (05 November 2026)

Wed, 04 Nov 2026 21:30:00 GMT

Challenge conventional thinking and explore new paths to growth at our Sydney ICON Conference 2026: Uncharted. Designed for BD, marketing and communications professionals, the conference will explore how firms are responding to changing client expectations, economic pressure, evolving buyer behaviour and the rapid impact of AI and technology.

Member Pricing
ICON Member Early Bird*	$460
ICON Member Group Pricing*	$490
ICON Member Single Ticket	$575
ICON Lead Member Ticket**	$375
Non-Member (includes 12 months membership)
Early Bird*	$710
Single Ticket	$825
Job Seeker***	$120
APMP Members	$725

*Ticket is for individual use only and cannot be shared amongst team members. Available until 15 July 2026.

**Available to members of our ICON Lead program, who have registered at least two of their team.

***Available 3 weeks before the conference. Contact events@iconapac.com

ICON thanks our Sydney conference sponsors

ICON NSW: Coffee catch up - book club (25 November 2026)

Tue, 24 Nov 2026 20:30:00 GMT

Hello Sydney!

Our second Book Club Coffee Catch-Up of the year is here, and what better time to share your best reads of 2026 going into the holiday season!

Bring along a book, podcast or media recommendation that's made an impact on you this year. Whether it's a marketing masterclass, a career-changing memoir, or something completely unexpected — we'd love to hear about it. We'll all leave with a fantastic holiday reading list.

Event Details:

Date: Wednesday, 25 November 2026

Time: 7:30 am – 8:45 am

Location: Caffeine Cartel, 32 Martin Place, Sydney

Price: Pay for your own coffee

Please note: Seating may be inside or outside depending on the weather, dress accordingly!

We look forward to seeing you there.

The ICON NSW Committee