Challenges and Opportunities in a New World

Paul Laudicina took over as CEO of A.T. Kearney last fall. We sat down with him to get his take on the future of the business.
 
What do you view as the major challenges—or opportunities—over the next few years?

As an industry, I think we’ll go through even more dramatic change over the next 20 years than we’ve experienced in the last 20. As difficult as that may be to imagine, I think it’s true. When you look back at the last 25 years - certainly the last five years since the early part of this century - companies have been focusing too much on managing the bottom line and not enough on growing the top line. We know from nature that if you don’t grow you die.

What are the major impediments to growth?

Resources, at least as we’ve used them in the past. Clearly, if we continue on the current path there will not be the resources available to manage the growth objectives we have for the future. So, unless we develop alternatives to those resources, there are going to be constraints on our growth. And, unless we find ways to dispose of them in a more sound way, we could experience the dislocation that comes from major environmental degradation.

Is there an opportunity here?

This is one of those rare times where we see the sweet spot of where the pursuit of profit blends seamlessly with the pursuit of the common good. Consultants have an extraordinary responsibility to help clients understand where sustainability requires us to do things differently. It’s no more a matter of wanting to do good; it’s how one does well. That’s why we’re seeing Wal-Mart, Procter & Gamble, Nestle and others focused on the new demands of sustainability and how that drives the agenda moving forward.

What other factors will impact the way we do business?

The relentless pace of technology. We’re right on the cusp of a major development - in the next few years the number of things connected to the Internet will exceed the number of people. The so-called “dawn of the era of ubiquitous computing” or the “Internet of things,” or whatever you want to call it. This will be an extraordinary change in how we behave, how we live our life, how we interact, how we do business. Another one is globalization. What’s the future of globalization? Will markets continue to integrate? Will we be able to rely on global supply chains and continue to exact benefit from all of the efficiencies associated with the management enhancements of the last 25 years - just-in-time manufacturing, outsourcing, more universal and cross-border customer relationship management? All of these rely upon a certain degree of integration and accessibility across borders that I don’t think we should necessarily take for granted. 

How are you preparing A.T. Kearney for this new reality?

We are looking at ourselves—and every practice area within A.T. Kearney— to try to powerfully imagine that future. How are these principle drivers likely to exact change in the demands and the needs of our clients? We need to be thinking this way to keep our clients out ahead of the competitive curve, both to be able to pursue growth as well as manage the risks. The new demand will be on how we help clients manage through a risk-laden world, and how we manage that risk in a way that allows them to grow and prosper.