WEBVTT - Julie Sweet 0:00:03.279 --> 0:00:05.400 One of the great growth businesses in the world right 0:00:05.440 --> 0:00:08.520 now is consulting. It seems like everyone is either using 0:00:08.560 --> 0:00:11.799 a consultant or is a consultant. With over six hundred 0:00:11.800 --> 0:00:14.480 thousand employees and a market cap of over two hundred 0:00:14.520 --> 0:00:18.280 billion dollars, Accenter is the largest consulting firm and its 0:00:18.360 --> 0:00:21.440 helm is Julie Sweet, who accelerated the company's growth through 0:00:21.480 --> 0:00:25.840 the pandemic, adding over one hundred thousand jobs in on 0:00:25.920 --> 0:00:29.040 this episode appeared Appear, I asked Sweet why everyone wants 0:00:29.080 --> 0:00:31.960 to either hire a consultant or be a consultant. So 0:00:32.040 --> 0:00:34.680 it seems as if everybody is a consultant these days. 0:00:35.120 --> 0:00:37.199 When people are being raised, they don't say to the 0:00:37.240 --> 0:00:39.280 little child, I hope you grew up to be a consultant. 0:00:39.640 --> 0:00:41.559 Why is everybody want to be a consultant? And what 0:00:41.640 --> 0:00:45.239 are all these consultants doing well? David, I think that 0:00:45.320 --> 0:00:50.280 we actually defy the label consultant because sometimes consultants seems 0:00:50.320 --> 0:00:53.760 to imply that we only give advice. And when you 0:00:53.760 --> 0:00:56.760 look at what Accenture does, we're really different than the 0:00:56.800 --> 0:01:00.480 traditional version of a consultant our client. It's looked to 0:01:00.600 --> 0:01:04.120 us for two things. Relevance, you know how to help 0:01:04.200 --> 0:01:07.679 them be relevant today and tomorrow, like a Jaguar land 0:01:07.800 --> 0:01:11.360 Rover who hired us to help them radically transform the 0:01:11.440 --> 0:01:16.000 marketing of their vehicles and the experience of their owners. 0:01:16.520 --> 0:01:19.360 And then the other thing they look for is results, right, 0:01:19.440 --> 0:01:23.240 so not just advice, but actually how do things change 0:01:23.280 --> 0:01:25.640 and how do you execute, Like someone who hires us 0:01:25.680 --> 0:01:29.440 for supply chain where we help digitize it and change 0:01:29.520 --> 0:01:34.360 their inventory results and their inventory turnaround. So we don't 0:01:34.520 --> 0:01:39.399 simply consult in a traditional sense. We're really about relevance 0:01:39.480 --> 0:01:42.920 and results, and that's what is driving our business. So 0:01:43.000 --> 0:01:46.360 let's suppose I'm a large corporation and I have a problem. 0:01:46.440 --> 0:01:48.800 And typically in today when you have a problem, what 0:01:48.880 --> 0:01:51.560 you do is you call a consultant, and so they 0:01:51.600 --> 0:01:53.800 call you up and say, would you consult with me, 0:01:54.120 --> 0:01:56.520 which is to help solve my problem? Do you then 0:01:56.560 --> 0:01:59.440 put in a team of people. That's a great question, 0:02:00.240 --> 0:02:02.520 you know, I think one of the most important things 0:02:02.560 --> 0:02:05.080 is we always start with what's actually the either the 0:02:05.080 --> 0:02:11.040 problem or the opportunity, and we're very focused on repeatable solutions. 0:02:11.080 --> 0:02:14.360 They get customized by the client, but not trying to 0:02:14.400 --> 0:02:16.880 be bespoke, you know, sort of The old consulting is 0:02:17.280 --> 0:02:18.720 let me come in, let me bring a bunch of 0:02:18.720 --> 0:02:21.840 people and study it. But today you can start with data. 0:02:22.240 --> 0:02:26.800 We serve the top five hundred of fortune five hundred 0:02:27.240 --> 0:02:29.480 uh and so what we're bringing to our clients often 0:02:29.520 --> 0:02:33.560 our solutions that then get customized, that are based on experience, 0:02:33.600 --> 0:02:36.360 and we invest a lot. You know, we'll spend four 0:02:36.440 --> 0:02:39.840 billion dollars this year and acquisitions. We'll spend about eight 0:02:39.919 --> 0:02:42.200 hundred million dollars in R and D. We have over 0:02:42.320 --> 0:02:46.399 seven thousand patents are patents pending. So all of these 0:02:46.400 --> 0:02:50.840 things are assets to help our clients achieve their goals faster, 0:02:51.040 --> 0:02:54.000 with higher quality than they can do on their own. 0:02:54.040 --> 0:02:56.320 And that's really the test, you know. And sometimes, by 0:02:56.360 --> 0:02:59.119 the way, we say to clients, don't hire us because 0:02:59.400 --> 0:03:02.960 either they're business cases and ambitious enough, or they don't 0:03:02.960 --> 0:03:06.000 need us. Well, what about a consulting project. And my 0:03:06.080 --> 0:03:08.600 example on the CEO, I have a problem, I call 0:03:08.680 --> 0:03:10.760 you up, I say solve my problem or give me 0:03:10.800 --> 0:03:13.160 a solution. How long does it usually take. Is it 0:03:13.200 --> 0:03:15.000 takes six months to come up with a a solution, a 0:03:15.080 --> 0:03:17.280 year or does it say it's going to take up forever? 0:03:17.800 --> 0:03:21.040 Solution it's gonna be five or ten years. Well, I 0:03:21.080 --> 0:03:22.800 think one of the most important things that's come out 0:03:22.840 --> 0:03:26.120 of COVID is the need to move very quickly. You know, 0:03:26.120 --> 0:03:28.760 I had a lot of clients post COVID would say 0:03:28.760 --> 0:03:31.120 we move so fast, um, you know, I want to 0:03:31.200 --> 0:03:33.560 keep going. And I would always ask a simple question, David. 0:03:33.600 --> 0:03:38.320 I'd say, well, what have you changed? And oftentimes you know, 0:03:38.360 --> 0:03:40.600 they haven't changed. And we we don't operate as big 0:03:40.600 --> 0:03:43.880 companies permanently in crisis mode. And so when you think 0:03:43.880 --> 0:03:46.080 about like how long does it solve things, A lot 0:03:46.160 --> 0:03:49.800 of it starts with, you know, the company being willing 0:03:49.840 --> 0:03:53.400 to set aggressive goals right, and so we're doing work 0:03:53.440 --> 0:03:57.360 for example with UM, a large consumer goods company, where 0:03:57.360 --> 0:04:00.880 we said we're going to in twelve weeks have a 0:04:02.120 --> 0:04:08.560 pilot to actually improve their manufacturing and that pre COVID 0:04:08.680 --> 0:04:10.960 probably would have been a six month project, not because 0:04:11.000 --> 0:04:15.320 of accenture, but because of how the client worked. And 0:04:15.400 --> 0:04:18.000 so what we are trying to do now is work 0:04:18.040 --> 0:04:22.440 with our clients to work differently and to work faster. Well, 0:04:22.480 --> 0:04:24.919 how do you charge? You charge by the hour? Do 0:04:24.960 --> 0:04:28.280 you charge by the project? Is a cost plus profit thing? 0:04:28.360 --> 0:04:31.839 What's the secret of your billing. So our preference is 0:04:31.880 --> 0:04:36.320 to either have a fixed fee or to have um 0:04:36.480 --> 0:04:39.640 something that shares, you know, upside or downside. And the 0:04:39.720 --> 0:04:43.800 reason for that is that we don't view ourselves as 0:04:43.839 --> 0:04:46.960 a vendor or a consultant, in that we are keeping 0:04:46.960 --> 0:04:50.880 ourselves at our length. We believe that the best way 0:04:50.920 --> 0:04:54.919 to get success is to co create solutions, have integrated teams. 0:04:55.240 --> 0:04:58.280 The advice I often will give CEOs is that our 0:04:58.400 --> 0:05:01.359 team at accenture and the science team should have the 0:05:01.400 --> 0:05:06.400 exact same performance objectives so that they're completely aligned. Now, 0:05:06.440 --> 0:05:09.159 not every client is willing to work that way, but 0:05:09.240 --> 0:05:11.880 we think it's really important, and so we have plenty 0:05:11.880 --> 0:05:13.839 of clients who want to build by the hour, and 0:05:13.880 --> 0:05:17.080 that's their choice, but that's not our preference. Okay, let's 0:05:17.080 --> 0:05:20.080 oppose somebody hires your firm and they have a one 0:05:20.160 --> 0:05:22.560 year consulting project and at the end they say, I 0:05:22.600 --> 0:05:24.960 don't like this consulting advice. I'm not going to follow 0:05:24.960 --> 0:05:26.800 it um. In fact, I'm not going to pay your bill. 0:05:26.839 --> 0:05:30.480 Does that ever happen? Well, look, we're not perfect, so 0:05:30.600 --> 0:05:34.360 it may happen, but shame on us if it takes 0:05:34.360 --> 0:05:37.919 a year to figure out that our client doesn't doesn't 0:05:38.040 --> 0:05:40.280 like what we do. I mean, one of the things 0:05:40.320 --> 0:05:44.120 that we focus on a lot is UH working with 0:05:44.160 --> 0:05:46.919 the client day in and day out, side by side, 0:05:47.000 --> 0:05:49.800 and not throwing things over a wall to consultant. So 0:05:50.360 --> 0:05:55.160 unlikely that that specific scenario would happen. So without violating confidences, 0:05:55.200 --> 0:05:57.320 can you give me an example of something where you 0:05:57.360 --> 0:06:00.200 advise somebody it turned out to be great for them 0:06:00.240 --> 0:06:02.599 and they're so happy, they're willing to brag about what 0:06:02.680 --> 0:06:05.440 the great job you did. Well, We've got lots of 0:06:05.480 --> 0:06:09.160 examples of that. So if you take, for example, what 0:06:09.200 --> 0:06:12.640 we're doing with Cesto, UH, and we've announced a partnership 0:06:12.680 --> 0:06:16.760 there and we're helping Cicto. We talked about Compressed a transformation. 0:06:17.200 --> 0:06:21.039 We're helping them digitize the experience of the end consumer. 0:06:21.400 --> 0:06:25.400 We're helping them redo their inventory and their systems, and 0:06:25.440 --> 0:06:27.680 so this is something that you know, we're both very 0:06:27.680 --> 0:06:30.159 proud of the work that we're doing together. Let's suppose 0:06:30.200 --> 0:06:32.080 you need a consultant. Who do you call? Do you 0:06:32.120 --> 0:06:34.080 call Mackenzie or do you call one of your own people? 0:06:35.000 --> 0:06:37.240 So normally we call one of our own people, but 0:06:37.279 --> 0:06:39.760 I will give you a great example, when I became CEO, 0:06:41.400 --> 0:06:44.200 I needed to put in a new operating model and 0:06:44.240 --> 0:06:47.400 I wanted to do it faster than any we've ever 0:06:47.440 --> 0:06:50.240 done in our past and any client had done to 0:06:50.320 --> 0:06:52.760 prove that you can move at scale. So six months 0:06:52.800 --> 0:06:56.640 biggest change in our history. At the time, our practice 0:06:56.720 --> 0:06:59.960 was completely sold out to do change management and new 0:07:00.040 --> 0:07:02.360 work design, and the head of my practice that I 0:07:02.360 --> 0:07:05.480 think you should hire this small company called Kate's Kessler, 0:07:05.520 --> 0:07:07.400 and I would tell you my leaders were like, why 0:07:07.440 --> 0:07:10.960 are we hiring a different consultant. Within two weeks, the 0:07:11.040 --> 0:07:13.520 same leaders all came back and said, we need Kate's 0:07:13.560 --> 0:07:16.280 Kessler to be part of Accenture, and they are today. 0:07:16.960 --> 0:07:20.280 So I'm grateful that they took the call because I'm 0:07:20.320 --> 0:07:23.640 sure it was a little intimidating to have Accenture hire someone. 0:07:24.360 --> 0:07:27.400 But you know, the lesson for that is, you know, 0:07:27.440 --> 0:07:30.080 to have humility. And one of the things that I 0:07:30.120 --> 0:07:32.760 think is really important that you know, when we look 0:07:32.800 --> 0:07:36.320 at leaders and industry around digitization, it's those who are 0:07:36.360 --> 0:07:39.880 willing to not always build it themselves, who think they 0:07:39.880 --> 0:07:42.840 have all of the answers, but that actually look outside 0:07:42.920 --> 0:07:45.360 and eccentric did the same let's talk about how you 0:07:45.480 --> 0:07:47.640 rose up to be the CEO. So you grew up 0:07:47.680 --> 0:07:52.000 where I grew up in Tustin, California, which has a 0:07:52.000 --> 0:07:55.800 little sign and it says work where you must but 0:07:56.160 --> 0:07:59.560 live and shop in Tustin, So southern California. I thought 0:07:59.560 --> 0:08:01.320 I would have a sign and say home of Julie 0:08:01.360 --> 0:08:03.680 Sweet doesn't have that signet. We're gonna have to work 0:08:03.680 --> 0:08:05.720 on that. So were you a star student in high 0:08:05.720 --> 0:08:08.440 school or a start athlete or something like that. I 0:08:08.560 --> 0:08:12.960 was a speech and debate star. So starting when I 0:08:13.000 --> 0:08:15.840 was a freshman, I used to do do two kinds 0:08:15.880 --> 0:08:18.040 of things. My dad used to get in his little 0:08:18.120 --> 0:08:21.240 v W and I would do the the circuit, the 0:08:21.320 --> 0:08:25.040 Lions Club, Optimus Club. And I'm greatly appreciative of all 0:08:25.080 --> 0:08:27.560 of those clubs because they helped me earn money for college. 0:08:28.200 --> 0:08:29.800 And then I was on the speech and debate team, 0:08:30.080 --> 0:08:33.199 and uh, you know, really love that. My parents didn't 0:08:33.200 --> 0:08:35.480 love it so much at times because I was apparently, 0:08:35.840 --> 0:08:38.680 you know, use the skills against them. But it was 0:08:38.760 --> 0:08:42.120 definitely a great way of creating a skill that I 0:08:42.200 --> 0:08:44.319 used today. In other words, if you're a debate champion, 0:08:44.360 --> 0:08:47.920 you can debate your parents. Yes, they didn't like that. Okay, 0:08:48.080 --> 0:08:50.040 So where did you go to college? I went to 0:08:50.040 --> 0:08:52.920 Claremont McKenna College in southern California, and then I went 0:08:52.960 --> 0:08:56.040 to Columbia Law School. So did your parents say you 0:08:56.040 --> 0:08:58.120 should be a lawyer or you went to become a 0:08:58.200 --> 0:09:00.760 lawyer because you were good at talking in debating and 0:09:00.760 --> 0:09:02.880 so forth. Is that why you went to law school? Yeah? 0:09:03.080 --> 0:09:05.040 So you know, I wanted to be a lawyer since 0:09:05.080 --> 0:09:08.480 I was in eighth grade. Uh. And I remember my 0:09:08.760 --> 0:09:11.920 senior year in college, before I wrote you know and 0:09:12.040 --> 0:09:15.480 accepted going to Columbia, one of my professors said, have 0:09:15.679 --> 0:09:19.560 you ever met a lawyer? And I said no? And 0:09:19.600 --> 0:09:21.880 he said, I am not letting you sign away. You know, 0:09:21.920 --> 0:09:23.760 I was borrowing all the money to go to college 0:09:24.040 --> 0:09:26.040 to go to law school until you've met a lawyer. 0:09:26.120 --> 0:09:28.760 And I met a lawyer and I said, great, I 0:09:28.800 --> 0:09:30.760 still want to go to law school. And uh, and 0:09:30.760 --> 0:09:33.240 I went to law school. So you went across the country. 0:09:33.640 --> 0:09:35.320 I don't know why you went to Columbia because you 0:09:35.440 --> 0:09:37.120 like place at the beginning with the sea or what 0:09:37.240 --> 0:09:40.079 is it? What prompt you go from Claremont to Columbia. 0:09:40.440 --> 0:09:42.520 You know, it's funny. You know, I look back and 0:09:42.520 --> 0:09:44.240 I'm not sure why i had this at the time. 0:09:44.440 --> 0:09:46.680 Maybe it's because I'd gone to China during college. But 0:09:46.760 --> 0:09:49.640 I said, I've grown up in southern California, I should 0:09:49.679 --> 0:09:53.400 experience the East Coast. I fully intended to go back 0:09:53.400 --> 0:09:56.240 to southern California, but I fell in love with New York. 0:09:56.880 --> 0:09:59.439 Uh and uh and so it was actually a deliberate 0:10:00.320 --> 0:10:04.000 decision that I needed to diversify my experience. After you 0:10:04.040 --> 0:10:06.800 graduated from Columbia, you went to work at Krevat, Swain 0:10:06.880 --> 0:10:09.840 and Moore, which is a large firm in New York 0:10:09.840 --> 0:10:12.360 that I was a summer associate. Continuing to see it 0:10:12.440 --> 0:10:15.520 began with a sea But why did you pick Cravat. 0:10:15.640 --> 0:10:17.240 It wasn't a place that a lot of women have 0:10:17.360 --> 0:10:21.160 become partners at. It wasn't in fact at the time. 0:10:21.640 --> 0:10:24.240 I remember when I came back and I had accepted 0:10:24.280 --> 0:10:26.760 my offer, all my women friends were saying, what have 0:10:26.840 --> 0:10:30.280 you done? And all my male friends were like, congratulations. 0:10:30.280 --> 0:10:33.080 So it was definitely not the at the time selection 0:10:33.120 --> 0:10:34.760 of choice. It is now run by a woman, by 0:10:34.800 --> 0:10:37.520 the way, uh. And I picked it because I had 0:10:37.520 --> 0:10:40.600 no intention of staying a lawyer. It was the best 0:10:40.640 --> 0:10:42.679 in the world, and I wanted to go there for 0:10:42.800 --> 0:10:45.880 two years and then go off and and make my career. 0:10:46.200 --> 0:10:48.920 At the time, I thought in Asia. Okay, so you 0:10:49.000 --> 0:10:51.960 ultimately stayed became a partner, I think the third woman partner. 0:10:52.480 --> 0:10:54.880 I was a third woman corporate partner, the ninth woman 0:10:54.960 --> 0:10:58.200 partner in the history of the firm. Okay. So you're 0:10:58.200 --> 0:11:01.240 a corporate partner at Cravat, which is a well compensated 0:11:01.320 --> 0:11:04.000 law firm, let's say, and you're making a flair amount 0:11:04.000 --> 0:11:06.600 of money by any standard. Why did you decide to 0:11:06.679 --> 0:11:08.920 leave and give up that partnership? And where the people 0:11:08.960 --> 0:11:12.480 at Kravat, who usually don't have people leaving where they shocked, 0:11:13.760 --> 0:11:17.760 you know. I think they were surprised, but I was 0:11:17.840 --> 0:11:20.359 leaving for a great role, so they were very supportive. 0:11:20.800 --> 0:11:23.800 You know. I still remember being at my desk and 0:11:23.880 --> 0:11:27.400 picking up the phone when a recruiter called me about 0:11:27.400 --> 0:11:29.880 the accenture job. And it was a few months after 0:11:29.960 --> 0:11:33.200 my father had passed away at a very young age 0:11:33.240 --> 0:11:37.320 at and I think, looking back, that's why I took 0:11:37.320 --> 0:11:40.960 a meeting and uh, and I basically said, I'm forty 0:11:40.960 --> 0:11:43.079 two years old and I can see my future, and 0:11:43.080 --> 0:11:45.560 it would be a great future. I loved kvath H 0:11:45.600 --> 0:11:49.840 and Accenture offered me something different, uh, and I decided 0:11:49.840 --> 0:11:51.520 to take it. And I think it was the last 0:11:51.520 --> 0:11:54.680 gift of my dad, to be honest. So, UM, did 0:11:54.679 --> 0:11:57.040 you think when you joined the company that a female 0:11:57.040 --> 0:11:59.839 would become the head of this gigantic organization or did 0:11:59.880 --> 0:12:01.480 you think that it was going to be a typically 0:12:01.520 --> 0:12:04.120 a male run kind of thing. You know, I didn't 0:12:04.120 --> 0:12:06.440 really think about it because I joined as general counsel 0:12:06.800 --> 0:12:10.800 and uh, you know, as the general counsel, you know, 0:12:10.840 --> 0:12:13.520 and coming in where the average tenure on the leadership 0:12:13.559 --> 0:12:17.120 team when I joined was thirty years. I didn't come 0:12:17.120 --> 0:12:21.400 in with the expectation that I would be CEO. Uh. 0:12:21.400 --> 0:12:24.160 And you know, really, when when we think about how 0:12:24.160 --> 0:12:27.239 do you how do you make a change in leadership 0:12:27.320 --> 0:12:30.160 and how do you continue to foster diversity in your leadership. 0:12:30.480 --> 0:12:33.559 Our former CEO, Pierre Antara, was a great example of 0:12:33.679 --> 0:12:39.160 someone who sponsored me, saw potential and created a new 0:12:39.200 --> 0:12:42.720 pathway that I certainly didn't have an expectation when I 0:12:42.760 --> 0:12:45.760 came into Accenture. You're one of the largest private employers 0:12:45.760 --> 0:12:48.319 in the United States, Is that right? That's right. Uh, 0:12:48.360 --> 0:12:51.439 and that's globally, of course. And last year we actually 0:12:51.559 --> 0:12:54.480 are really proud that we added a net one hundred 0:12:54.559 --> 0:12:59.080 thousand jobs around the globe. Second, during the period of COVID, 0:12:59.480 --> 0:13:02.240 you added that many jobs. I mean, why was business 0:13:02.280 --> 0:13:05.480 so good during the COVID period? You know, it's it's 0:13:05.480 --> 0:13:08.520 really interesting when you think about what happened in COVID. 0:13:08.840 --> 0:13:13.600 Sort of overnight there was we all moved online, and 0:13:13.880 --> 0:13:19.280 Accenture since has been building our capabilities and digital cloud 0:13:19.280 --> 0:13:22.960 of security, and so at the time of COVID, right, 0:13:23.000 --> 0:13:27.360 we became relevant and critical for really all of the 0:13:27.360 --> 0:13:31.680 world's leading companies. And when you look at this fiscal 0:13:31.760 --> 0:13:35.800 year which we just ended, we actually had more clients 0:13:35.920 --> 0:13:39.480 who had over a hundred million dollars in bookings in 0:13:39.559 --> 0:13:42.440 the first three quarters of our fiscal year than all 0:13:42.480 --> 0:13:47.319 of last year, driven by what we call compressed transformation, 0:13:47.520 --> 0:13:51.760 the need to digitize all parts of the business. Now, 0:13:51.960 --> 0:13:54.280 one of your competitors, and you may not admit you 0:13:54.320 --> 0:13:57.480 have competitors, but our company called McKenzie you've probably heard 0:13:57.480 --> 0:13:59.559 of them. They say, we don't want to be a 0:13:59.600 --> 0:14:02.319 public traded company, where a partnership it's easier to do 0:14:02.360 --> 0:14:04.480 this when you're not a publicly traded company. But you're 0:14:04.480 --> 0:14:06.640 a publicly traded company with a market cap of over 0:14:06.679 --> 0:14:09.280 two billion dollars. So what do you think about the 0:14:09.320 --> 0:14:12.000 view that consultant should be privately owned as opposed to 0:14:12.080 --> 0:14:15.920 publicly traded. You know, I think it's an interesting question 0:14:16.040 --> 0:14:20.040 for us. The markets are an important element of discipline, 0:14:20.280 --> 0:14:24.120 right be. You know, we're giving our results every quarter. Uh, 0:14:24.160 --> 0:14:27.200 and of course we think it really attracts talent. Our 0:14:27.240 --> 0:14:31.440 employee value proposition is a really strong one because of 0:14:31.480 --> 0:14:33.560 our stock you know, which is a huge part. We 0:14:33.600 --> 0:14:36.480 have a pay for performance and a culture that's tied 0:14:36.520 --> 0:14:39.520 to creating value for all our stockholders. And so it 0:14:39.640 --> 0:14:42.840 served us well in terms of attracting great talent. But 0:14:42.840 --> 0:14:44.720 you're not competing with private equity, I hope. I mean, 0:14:44.720 --> 0:14:46.320 you're not going to be trying to steal people from 0:14:46.320 --> 0:14:48.800 private equity to go into consulting. I hope. Now the 0:14:48.880 --> 0:14:52.080 private equity seems to be trying to compete with professional services, 0:14:52.680 --> 0:14:55.200 uh and hiring a few people and acquiring a lot 0:14:55.280 --> 0:14:58.400 in professional services these days, all that business has been 0:14:58.400 --> 0:14:59.880 a growth business. That's why you see a lot of 0:15:00.080 --> 0:15:04.600 quisitions there now you're doing this from Washington, d C. Washington, 0:15:04.640 --> 0:15:06.560 d C is a great place at the capital of 0:15:06.600 --> 0:15:09.280 our country, but it's not necessarily known as a place 0:15:09.320 --> 0:15:13.080 you run global businesses from. Um, why are you headquartered 0:15:13.080 --> 0:15:17.600 in Washington, d C. We have not had a headquarters 0:15:18.360 --> 0:15:21.920 really since for thirty thirty years, three decades at least 0:15:22.480 --> 0:15:26.920 pre COVID, we were probably the largest organization running itself remotely. 0:15:26.960 --> 0:15:30.560 Our leaders are around the world, and so the sort 0:15:30.560 --> 0:15:33.920 of de facto headquarters has always been wherever the CEO is. 0:15:34.000 --> 0:15:36.920 So the last CEO was in Paris. That was in Paris. 0:15:37.240 --> 0:15:39.840 Before that, it was Boston. For that Dallas, and so 0:15:39.960 --> 0:15:43.440 d C is a great place to to be based. 0:15:43.480 --> 0:15:45.360 And in fact, this is the first time in thirty 0:15:45.440 --> 0:15:48.160 years the CEO and the CFO are out of the 0:15:48.200 --> 0:15:50.720 same office. And so I'm very fortunate to have Casey 0:15:50.800 --> 0:15:53.720 McClure here with me in d C. So during the 0:15:53.760 --> 0:15:56.240 COVID period of time, did you go into the office 0:15:56.320 --> 0:15:59.760 or you just work remotely? I worked remotely. One of 0:15:59.760 --> 0:16:03.040 the things that we are, you know, famous for us 0:16:03.120 --> 0:16:05.800 being very close to our clients and so our offices 0:16:05.840 --> 0:16:08.600 are not the center of our work. And because we 0:16:08.640 --> 0:16:12.200 have a distributed leadership team. I literally, even pre COVID 0:16:12.240 --> 0:16:14.560 would go to the office and beyond you know, teams 0:16:14.600 --> 0:16:17.760 calls uh. And so during COVID, I wanted to make 0:16:17.800 --> 0:16:20.840 sure that our people felt comfortable working from home and 0:16:20.840 --> 0:16:23.760 didn't feel pressured to go into the office. So how 0:16:23.760 --> 0:16:25.920 do you meet your clients? You you don't go meet 0:16:25.960 --> 0:16:28.280 him yourself so much because you've got other people around 0:16:28.280 --> 0:16:30.160 the world. And during the COVID period of time, I 0:16:30.200 --> 0:16:32.120 assume you really didn't go meet anybody. You were just 0:16:32.160 --> 0:16:34.720 traveling and uh from your office to your home if 0:16:34.840 --> 0:16:38.760 if that right. So pre COVID I did definitely travel 0:16:38.800 --> 0:16:42.120 a lot. And I think we've all learned, however, during 0:16:42.200 --> 0:16:47.440 COVID that connections can be built remotely. Uh and certainly 0:16:47.800 --> 0:16:50.800 you know, my fun fact was I became CEO September one, 0:16:50.840 --> 0:16:54.840 twenty nineteen, and literally six months and eleven days after 0:16:54.880 --> 0:16:59.000 becoming CEO UH COVID, you know, the pandemic was declared. 0:16:59.080 --> 0:17:01.920 And so I've a very interesting first couple of years 0:17:02.320 --> 0:17:07.239 and I've built really strong relationships by leveraging technology and 0:17:07.280 --> 0:17:10.439 really thinking about how do you build connections? And I 0:17:10.440 --> 0:17:14.000 think one of the great learnings out of COVID is 0:17:14.119 --> 0:17:17.760 this idea of omni connections. And I think too many 0:17:17.800 --> 0:17:21.680 people focus on remote work and hybrid work and physical 0:17:21.760 --> 0:17:25.800 location as opposed to you know, how do you connect 0:17:25.800 --> 0:17:27.879 with people? When do you need to do it physically? 0:17:28.200 --> 0:17:31.000 You know how to be intentional and you know what 0:17:31.000 --> 0:17:34.200 what what's required for connections. So how do you keep 0:17:34.280 --> 0:17:36.000 up with what's going on around the world? I mean, 0:17:36.000 --> 0:17:38.800 you have so many consultants and do you know all 0:17:38.840 --> 0:17:41.399 the big projects. Do you get reports daily or weekly 0:17:41.480 --> 0:17:43.960 or monthly about what's going on or if their problems? 0:17:44.000 --> 0:17:45.439 And do you have to go out and woo the 0:17:45.480 --> 0:17:49.200 clients yourself and get the business well? First and foremost, 0:17:49.320 --> 0:17:52.720 I lead by example, and our business is about clients. 0:17:52.880 --> 0:17:56.439 And so every quarter I published from my all of 0:17:56.440 --> 0:17:59.399 my managing directors how many client meetings I've had and 0:17:59.440 --> 0:18:02.520 how many things I've had with our ecosystem partners, to 0:18:02.680 --> 0:18:07.159 reinforce that our business begins with understanding our clients. I 0:18:07.200 --> 0:18:09.840 call it the proximity imperative, as I spend more than 0:18:10.520 --> 0:18:14.159 of my time with clients not just wooing them, you know, 0:18:14.200 --> 0:18:18.160 not in a sales mode, but understanding them, building relationships. 0:18:18.640 --> 0:18:22.320 And that's really what our entire foundation of Accenter is 0:18:22.359 --> 0:18:25.479 built on is that proximity to clients. And then with 0:18:25.520 --> 0:18:28.080 respect to how do I run the business? And one 0:18:28.080 --> 0:18:31.080 of the most important lessons that I think any leader 0:18:31.119 --> 0:18:33.320 has is you put you build a great team and 0:18:33.320 --> 0:18:36.320 then you rely on them for what they are you know, 0:18:36.400 --> 0:18:39.720 have been asked to do. And so I don't micromanage. 0:18:40.440 --> 0:18:43.280 I really focus on you know, who is doing what 0:18:43.400 --> 0:18:45.840 and what do I need to know and having a 0:18:45.840 --> 0:18:48.520 great team. Let's suppose I go to businesschool and I 0:18:48.560 --> 0:18:50.119 do reasonaly while there and I say I want to 0:18:50.160 --> 0:18:53.679 be a consultant, and you interview me or somebody interviews me. 0:18:53.920 --> 0:18:58.800 What are the skills you're looking for? Is that hard work? U, integrity, brilliance, 0:18:58.840 --> 0:19:02.000 what makes a good con Alton? All of those are 0:19:02.119 --> 0:19:05.000 I think table stakes, but one of the things that 0:19:05.119 --> 0:19:07.920 we really look for. So yes, we want people who 0:19:07.960 --> 0:19:12.400 work hard, who you know, have you have performed well? 0:19:13.080 --> 0:19:17.639 But the most important skill that we see is uh 0:19:17.720 --> 0:19:22.760 the willingness and to learn. Because the environment around us 0:19:22.800 --> 0:19:25.439 is changing. We know from a skills perspective, skills in 0:19:27.160 --> 0:19:31.040 them are obsolete today, and so we test for learning. 0:19:31.280 --> 0:19:34.159 We as really basic questions like what have you learned 0:19:34.600 --> 0:19:37.639 in the last six months that wasn't in a classroom? 0:19:37.720 --> 0:19:42.720 And uh and so learning, agility, curiosity are really core 0:19:42.920 --> 0:19:45.600 to our hiring philosophy. So what do you do when 0:19:45.600 --> 0:19:49.160 you're not consulting? Do you have any outside interests? Well? 0:19:49.200 --> 0:19:53.040 I took up tennis during COVID, which was pretty brave 0:19:53.080 --> 0:19:55.240 at fifty two, and I actually can hit the ball. 0:19:55.280 --> 0:19:58.200 I'm not great, but I can, you know, play game. 0:19:58.440 --> 0:20:03.000 And mostly I focus on my two daughters, who are 0:20:03.640 --> 0:20:06.320 thirteen and about to be fifteen. Have you thought of 0:20:06.400 --> 0:20:08.840 hiring consultant for your tennis game? You know, if you 0:20:08.920 --> 0:20:12.160 hire a consultant, that would improve your tennis game, right, Well, actually, 0:20:12.400 --> 0:20:14.399 most of the time I played tennis with a coach 0:20:14.960 --> 0:20:17.760 because that way I can actually hit the ball and 0:20:18.080 --> 0:20:21.560 get a little bit better. Okay, So if the President 0:20:21.600 --> 0:20:23.879 United States called you and said, you know, you're running 0:20:23.880 --> 0:20:26.640 a gigantic company. You've done a terrific job. I need 0:20:26.720 --> 0:20:30.040 some more, uh women leaders in my government. Why don't 0:20:30.040 --> 0:20:32.719 you come in and be secretary of something important? What 0:20:32.760 --> 0:20:36.479 would you say? I'd say, I'm honored to be asked, 0:20:36.520 --> 0:20:38.560 but I have really important work to do in the 0:20:38.600 --> 0:20:41.640 private sector. Okay, so you wouldn't go in right now, 0:20:42.680 --> 0:20:45.880 that is not my current aspiration. Okay, Now somebody who's 0:20:45.880 --> 0:20:48.920 watching this would say, this person has an incredible professional 0:20:49.000 --> 0:20:52.680 light rose up to be a partner at Kravat. Now 0:20:52.800 --> 0:20:55.520 she's the CEO of this gigantic company. Can you cite 0:20:55.560 --> 0:20:58.159 something that didn't work out in your professional life so 0:20:58.200 --> 0:21:01.159 that people could feel you're not just superhuman and that 0:21:01.320 --> 0:21:03.480 make people feel good that they can see that somebody 0:21:03.560 --> 0:21:05.520 made a mistake. Did you have any mistakes you've made 0:21:05.600 --> 0:21:08.080 or failures that you can talk about, you know, David, 0:21:08.280 --> 0:21:11.600 people ask that question as if the only challenge is 0:21:11.640 --> 0:21:15.560