Booz & Company

Challenge

Booz-Allen Hamilton, the oldest strategy firm, was better known for technology and government consulting than for strategy and was losing market share. Business Week referred to Booz-Allen as “the sleeping giant.”

Kurtzman Group Approach

Given depth of the firm’s bench strength and pure collective intellect, we had a hunch that our job was more to uncover the firm’s existing thought leadership, rather than to create it from scratch and reposition the firm around it.

Our first move was what we call “mining for thought leadership.” We interviewed stakeholders – clients and partners alike -- to discover the firm’s “worldview.” We listened strategically to the external market’s opinion of Booz Allen’s most powerful ideas, accomplishments, and best thinking.

We analyzed the results of interviews and conversations and designed a communications platform that would reveal the firm’s best secret: the innovation, intelligence and strategic perspective of the firm and its partners.

Solution

Develop a ”power-platform,” which included:
Magazine. Created and published a magazine, Strategy + Business, that could “drive” the firm’s marketing, branding, and relationship-building efforts. Content was sourced from:

  • Booz Allen’s partner base, as well as from subject matter experts and authorities on any given topic.
  • Summits. Created and facilitated C-level summits for key constituents to participate in the firm’s ideas.
  • Books. Leverage content from magazines and white papers to seed book-length treatments of fundamental ideas.
Results

Within 3 years of our involvement, the Financial Times named Booz Allen “the most thoughtful firm” among strategy firms.

In its 10th year, the strategy is still going strong. Strategy + Business is widely recognized as a leading business publication, and has won numerous awards for its content. Total subscriptions topped 100,000. As a publication it occupies strategic physical “real estate” globally.

Its content is leveraged in case studies in MBA courses around the globe. At least 5 books were authored by Booz Allen partners over this time along with a variety of white papers and web casts.