Cover Story
Crisis management
How Gary Holdren prepared his people for hard times to keep Huron Consulting Group focused on success
By Mike Cottrill
Smart Business Chicago | May 2009
Page 1 of 4
Gary Holdren hasn’t had to face the worst.
But that doesn’t mean he hasn’t thought about it. Even though Huron Consulting Group Inc. has basically done nothing but grow since its inception in 2002, Holdren, who is the company’s chairman, president and CEO, is like you. He worries, and he realizes that the rough waves of the current economy aren’t going to calm overnight.
And the more conversations he has with clients at Huron, a management consulting firm, the more he hears people concerned with how they’re handling those tough spots.
“What everybody is going to face, and clearly this is something right now when you talk to friends, is knowing the right decisions to make on cutting people and cutting costs,” he says. “These are people, these are families, these are lives and livelihoods, and how you decide whether to stick with those people. Do you decide to make the best times of it, or do you just cut costs and cut heads and move on?”
Holdren has had to face those decisions head-on to keep Huron above the curve, and he did so to the tune of $615.5 million in 2008 revenue, up from $504.3 million in 2007.
Keeping that head of steam during the first wave of economic downturn wasn’t easy, but it starts with the ability to trim your budget while maintaining your core. That process requires you to take stock of your people and your costs and make decisions about what cutbacks you are willing to make in the budget. Once you’ve got that figured out, Holdren says you have to use the power of your credibility and integrity with employees to explain it. You need to be candid and honest in explaining how the cuts you made make your company stronger.
