Rob Ferrone and Adam Blomerley on Climb in Consulting
Two guests, one conversation. Rob Ferrone and Adam Blomerley join Climb in Consulting for a candid look at the Quick Release_ story — from two contractors in 2003 to a global consultancy of over 200 people — and the lessons for anyone looking to build a successful career in consulting.
Having started out as contractors, Rob Ferrone and co-founder Adam Grant launched Quick Release in 2003. In Rob's own words they were 'two Excel types who saw a gap in the market and wanted to create a fun company of like-minded data geeks'. Shortly afterwards Adam Blomerley joined with his famous '5 year plan' — the point at which QR_ began its transformation from a provider of quality automotive change management resource into a fully-fledged Product Data Management consultancy.
Over the following two decades Rob, Adam, and Adam set about scaling the firm toward their stated goal of 'world domination' — growing from a team of four into a global consultancy of over 200 people. In this episode Rob and Adam share hugely candid insights into that journey and what it takes to grow a successful consulting firm, covering the early days of QR_ and the move from day-rate contracting to building a scaled practice, the lessons learned over two decades of growth, and detailed advice for anyone looking to build a consulting career. One of the core QR_ values is that the firm is 'Quite Refreshing' — daring to be different, bringing a new approach and a fresh perspective — and the conversation lives up to that on every front.
Download machine transcript ↓What this episode covers
The 5-year plan that changed QR_
Adam joined as employee number four in 2007 and shortly afterwards brought a simple three-line plan: 50 percent revenue growth, year on year. Put together in early 2009 right after the crash, that one-page document plus a single graph gave QR_ the breathing space to convince clients and new hires that they weren't 'a bunch of contractor cowboys' — and carried through the following years of annual reports.
Four ways into a blue-chip client
Adam's taxonomy of routes into a major account: the front door (thought leadership and senior referrals — the 'right' way but hardest to pull off); the guerrilla way (any foothold at the bottom, then grow upwards); the cellar (pick a middle-manager champion who'll go to bat with procurement); and the loft (build relationships slowly over time). Rob's Ford origin story — a charity-committee connection made years earlier — is the front door working by accident.
The five pillars, and why glass ceilings got broken
When a client survey came back praising QR_'s junior energy but asking for 'grey haired people' to steer projects, the single-track consultant → team leader → account lead → strategic owner path was revealed as a glass ceiling for 90 percent of the team. The five pillars — Accounts, Service Offerings, Technical, Org, Project Delivery — replaced it with five directions of travel, letting people specialise rather than having to be good at everything.
Sales as a science, taught to technical people
Lars Tewes' insight that sales is a process rather than a gift of the gab is the foundation of QR_'s consultant-led sales model — 95 percent of sales today. The sales continuum runs Hope → Listen → Ask → Influence; everyone's responsibility starts with listening, captured through the 'Hear and Report Back' system that routes client-side intelligence from consultants to account leads.
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