In Chinese cosmology, yin and yang represent opposite forces in the universe, but the two must be respected equally for internal harmony. And so it is at Booz-Allen, where the house remains divided between the ardent brainiacs of Booz-Allen's management consulting ranks and the technology geeks who reside within the firm's worldwide technology organization. And while Booz CEO Ralph Shrader earns kudos for keeping the harmony, most consultants agree it's a responsibility he today shares with the firm's chief knowledge officer, Chuck Lucier.
Described by some as an intellectual renegade, Lucier says that he and Shrader are today at opposite extremes of the Booz-Allen continuum, with Shrader's government thumbprint and steady guidance juxtaposed against Lucier's work with the world's bleeding-edge corporations. But the mix serves the firm well.
"Ralph and I are a good microcosm of Booz-Allen," says the 19-year firm veteran. "We have more different kinds of human beings than any other consulting firm, but we're always able to work together around big, important problems. Unlike other firms, we can have strategists and technologists inside one firm and working together."
Lucier heads Booz-Allen's global innovation and commercialization activities, which include the firm's relationships with leading international thinkers. "I'm always trying to find a few big things that are going to make a huge difference," he says.
The consultant came to Booz-Allen straight from an assistant professorship at the University of Iowa in 1982. A lifelong ambition to become a teacher led him to the university, but not before stints in the U.S. Army (he was drafted late into the Vietnam conflict) and a few years working with Henry Kissinger on the National Security Council.
Lucier knew that he could parlay his teaching experience into consulting, but he had other concerns. "I was afraid that you had to play golf with clients on Friday afternoons or be a social lion [to sell business]," he recalls. "It took me a year to learn that clients bought work because they needed change in their company and wanted people who were really good at that."
Now quite comfortable in his role, Lucier is focusing on Booz-Allen's future, which includes growing the company 20 percent annually and looking for new ways to work with clients through fees for equity, performance-based fees, and business partnerships — all in harmony, of course.
© Arc, All Rights Reserved. Request academic re-use from www.copyright.com. All other uses, submit a request to TMSalesOperations@arc-network.com. For more information visit Asset & Logo Licensing.