Lake Forest couple brings new business model to consulting

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Updated: August 4, 2011 4:20PM

Griffin Strategic Advisors of Lake Forest -- started by the husband-and-wife team of Carrie Shea and Michael Shea in 2008 -- is a consulting firm providing companies professional services to increase profitability and to accelerate growth.Chief Executive Officer Carrie Shea has an MBA from the University of Chicago Graduate School of business and was a strategy and organizational practice leader at two large firms before starting this one. President Michael Shea brings 25 years of business and consulting experience to the mix, such as from Battelle Memorial Institute, AT Kearney and Huron Consulting.

Carrie, what can your consultants do for clients related to strategy and operations?

Our team helps clients build their business faster. We advise senior executive on ways to achieve more profitable growth by understanding their customers’ unsatisfied needs, crafting how customers recognize the value of their services and products, and improving the services themselves and how they deliver them to customers.

In our first three years we have consulted on issues in China, Korea, Brazil, Russia, India, and many Latin American countries. Our clients are primarily U.S. based global companies in the consumer packaged goods, consumer durables, healthcare, and higher education industries.

Michael, how do you both work together on client projects and on keeping your business going?

From the beginning, it was very important to Carrie and me that Griffin be a woman-owned and managed business. As CEO, Carrie has responsibility over the long-term direction that we take with Griffin. As President, I have responsibility over the more day-to-day operational aspects. I also want to be very clear that Griffin comprises a larger team of outstanding consultants with a common vision and culture, and is much more than just the two of us.

Carrie, starting a new business during a recession sounds counter-intuitive. What is it about your services which makes them useful in harsh economic times?

After working for more than 20 years with traditional consulting firms, we wanted to start a firm to help clients achieve a better return on their consulting investment. Traditional firms often have senior partners who are expected to keep eight to 10 junior consultants busy. This is a very expensive model for clients. Our business model turns that approach “upside down” by providing two to three partner-level consultants with one to two junior consultants.

Carrie, what has been the most fun about owning your own company?

It has been very exciting to build and bring a new business model to the consulting industry. We have competed against some of the biggest firms in the industry and have prevailed because our unique model resonates with corporate level executives.

Carrie, has a client followed your advice and told you of a dramatic outcome because of it?

One of our public clients in the footwear space doubled their share price in the last three years after we helped them with their long term strategic plan, including making recommendations on acquisitions. For a global housewares client, we recently uncovered 10 new growth opportunities in China and Korea to help them accelerate growth there.

Michael, you seem to have a sense of humor on your website (www.Griffinstrategicadvisors.com) about the possible incomprehensibility of your University of Chicago PhD dissertation “Hydologic, Thermal and Chemical Processes related to Fracture Controlled Hydrothermal Water-Rock Interaction.” Do the research skills related to preparing a dissertation help you in your work?

Thanks for noticing that. One should always have a healthy perspective on their achievements, not only in the academic world but also in the business world. The skills I learned and experiences to obtain my PhD absolutely translate over into solving problems for our clients. They also taught me the value of collaboration which, for all of us, is a key part of our Griffin Strategic Advisors culture.