Consulting Magazine - November 2017

Clerestory enables its clients to transform their businesses and realize the big benefits promised by new strategies, technologies, and operational improvements. Since 2003, Clerestory has developed an extraordinary record of success leading organizations to operationalize business strategies by implementing mission-critical changes in ways that engage employees and drastically improve outcomes. Linda Toops, Principal of Clerestory, sat down to discuss the firm’s performance.

Consulting: What were the main factors that contributed to your firm’s growth?

Toops: As experts in Change Management and Operations Improvement, Clerestory has always had a unique and powerful value proposition. We have been at the forefront of Change Management’s evolution for 15 years and have seen growing recognition of the value of our services in the marketplace. Executives increasingly appreciate the impact that change management has on critical initiatives—and on the success of the organization.

Consulting: How is this year shaping up for your firm?

Toops: 2017 has been another exciting and fast-paced year at Clerestory. We are on track to close out the year with more than 30 percent growth in staff and revenue.

We have added new clients as well as new capabilities by expanding our service offerings to include in-house video production capabilities and change management classroom training. Everyone at Clerestory is excited and looking forward to another great year in 2018.

Consulting: How would you describe your firm’s outlook for 2018? Where do you see the most opportunities? Toops: Clerestory’s projections for 2018 are consistent with our past performance. We now have consultants in three states and are expanding the size of our home office location. The new year holds a number of ongoing client projects in addition to new opportunities. Clerestory’s deep roots in operations consulting and change management make us a preferred provider for clients in an increasingly active merger and integration space.

Consulting: What would you say are your firm’s biggest challenges in 2018?

Toops: The challenge to Clerestory’s growth is hiring experienced consultants who are strategic thinkers and are also passionate about aiding clients with implementation.

Change can be daunting, so our
team has to have the interpersonal
skills to persuade, encourage, and
model the behaviors that will be
required in a transformed environ-
ment. When you have proven meth-
odologies, you can always find and
train new staff members. That part
is easy. The hard part is finding peo-
ple who care. You can’t pay people
to care; caring about a clients’ suc-
cess doesn’t come from a paycheck.
That is a special quality that every
successful Clerestory consultant
has. It’s hard to find, but you know
it when you see it.

Consulting: What does being named one of Consulting’s Fastest Growing Firms mean to your firm, your employees and your clients?

Toops: We are honored to receive the recognition of being named one of the Fastest Growing Firms for the third year in a row. Our greatest success is the results that we deliver to our clients every day. This honor validates that we are consistently delivering more results to more clients.