The 2022 Top Consultants: Todd Bricker

Todd Bricker is the Vice President – Global Organizational Change Management Lead for Cognizant. Leading capability across several key dimensions such as business development, thought leadership, practice/people development, and delivery excellence. He has a deep focus on large-scale digital and business transformation initiatives, helping his clients better adopt disruptive digital technologies, transition to new operating models, and assimilate to new modes of working.

Todd has 20 years of consulting experience focused on Organizational Change Management in various industries with a heavy focus on Life Sciences, Healthcare (Payor and Provider), Retail and BFS. He has led large, complex, and global Technology Adoption OCM transformations with TCV's ranging from $1M to $400M. In addition to practice leadership and project delivery, He leads communities of interest related to global technology/digital-driven change adoption, drive thought leadership and translate that thought leadership into practical consulting methods/approaches, volunteers as a Leadership Development Instructor for nonprofit organizations, and leads internal people development initiatives to attract, develop and retain top consulting talent.

What has motivated you to excel over the course of your career?

The greatest source of my ambition to excel in consulting is simple – it is my drive for competition. Simply put, I like to win a fair match – and over my calling as a life-long athlete, coach, and collegiate swimmer for the University of Tennessee, I've learned what winning takes. I intimately understand the connection between hard work, perseverance, mental stamina, and the payoff of your efforts. I have experienced the tremendous difference that fractions of seconds or half an inch can make – which holds true whether in sports, winning bids or client work.

Winning does not come easily in a highly competitive environment, and in fact, it is only ever the result of disciplined, hard-fought practice. It's also key that winning rarely comes from one-star player but is the result of an entire team working to their strengths. Even in solo sports, no athlete will excel without the coaching, trainers, and even fans who motivate them from the sidelines.

Now as my career has turned to the coaching-side of my OCM team, my personal drive for competition has transferred to them. Within me is the core desire to see my team members win, following the same methods I know to breed success. That same mentality is applied to project work and clients, making sure each stakeholder is on the "winning team" of their transformation efforts, can reach their full potential, and are able to reap the benefits of their hard work and dedication of their own business transformation "competitions."

What has been the biggest factor in your success so far?

There is no single or "biggest" factor that can be contributed with the success and growth of the OCM capability at Cognizant. Our success is the combined result of many deliberate actions and practiced behaviors – harnessed at the right place, at the right time, by the right people, with the right tools, and appropriate to each circumstance. Bringing all of these elements together with the collective goal of driving client success through delivery is an incredible feat of orchestration, and requires from leaders a high level of Emotional Quotient to provide the proper motivation, knowledge and guidance necessary to succeed. But it will always also take a foundational mix of hard work, perseverance, and a willingness to take calculated risks from your entire team.

Personally, I have been fortunate throughout my career to be surrounded by great leaders and mentors who were willing to provide me with authentic feedback and challenging opportunities. Consulting is a small world, and we are each supported by one another in building the future of businesses across the globe. We all stand on the shoulders of those before us, and we continue to elevate our teams in this way.

Finally, a sprinkle of luck sparks the ignition of what I define as "the critical juncture when opportunity meets preparation." I have been lucky to receive the mentorship and opportunities I have throughout my career – but only with the hard work and readiness to succeed can one capitalize on luck when it is afforded to us.

What does this recognition mean to you?

Early in my career, while an associate at IBM, I had the pleasure to work with an amazing leader and consultant, Saul Berman. He quickly became an example after which I steered my own career. When Saul was honored with Consulting Magazine's Top 25 award in 2005, I saw that I wasn't the only one to recognize his excellence. At the time, I could only dream of receiving such a recognition, but it served as a tremendous source of motivation to see a mentor I so deeply respected receive such well-deserved acclaim. Later, starting in my tenure at Cognizant, I was lucky to know another great consulting leader, Steven Skinner. Steven was extremely impactful to clients and effectual in leading his teams. I never missed an opportunity to observe the way he led, making keen efforts to learn by his example. In 2015, Steven was also honored with the Top 25 recognition, which proved to me that this award was truly special. Winning this award has been an aspiration of mine ever since, magnified as I witnessed my greatest mentors receive this recognition for the same qualities I saw in them. Sharing the same acknowledgement as my earliest consulting heroes would be the greatest honor and humbling experience of my career so far. I can only hope that earning this award would serve to motivate a young consultant to excel and succeed in the same way it had done for me.