Have you heard the good news? Chaos, change and upheaval are back, and we couldn't be happier about it. As consultants, you thrive on change. Chaos and upheaval aren't so bad either. After a few years where companies, it seems, were playing it safe and simply following the pace car, it looks like the caution flag is gone and we're off to the races.
And if our Top 25 Consultants are any indicator, we're in for a wild and fantastic ride. Chaos, change and upheaval are everywhere, and we're not talking about belt-tightening, cost cutting and right sizing here. This is change we can all believe in.
It's BCG's Joe Davis volunteering—more or less—to launch a new Public Sector Practice from scratch in 2009 when he says he and BCG saw an opportunity because of the way he anticipated the federal government and the private sector coming together like they never had before. Davis believed BCG, which didn't have a U.S. federal practice before 2009, would be a valuable Beltway addition because of its private sector expertise. Boy, did he call that one correctly.
Then there's the upheaval happening in financial services. Capco's Sean Culbert is inspired by the "once-in-a-lifetime transformation" possibilities for his clients.
And I think it's safe to characterize what's going on in healthcare right now as upheaval, don't you? Grant Thornton's Jay Burkett is one of many forward-thinking healthcare consultants who will help bring clarity to clients.
In retail, A.T. Kearney's Laura Gurski is trying to convince gun-shy clients, reeling from decreasing demand and skyrocketing costs, to re-invest in their businesses, especially internationally.
Other stories are equally impressive, consider: Merging three firms in a month (Hewitt EnnisKnupp's Steve Cummings); onboarding 4,200 new staff in 36 cities in just two days (Deloitte Consulting's Gene Procknow); doubling a 4,000-consultant practice in less than two years (IBM's Fred Balboni); growing to more than $200 million in three years (Protiviti's Jim DeLoach); realizing a 35 percent revenue increase in your first year with a firm (Sapient's Teresa Bozzelli); turning a $400,000 practice into a $20 million one (McGladrey's Bill Kracunas); and quadrupling your practice from $1 billion to $4 billion in five years, while adding more 10,000 consultants (Surya Kant of TCS).
The stories go on and on, and they're a guaranteed pick-me-up for any overworked and under-appreciated consultant. Consulting 's honored to be able to bring them to you as part of this 24-Page, Top 25 Consultants Special Section.
Chaos, change and upheaval—hip, hip, hooray!
Joseph Kornik
Editor-in-Chief
jkornik@consultingmag.com
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