Michael Fucci believes in Deloitte's message. And apparently clients and co-workers feel the same way. His human capital practice team's turnover has consistently been below 10 percent, and he has taken revenues from $120 million to nearly $600 million since he accepted the position in 2003. That message incorporates Deloitte's philosophy of building human resource capabilities from within, as opposed to outsourcing them, as well as bringing all parts of the C-suite together—not just the HR department—to solve human capital challenges.
As Fucci celebrates his 50th birthday this year, he's taking a moment to step back and examine what's he's built. "If I got hit by a bus tomorrow, I think people would understand [the answer to]: What is Mike Fucci's vision of the practice? And I think that's really important." That vision includes staying in the trenches, not managing from an ivory tower. "I still do client work—not as much as I did in the past, but I believe you can't really lead a group unless you know what's happening in the market."
Internal leadership support, he adds, has helped built the practice as well. "I think I was able to set up a practice that can live on. It's not being held up by a house of cards. All of our leaders believe in the foundation of it. And I think we can take it to the next level."
Fucci himself, however, has a level he wants to hit before even considering retirement: $1 billion in revenue for the U.S. practice. He feels he can hit it within the next few years, "barring some crazy market situation that happens that we don't expect."
Fucci says employees in his practice, which number nearly 2,000, are all on the same page, adding, "The people in my practice are just on board with the vision … and they really want to help others." That help can take many forms with a client, as Fucci says their needs range from change management to cost reduction.
Fucci knows, perhaps more acutely than those consulting in other sectors, how important it is for his own people to feel connected to Deloitte—and each other. Of the 175 partners and directors in the practice, he says, "They're all like family. We're very, very close. They know their role isn't to just satisfy their own goals, it's to really grow the apprenticeship model."
And while his co-workers may feel like family, Fucci is happy to spend time with the real one he has at home, particularly when it's summertime.
"Family is equally if not more important to me than my job. We have a summer house at the beach in New Jersey. I really enjoy just unwinding at the beach." But it's hard for Fucci to turn his clients off completely. "I kind of sneak [my BlackBerry] on [to the beach]."
Fucci says he's open to ideas career-wise after he hits his $1 billion goal.
"Hopefully I'll be able to lead this practice to a billion dollars, and then it's helping build the next set of leaders to have them take it to a different level, and I'll be around to do something else in the firm."
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