When describing the value proposition clients seek, Navigant Consulting President and COO Julie Howard offers an equation that resides outside most mathematicians' comfort zones: 1 + 1 = 3.

“In this consolidated, globalized marketplace, there is an expectation that a consulting firm can provide more in its depth and breadth,” she explains. “I believe that we satisfy this expectation. Our strategy has been to put together a diversified portfolio of services that are complementary to each other, synergistic when necessary, and applicable to a wide variety of client needs.”

Howard strives to ensure that the sum of the firm's offerings is greater than the offerings’ individual components.

“I've always said to people that you need to be willing to take on assignments and raise your hand for projects, even in situations that you are not necessarily certain that you have the skills for,” she says, emphasizing that it is particularly important to do so even if the opportunity is not necessarily part of your developmental game plan. “You have to step outside your comfort zone,” she adds. “If you stay within it, I think that your progression will be average.”

Howard’s advancement in the firm and the profession has been anything but average. She joined Navigant in 1998 and in her current role is responsible for the overall management of company operations, including business unit operations, strategic planning, and human capital development. During a period of dramatic growth at Navigant, Howard spearheaded efforts to build an integrated operational foundation to strategically support the organization's growth trajectory.

“I also spend a lot of time looking at the diversity of our portfolio of services, which is important to our clients and to us as a firm,” she says. “Do we have the right mix, are we overinvested in any one area?”

The answers to those questions ensure that Navigant clients coninue to get more value than they bargained for.