Ivy Exec Interview with Andrew Blum

Ivy Exec recently interviewed Andrew Blum, CEO of the Trium Group. Trium is a strategy execution firm that pays a lot of attention to leadership and team dynamics. They specialize in corporate transformation, culture change, restructuring and leadership-driven change management. Andrew is a frequent speaker on strategy and leadership issues, most recently at the University of California-Berkeley’s Haas School of Business, and the company was named one of Consulting Magazine’s “Small Jewels” in 2012. 

Read the full article here

Ivy Exec: In which area of your company do you expect the most growth over the next 12 to 18 months?

Andrew Blum: For us, growth is an outcome, not a goal – what’s most important is being a great team and producing highest-level impact. At Trium, we will continue to grow thoughtfully through the addition of really skilled, seasoned consultants that share our values and our mission to create positive change in the corporate world.

IE: What changes and challenges do you think your company and industry will see in the next 5 years?

Andrew: The classic consulting model of bringing in a lot of smart people who have the “answers” is over. The answers are internal and consultants will have to get better at helping their clients find their own answers. Increasingly, those insights will have to be integrative and holistic – consultants will have to be able to solve human dynamics as well as strategic challenges.

IE: What led you to found The Trium Group?

Andrew: We founded Trium because we wanted to achieve five things: 1) Do meaningful work that has a positive impact; 2) Continually learn and grow; 3) Work with people we adore; 4) Have economics that allow for a high quality of life; 5) Have the flexibility and time needed to consciously live our lives and raise our families.

IE: What three words best describe your culture?

Andrew: Responsibility – We are personally accountable for what we do and how we think.
Persistence in Mission – We never give up.
Authenticity – We shoot straight, always.

IE: What are the two best perks that employees get at your company?

Andrew: From dinners out to Friday afternoon happy hours, there is an extraordinary degree of camaraderie between our team members. We tend not to structure in a lot of incentives otherwise and leave it up to individuals to create the perks that matter the most to them. So long as you are producing results at Trium, anything is possible.

IE: Which leadership qualities best ensure success at The Trium Group?

Andrew: Success is found by people who live Trium’s values and find a way to navigate every business situation that arises, regardless of their experience, with grace – and in consulting, it’s a wild world. We are all entrepreneurs and mission-driven at our core.

IE: What gets you excited about going to work each day?

Andrew: Creating an environment where I would want my kids to work and impacting leaders.

IE: What is the biggest misconception that you encounter about the consulting industry?

Andrew: That we don’t help with execution, we merely create complex decks and give advice. For us it’s about being a trusted advisor that helps people get clear – often about the things they already know.