Unconventional Decisions Pay Off

KNOWLEDGE @ WHARTON — Doug Lattner says his first rule of business leadership is “know yourself.” The CEO of fast-growing Deloitte Consulting applied that lesson to his own firm when he assumed the reins of the New York-based unit in 2003.

At the time, Deloitte Consulting, which offered expertise in such areas as strategy, technology and human resources, was serving more than 42 types of client groups. Lattner and his team grew the overall business even as they slashed that number by more than half, serving just 19 segments. “I said, ‘We’re not going to be all things to all people,’” Lattner stated during a recent Wharton Leadership Lecture. “We’re not going to out-Accenture Accenture, we’re not going to out-IBM IBM, and we’re not going to out-McKinsey McKinsey. We’re going to be very good at what we do.” Read article.