When successful businesses that normally fly under the radar catch our attention, we look to better understand, both how they are succeeding, and why they may be doing so quietly. We sat down with Jamie Warlick and Stu Barnes-Israel, Co-Founders of Hidden River Group, self-described Frontier Strategy Management Consultants, to learn more about how this small, nimble team’s focus on higher purpose work is succeeding in creating dream jobs for its team, driving success for agencies like Veterans Affairs, and why they prefer to do so quietly.
Founded in Service and Purpose
From its earliest days, Hidden River Group intended to be a place people could find their dream jobs, balancing a diversity of challenges driven by rigorous problem solving to meet clients’ toughest challenges, delivering intentional service to ensure a high-quality client experience, and balancing lifestyle goals considering fun, time spent working and space for individuals. “We wanted to do work that matters and that we can be proud of, work that moves the needle, but we also wanted to be good dads. Not everyone in our company is a parent of course, but everyone wants to have the ability to layer something else into their lives besides work.”
Noting there are an abundance of ways to make a living, the focus for this team is simple – serving public sector organizations, the public servants that comprise them, and the people they serve.
The Flywheel Effect
Fans of Jim Collins, whose book Good to Great discusses the Flywheel Effect – the notion that “in building a great company or social sector enterprise, there is no single defining action, no grand program, no one killer innovation, no solitary lucky break, no miracle moment, but rather a process that resembles relentlessly pushing a giant, heavy flywheel, turn upon turn, building momentum until a point of breakthrough, and beyond” HRG has developed rigorous measures to ensure it is pushing its flywheel in the right direction.
“We’ve broken these down into things that we feel we can actually measure – the impact of our work, how interesting our work is, the way we serve our clients, the environment that we build, the fun that we have, the structure and scope that we create, the standards we set, our lifestyle goals…this includes making sure our people feel challenged, that they are growing and satisfied with the work they are accomplishing.”
“We call ourselves Frontier Strategy Consultants because a lot of the work that we do is new, and it takes a little bit of sweat to work through those very difficult and nebulous and often ambitious problems.”
Structured pulse checks, interviews and surveys scheduled with frequency are combined with regular evaluations intended to ensure the company continues to live as its own entity, that as it grows it does not begin to look and feel more like other organizations that exist in the space. A leadership development model helps team members plot where they want to be and how to achieve that goal.
From a talent lens, this team seeks to add passionate problem solvers from a range of different walks of life. “We know this may not be everybody’s dream job but for people who want that balance of who we are and what we do, that want to be in a culture of constant feedback, driving to be better, who seek a challenge and purpose, we offer a lot.”
Celebrating Clients
Among its core values is celebrating its clients’ success, rather than its own. “We don’t celebrate winning contracts – internally or externally. What we focus on is celebrating what our clients achieve, their success in delivering on a program, better supporting their end users and the people they serve.”
Built on a philosophy of being excited about public service, passionate about meeting and serving the complicated missions of agencies like Veterans Affairs, it is the delivery of those missions that gets attention and investment. You won’t find a lot about this team on social media beyond a website and a LinkedIn profile because that simply isn’t a focus.
“We really love the work we’re doing at VA for instance, and we’ll continue to invest in those relationships and in understanding and serving VA across a number of impactful dimensions.”
Translating that to other federal health agencies, at State and local levels focused on economic development, and some non-profit work, Hidden River Group is not in a hurry to grow, instead focusing on high quality work, attracting and retaining good people, and ensuring its culture stays true to the values on which the company was founded.
Partner Opportunity with this Trusted Advisor
Beyond its culture, what this team brings to the table is innovation and perspective, an ability to think through how to frame a tough project, how to move it forward. “We’re big believers in small organizations having core functions they are insanely good at. We’re not the lowest cost but we are one of the best values out there when it comes to innovation, transformation, and healthcare.”
Serving as trusted advisors to its clients, Hidden River Group is not interested in serving as a contractor, in filling a temporary gap or need. Instead, this team is about bringing in a perspective, the external perspective that can help an agency think and move differently in order to succeed. “That can mean coming back with something that says this is the solution we think that you need based on what we’re hearing, and maybe we’re the best people for the job, but also maybe we’re not and that’s OK. When you celebrate client success, not your own, the organization is focused on the right things. It’s about ensuring our clients get the best and are situated to make the best impact on the people they are serving.”
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