Note: Over the next months I’ll be posting interviews with a number of key members of the Cicero team here and on my LinkedIn account. Stay tuned!
What brought you to Cicero Group?
Cicero offered a unique experience. Not only did Cicero provide legitimate opportunity as a consultant, but the company was and is growing rapidly. Its dynamic growth and smaller firm size makes the Cicero work place engaging, exciting, and rewarding. I was quickly asked to do a lot things I wouldn’t have had the opportunity to do at a larger firm. Plus, I love hiking and snowboarding, and Salt Lake is a great location for both.
What kind of projects are you working on right now?
I just wrapped up a really interesting project in the food industry. My team helped a large chain of grocery stores tailor a data-driven strategy for its marketing efforts and store offerings. The project was especially rewarding because the company is making significant, meaningful changes based on our recommendations.
What are you reading?
The Obstacle is the Way by Ryan Holiday. Technically, it’s a book on philosophy, but it presents the material in a really practical way. I like it because it focuses on day-to-day problems you might encounter in business and how you can solve them with structured, creative thinking. A lot of business reading is high level and hard to implement, but this book is highly applicable in everyday life.
Now, what are you reading for fun?
I love Robinson Crusoe. I’ve read it several times now, and I keep it on my night stand so I can pick it back up every now and again. The book teaches me that happiness is found as you “cultivate your garden,” even when circumstances are difficult. It reminds me to be creative, resourceful, and resilient. Also, it might come in handy if I’m ever marooned on an island.
What is the best part about working at Cicero?
You never know what you will be working on next! One week, I’m designing a segmentation model for a regional bank, and the next week I’m constructing and launching a new website. The environment is fast-paced, so I learn to be efficient and strategic in everything I do.
If you could help all your clients understand one principle or strategy, what would it be?
Be curious and be open to data-driven insights, even if they seem unconventional at first. The most successful clients I’ve worked with are those that are hungry for improvement and willing to take meaningful, strategic action based on sound data analysis. In virtually every market, the companies that succeed are those who best leverage the data that is available to them.
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Author
Randy Shumway
Randy Shumway founded Cicero Group (www.cicerogroup.com) in 2001. It began humbly, with four people working out of Randy’s house. At the beginning of 2017, when Randy stepped down as CEO, Cicero had grown to a highly-respected, global management consulting firm. In 2016, Randy was awarded Utah’s Lifetime Accomplishment and CEO of the Year in recognition of his professional accomplishments. In addition, since 2010, Cicero has repeatedly been recognized as one of the Best Companies to Work For, Fastest Growing Companies, and Best of State.
Randy’s vision in founding the company was for Cicero to reside at the crossroads of data, strategy, and transformation, with Cicero helping organizations make and implement better decisions by harnessing the massive amounts of information increasingly available.
During his more than 17 years at Cicero, Randy has led multiple strategy, transformation and operational excellence engagements for Fortune 1000 clients as well as non-profits and government entities. His experience spans such sectors as High Tech, Telecommunications, Life Sciences, Manufacturing, Financial Services, Non-Profit, Government and Education. Today, Randy continues to serve as the Chairman of the Board. And he is still actively involved in the company, leading the Strategy and Transformation practice at Cicero along with leading the firm’s social impact private equity subsidiary.
Prior to starting Cicero Group, Randy was an Executive Vice President and Managing Director at Answerthink (Nasdaq: ANSR), a 2,500-person global consulting firm. Before completing graduate school, Randy worked for Bain & Company and Dow Chemical.
Randy is the Economic Advisor to Zions Bank. And he is an Adjunct Professor of Strategy at the University of Utah David Eccles School of Business.
Randy is on the corporate board of Snowhite and of Angoss Software (TSX: ANC). He chairs the Governor’s Taskforce for Utah’s Workforce (Dignity of Work), serves on two state appointed boards – Utah Economic Council and the Education Excellence Commission – and serves on such volunteer boards as PPRC, Southern Utah University, and the Salt Lake Chamber of Commerce. He is a prolific author in the Deseret News and in Forbes regarding effective education and economic public policy.
Randy obtained his MBA from Harvard Business School, graduating with highest academic honors (Baker Scholar). He earned a bachelor’s degrees in International Business from Brigham Young University. He speaks Mandarin Chinese, having lived in Taiwan for two years as a volunteer Christian missionary.
Randy is married to Maureen Shumway and is the father of five. Maureen has a Bachelor of Science in Nursing and a Master’s degree in Early Childhood Development. She is a medical oncology nurse at Huntsman Cancer Institute. The Shumways live in Salt Lake City, Utah.
