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Meet David Humenansky
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| What advice would you give to new graduates?
I believe that value alignment is key to job satisfaction. Take the time to understand who you are, where you are in life, and what values you hold dear. For example, do you value teamwork? If so, when looking for a job, you’ll want to know how a company encourages teamwork, especially if you’re in a P&L silo. Likewise, if you want to be rewarded primarily for personal performance, a P&L silo organization might be fine. So learn about the culture and values of the firms you are considering – not just how much they are going to pay you.
What attracted you to consulting, and why did you choose Booz Allen?
I chose Booz Allen for three reasons: there was strong value alignment, the firm clearly believed in collaboration, and the outstanding quality of the people.
How does your MBA help you in your work?
I graduated from Harvard’s Executive Advanced Management Program. It was a great environment to build strong relationships with business leaders and to learn from fellow students. It filled in some gaps in my experiential knowledge of driving change programs by offering me practical management theory and concepts that made me more effective with my clients.
What surprised you about the first year with Booz Allen?
I’ll tell you two great anecdotes that speak volumes about Booz Allen. In my first year, we got a contract to work in the field with a U.S. government contractor. We identified $160 million in cost savings on a $400 million spend. Next thing you know, they achieve $40 million in savings—but that wasn’t even half of what was identified! So a Senior Partner and I went to the client executives and told them that if they weren’t serious with our recommendations, we’d leave. We subsequently left the assignment. It demonstrated the importance we place on our brand of driving significant results.
The second story is just as telling: one of our contractual agreements with a client was to have the client pay for our staff to go home every weekend. When the contract came up for a one-year extension, the client said it was no longer going to pay for our staff’s trips home. A Booz Allen Partner indicated he understood the company’s position but said our staff worked hard, provided value added services, and deserved to go home on the weekends. He indicated that there were no hard feelings but that’s not how we treat our staff and we were sending them home from the site at the end of the day. Turns out the President of the company called that afternoon to apologize and agree to pay for the travel. That just goes to show you how Booz Allen respects and treats its people.
What has been the biggest benefit of mentorship?
Mentors are great people to go to when you need off-the-record discussions about your work, the firm, your career, etc. We use an apprenticeship model of development, so mentorship is a common characteristic of our programs for learning and growing.
If you could sum up Booz Allen in one word, what would it be?
I’d have to say two words, since they’re intertwined. People and service. Booz Allen really is about its people and it cares about them. Likewise, you’re really measured by the results you deliver to the client. And one isn’t good without the other.
How do you manage your work/life balance?
I’ve given my family a red flag to let me know when I’m working too hard and not spending enough time with them. I honor it when they wave it. They’ve used it half a dozen times in my career with Booz Allen. When they use it, I change my routine to get my balance back.
What’s on your iPod?
I have about 1,200 of my son’s songs on it. It’s a way for me to keep up with new music. Everything from OAR to Effervescence and beyond.
What was the oddest job you had prior to consulting?
I sold fire extinguishers door-to-door. They’re not the lightest things in the world.
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