Ian Buchanan

How would you describe your time at Booz/Strategy&?

One of the most challenging, intense and rewarding periods of my 48 year career

How has your experience helped you in your later career?

My experience with Booz/Strategy& has helped me in many ways including applying our structured approach to identifying & solving the most important problems by:

• Separating ‘Symptoms’ from ‘Causation’: Most Senior leaders – & consultants – focus on symptoms, not the underlying & often complex & invisible, causes
• Recognising there are no ‘Quick Fixes’: It is crucial to quickly identify the true critical issues – not just the symptoms reported by the Client. This requires the creation of trusted relationships at the most senior levels of the organisation to first identify & then to build consensus on issues & priority actions
• Sustained solutions require an integrated team approach which combines

- Seniors with the ability to establish 'Trusted Adviser’ relationships with key stakeholders

- Deep Industry/Sector/Country experts who bring insights – & connections

- Juniors able to bring rigorous analytical support 

• Key to our ability to deliver impact & value was

- Our hypothesis-based approach – where experienced seniors bring deep insights which separate symptoms from causes & provide a structured framework for the analysis

- Our ability to work effectively as one team to help clients translate recommendations into action

- Our willingness to ’Speak truth to Power’ – even if it cost us the project!

• Access to the best People – & 'IP’ – for each critical issue 

How has your organisation been impacted by and responded to by COVID-19?

In my portfolio of roles COVID has had both negative and positive consequences: The negatives – cancelled or delayed projects – have in my case been outweighed by positives – including a huge reduction in my need to ‘jump on a plane’ for Board/other meetings which are increasingly being replaced with very effective Zoom calls.

What are some of the most rewarding parts of your job? What challenges do you face in your role?

I have a portfolio of roles which include leading and advising NGOs related to Asia Pacific/Track II Diplomacy, Governance/Advisory Boards, Mentoring, coaching and investing in and advising start-ups. The most rewarding part is helping young people, especially our alumni, avoid repeating my mistakes. There are three main challenges. Firstly, at Booz Strategy& we had superb support services which gave us all huge leverage and is impossible to fully replicate. Second, I miss the ability to draw on the diverse resources of our global network. Although I am fortunate to have mentees around the world who have been kind enough to remain very supportive, I am no longer on their ‘KPI List’. Third, the lack of a ‘Big Name’ brand can make accessing support from Government agencies harder unless you have an established historical relationship.

What do you think the “new normal” will look like for your business and how do you think it has changed the future direction of your organisation/industry?

While I no longer work in just one organisation or sector, in my current portfolio of ‘Roles’ – mentoring, strategic advice, INED-Governance and investing/start-ups – I believe many of the changes referred to above are going to be positive: less time lost in travel and more time using effective tools for both distance learning, advising & governance roles. 

What would you say is the highlight of your career to date?

No one ‘highlight’ – but during my 48 years in the region, of which the past 36 were as a strategy consultant/adviser, I have been privileged to have had a ’seat at the table’ with many regional political and corporate leaders during a period of radical economic, social and political change. For me the highlights include:

Working with many regional (mostly ASEAN & Australia) Heads of Government to:

• Refocus national development strategies & modernise national institutions which collectively contributed to the ‘Asian Miracle’ growth era 
• Rescue, re-structure & unlock hundreds of billions of $ value from regional SoE’s 
• Helping defuse regional tensions, including several occasions where military conflict was imminent & where our ’Trusted Adviser’ role with both ’sides' led to reconciliation. 

Being at the Partner Meeting in NY on 9/11 & actively participating in the Firm-wide effort to rapidly understand what changes this meant for the US – & the World – & then being proactively engaged in three distinct types of initiative.

• In collaboration with my then mentor, Mike McConnell (ex US DNI), I was active in meeting/briefing – & then structuring significant projects to support the transformations of key Australian and Asian leaders, Governments & Companies
• Hiring/training/mentoring young future leaders throughout developing Asia 
• Working directly with leaders of our Islamic Government & Corporate Clients to Co-found, & being invited the International Advisory Panel of, The World Islamic Economic Forum to strengthen collaboration between the 57 OIC Countries and enhance communications with Western/Non Muslim leaders. 

What is your personal definition of good leadership, and how do you try to implement it?

Good leadership is rare and hard to define. With experience you can perhaps recognise it when you see it in action. I had the privilege of working directly with Jack Welch, and sitting on his APAC Advisory Board: he was one of the most effective examples of good leadership I have worked with.

Key attributes of good leadership include:

• Integrity – Practice what you preach/Walk-the-talk (Sadly still rare attributes) 
• Judgement – Ability to see the ‘Big Picture’ & to separate symptoms from causes 
• Communications – Timely, Effective, Open & Honest • Consistency – At all times & on all issues • Courage – Willingness & ability to ’Speak truth to power’ 
• Accountability – Translating strategy into action requires establishing, allocating – & maintaining – clear accountability 

The best piece of career advice you’ve ever received or that you would give someone?

Your career will consume a large part of your life so ensure you work within an organisation and with people who share your values, beliefs and aspirations. Throughout your career stay open to new opportunities and when one comes by which excites you grab it with both hands.