Fertile Ground

A cadre of Seattle-based management consulting firms have landed national recognition for their rapid growth and role as industry innovators.

In addition to Slalom Consulting, three local firms—Point B, Revel Consulting and Lenati—were founded on similar tenets, took aim at local markets and figured out how to solve the industry’s No. 1 challenge—creating a work-life balance for consultants.

Each company’s founders came from the ranks of the nation’s largest consulting firms, bringing with them deep experience and offering customers a close, long-term relationship at lower prices than the Big Five consulting firms. By doing so, these local firms are posting growth rates of 15 percent or more at a time when the industry is stagnating, says Jess Scheer, senior editor of Consulting Magazine.

So why are Seattle firms so successful and creative? Certainly, Seattle’s entrepreneurial spirit and unwritten focus on balancing work and leisure play a role. Couple that approach with the fact that many of our pioneering companies—Microsoft Corp., AT&T Wireless Services, Costco, Amazon, Starbucks, T-Mobile and Nordstrom—have grown to such a size, national stature and prominence that purchasing such management consulting services is a normal part of doing business. And throw in that many of these founders realize that success at home can be replicated in other areas.

Fifteen-year-old Point B is the oldest of the Seattle firms and considered the pioneer in helping consultants achieve a work-life balance. Consultants work virtually, tackling projects for large companies as well as startups and smaller firms. A third of its business helps health care companies, with the balance of specialty in retail and technology consulting.

Lenati, just four years old, is a boutique firm focused on helping West Coast companies solve their sales and marketing challenges, launch products, and differentiate their brands and new products by taking fresh approaches.

Kirkland’s Revel Consulting launched as a customer relationship management (CRM) implementation firm in 2005. It later expanded into management consulting, including project and change management, process engineering and strategy development. The company is broadening its high-tech customer base, adding telecommunications and health care practices this year.

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