I recently went one on one with Andy Macdonald, CEO of Consilio.

Adam: Thanks again for taking the time to share your advice. First things first, though, I am sure readers would love to learn more about you. How did you get here? What experiences, failures, setbacks, or challenges have been most instrumental to your growth? 

Andy: I am so happy to be in my position and my background, when you boil it down, is business building. I grew up in a small beach town on the west coast of Florida and eventually earned my Bachelor’s in Business Administration from Emory University. After graduating, I didn’t know exactly what I wanted to do for a career, but I was fortunate enough to be a part of teams that, as it turns out, were focused on building great companies where mergers & acquisitions were the linchpin in that growth. I wasn’t necessarily prepared to step into this role in my early career, but I learned along the way what it was like to build a company, to run a company and most importantly to acquire other businesses to promote growth. 

In terms of failures and setbacks, there have certainly been plenty. One of the biggest setbacks was recognizing that we could not know everything and actually taking the time to determine what the missing pieces in knowledge were. When I look back at some of the things that I have learned, one of the most important is when you have an opportunity to ask someone questions, do it. I probably could have avoided some of the setbacks I’ve experienced in life if I took the time to ask questions of those more experienced around me to tackle the challenges we faced. Taking these lessons into account, I work every day to continue to build Consilio into the great company that it is, and I am excited for what is to come. 

Adam: In your experience, what are the key steps to growing and scaling your business? 

Andy: A great team, a good plan, hard work, lots of luck and in my case some really enthusiastic investors who can shape the growth trajectory of an organization. 

Building a great team is paramount and the most important aspect of scaling a business. To build a team that you can trust to reach their goals, you need to bring people together with different strengths. At Consilio, we have experts across sectors that all work in concert with each other to provide comprehensive services and products. Teams with diverse strengths are able to capitalize on each individual’s skill set to better complement the wider team on day-to-day tasks and long-term growth plans. Once you have this strong team in place, trust them to do what they do best. It makes the growth process really smooth. 

A plan is nice, but it doesn’t always work out and being able to adapt and pivot in the face of unexpected challenges along the way is crucial to growth. As we have all experienced in the last few years, the world can shift quickly and plans that were in place suddenly become obsolete. Leaders need to plan for the future, but the key to a good plan is the flexibility to adapt to the current environment in order to truly accelerate growth. If a leader is too stuck in the details of the plan without consideration for circumstance, they may encounter roadblocks that prohibit growth and they may not be able to mobilize quickly and efficiently to continue the growth trajectory.  

Luck is important as well but, in my experience, the key is to let a knowledgeable team use their expertise to continue doing great work and finding ways to support them to ensure success across the company. Throughout my leadership experience, I have been fortunate to have great mentors, mentees, and colleagues who have guided, advised and supported me as Consilio grew. A little luck goes a long way in building your network for the future of a business. 

Finally, enthusiastic investors that can see the vision behind the idea and work to help a leader realize it can make all the difference. I have found such a passion in growing and scaling business and to have people support that initiative and passion has been a motivator for growth. 

Adam: What are the best lessons you have learned from overseeing three mergers & acquisitions in the last year? 

Andy: Looking back farther than the last year, Consilio has acquired and completed 15 integrations over the last 8 years which has transformed it to one the largest global providers of legal technology solutions and enterprise legal services. We have grown so much in the last few years and that growth has taught us how to build for the future and maintain our culture, expert talent and industry expertise. 

The best lesson I have learned through the last decade is to be willing to see that the initial plan is not always as great as we thought it would be, and how to be able to adjust accordingly. This also ties into having a great team because when you are able to trust that your team will make the right calls as the situation unfolds, you can continue to integrate companies successfully despite the plan not fitting with the needs of the exact moment, which it rarely does. 

The practice of integrating companies is much more challenging than growing a company organically. It's important to take a pulse check for talent making the transition to a new company after acquisition. Make sure they're getting accustomed to their new company's values and strategy and see if there's anything you, as a leader, can do to make that transition seamless. Successfully integrating companies requires a commitment to digging into the work that in many cases people would rather leave un-done. A leader’s willingness and flexibility to maneuver and adjust as the situation settles, lends itself well to integrating the people of an acquired company to create a sense of belonging in an uncertain environment. 

Adam: What are your best tips on the topic of risk management? 

Andy: Managing risk is a minute-by-minute process. I wake up everyday and look at my phone for texts and emails and am always worried about risk, but over the years I have come to know that risk can only be managed, it cannot be eliminated, so leaders need to hire experts and stay vigilant. Risk is a constant thought in the back of my mind to ensure that we have the best ransomware defense, security team and latest information to mitigate any potential threats but overall, it’s a matter of vigilance and when you have a strong team that is always innovating, you can work everyday to manage it. 

Adam: What do you believe are the defining qualities of an effective leader? 

Andy: I think there are so many great leaders who have had great success with different approaches, so I don’t think there is a concrete set of defining qualities. One size doesn’t fit all. 

For me personally, I focus on consistency with my words and actions. When people interact with me, I want them to have an idea of what they are going to get from me. In uncertain times or not, I am not going to change the message out of the blue. 

I am also an eternal optimist, so I believe in the people that I have at Consilio and my job as a leader is to support them as best as I can. Trusting and believing in the people you surround yourself with allows you, as a leader, to be more effective to further success of the company or organization overall. 

Adam: How can leaders and aspiring leaders take their leadership skills to the next level? 

Andy: Ask a lot of questions but more importantly, learn to really listen to the answers. So many people that we cross paths with throughout our lives have experiences that they are not just going to offer up proactively. A good question can prompt an insightful answer that provides the inspiration for an aspiring leader to take charge, learn more and further accelerate a leader’s journey. This only comes if the question-asker actively listens to the response and is prepared to adjust as they see fit. 

At Consilio, we created our Advanced Learning Institute to create environments to talk and listen to others in the industry and throughout the company that have had success, so our employees are better equipped to bring that wealth of knowledge back to their day-to-day work and mold it to a style that fits their unique personality and area of expertise. 

Adam: What are your three best tips applicable to entrepreneurs, executives, and civic leaders? 

Andy: Number one is focus on the people. Clients, employees and constituents should view their interactions with your organization in a positive light. In the case of Consilio, we know that creating a great experience for employees allows them to focus on creating a great experience for our clients. 

The next piece is a relentless pursuit of operating efficiency. Even if from the outside something seems well built, you can always take it apart and make improvements. This connects back to the experience you provide to people. People want a smooth process and ensuring that efficiency is at the forefront of your leadership strategy can only help make that experience for clients and employees more enjoyable. 

The final tip, and possibly the most important, is don’t lose sight of the overall goal. At Consilio, we wanted to grow. We needed to grow and knew that this was the final goal, but these tips build on each other. When we create great experiences for the people we interact with and eliminate hassles and inefficiencies, growth should come a little bit easier. 

Adam: What is your best advice for building, leading, and managing teams? 

Andy: Be present and be aware, but mainly be self-aware. It is easy to sit in a room and talk, it is harder to listen and understand that when you do talk, your words and actions have an impact on others. It goes beyond the words you say and as you consider how to motivate people or deliver tough news; if you are not aware of the impact of your message, it may have the opposite effect you are looking to achieve.

Adam: What is the single best piece of advice that you have ever received? 

Andy: It comes from my mother, and it seems so simple but the best piece of advice I have been given is to get a good night’s sleep. It is underrated and absolutely impossible to pull off consistently, but we all know when you wake up after a good night’s sleep nothing seems out of reach or impossible. 


Adam Mendler is an entrepreneur, writer, speaker, educator, and nationally-recognized authority on leadership. Adam is the creator and host of the business and leadership podcast Thirty Minute Mentors, where he goes one on one with America's most successful people - Fortune 500 CEOs, founders of household name companies, Hall of Fame and Olympic gold medal-winning athletes, political and military leaders - for intimate half-hour conversations each week. A top leadership speaker, Adam draws upon his insights building and leading businesses and interviewing hundreds of America's top leaders as a top keynote speaker to businesses, universities, and non-profit organizations. Adam has written extensively on leadership and related topics, having authored over 70 articles published in major media outlets including Forbes, Inc. and HuffPost, and has conducted more than 500 one on one interviews with America’s top leaders through his collective media projects. Adam teaches graduate-level courses on leadership at UCLA and is an advisor to numerous companies and leaders. A Los Angeles native, Adam is a lifelong Angels fan and an avid backgammon player.

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