why I stayed at the same consulting firm for 15 years

Yesterday, 11/21/22, was my last day of employment with West Monroe. Over the last 15 years, I interviewed many candidates for employment at West Monroe. It seems they almost always asked me “what’s kept you here for so long?” For years, I would give a variety of answers. I always provided answers that were authentic and true such as the values, culture, people, leadership team, fun, challenges, and opportunities. However, until recently, I had never boiled them down to a single, cohesive answer. It wasn’t an easy question to answer succinctly. It required time and reflection.

In his book The Speed of Trust, Stephen M.R. Covey decomposes trust into two elements: character and competence. Both are necessary to build and sustain trust. He writes that the two cores of character are integrity and intent; the two cores of competence are capabilities and results.

I started with West Monroe as an intern in the Summer of 2007, working in the Enterprise Practice. I returned as a full-time employee in January 2008, at which time I was asked if I wanted to join a new practice the firm was starting – the Financial Services Practice. A few months later, the bottom fell out of the financial markets, marking the beginning of the Financial Crisis of 2008 or Great Recession. It was a difficult time to say the least. But in the middle of difficulty lies opportunity.

Over my tenure, the firm faced many more opportunities, e.g., evolving its strategy; hiring thousands of new employees; starting new practices; opening new offices; scaling operations; developing new solutions and offerings; acquiring companies; changing its capital structure; rebranding; weathering a global pandemic … the list is lengthy.

I write with the greatest conviction that West Monroe demonstrated great character and competence during my tenure there. I always had confidence in the integrity and intent of the leadership team and my colleagues. West Monroe’s capabilities are how it delivers its services and value to clients, and they are word-class. And, the results speak for themselves. West Monroe has consistently generated exceptional results, including financial results as well as non-financial results like client success and employee satisfaction.

I am biased. I acknowledge that. However, I am not naïve. I know that West Monroe is special. And, part of what makes West Monroe special is the trust that so many there have worked to create and sustain.

In The Speed of Trust, Covey writes that the conventional business formula says that strategy times execution equals results or S X E = R. But there is a hidden variable to this formula: trust. If there is low trust, then the output will be taxed or discounted. If there is high trust, then the output will be multiplied. He writes the business formula should be (Strategy times Execution) multiplied by Trust equals results or (S X E)T = R.

I can attest to the power of trust as a force multiplier. It’s the reason I stayed with the same consulting firm for 15 years.