A complex, multinational technology project may have accelerated Michael Travis's leadership development, but people — the employees and clients he works with — have added the most value to his career.
Eleven years ago, Travis, now the president and COO of Hitachi Consulting, was a young Andersen partner delving into the burgeoning market for enterprise software consulting and implementation services. The firm had discovered a gusher of a project: a global enterprise software rollout for Halliburton in 22 of the oilfield services company's international locations. Travis was selected to lead the project and the 125 consultants and client team members who were given 10 months to complete what was then the largest, most comprehensive project of its sort.
The initiative involved exhaustive data conversion, language barriers, and massive amounts of planning, preparation, and coordination. "The team we assembled, both consultants and client members, hit every single one of the 22 project go-live dates we established," Travis recalls. "It was an incredible feeling, and it was one of those experiences that gave me the confidence to tackle other challenges."
The successful implementation also gave Travis a reputation as a doer within Andersen. He was asked to create and run the firm's SAP practice, which he quickly built to a force of 400 consultants. Later, he assumed responsibility for Andersen's entire enterprise applications practice.
Those leadership experiences, with their emphasis on nurturing new practice areas, led Travis to Hitachi Consulting in 2002. During the past year, he has helped guide the new firm, $60 billion Dallas-based business and IT consulting unit Hitachi Ltd., to profitability and a growth rate just north of 18 percent.
The parent company has so far invested more than $200 million in acquisitions for its consulting arm, and Travis and his senior team are working with an investment banker to identify additional acquisitions that will deliver the new services, solutions, and geographies (including international locations) that can help make the midsize firm a larger player in the consulting marketplace.
"Our leadership team believes that we're building a great company right now," Travis notes. "We're a midtier company, but we have a strong group of large, named customers. And we have an excellent group of consultants."
Despite the firm's strong technology focus, Travis prefers to focus on people. "That's one of the best aspects about our profession," he notes. "You work on initiatives for and with smart executives. Our clients are typically very interesting people who have already achieved a lot in their lives. Our consultants have fantastic educational backgrounds, and most of the people who remain in the profession have developed strong people skills — they're engaging."
He also appreciates the fact that the consulting profession offers a unique culture where the default mode is "working your tail off" to achieve results.
"I like the fact that you are in a continuous learning mode," Travis adds. "Consultants help create the body of knowledge surrounding business improvement, and we also have the opportunity to delve into that body of knowledge." — Eric Krell
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