TwoRoads Consulting: Navigating the Intersection of Technology and Human-Centric Strategy

In an era where technology consulting often feels impersonal and detached, TwoRoads Consulting, a technology strategy consulting firm, emphasizes its human-centered approach in the consulting industry. During a recent seminar and interview, Dom Sessa and Mike Szymanski shed light on their business and personal methodology working as leading consultants at TwoRoads.

Their seminar kicked off with insightful case studies, including a "buy vs. build" strategy in the airline industry. TwoRoads' approach emphasizes the importance of articulating clear goals with clients, followed by a meticulous process of quantifying and qualifying these objectives with a focus on local businesses and companies in the Dallas, Texas area. Their portfolio management case study offered a glimpse into how TwoRoads shepherds an idea from inception to execution, from scaled agile methodology and incremental value, to proposals that not only meet executive approval but also ensure engineering feasibility. 

As part of their business model, Sessa and Mike emphasized the human element in technology consulting. "The biggest thing for me is learning how to articulate technical things in ways that people can understand and get to the 'so what?' of it,” Szymanski said. “It's very difficult to do, and it's not something you can give like a 'hey, go read this book and then you got it.' It's something that you figure out over time."

Contrasting with larger consulting companies, he added that TwoRoads was more flexible in its statements of work, which he says is a strength. “If our client is like, I need help with this thing, and it's not necessarily in our statement of work, we can be flexible with them to help address what their biggest problems are,” Szymanski said.

Reflecting on one of their most successful projects, Sessa shared their experience helping with one of their clients’ migrations to the cloud, which was initially very limited and out-of-date. “We stood up the entire approach: how the architecture was going to work, how the migration was going to work, and launch the project,” he said. “Now, it's the predominant way that they develop almost everything, and that is a huge team that's critical to the success of the organization.” Years later, he is still in contact with his client’s staff and sees the cloud continuing to grow. 

For college students eyeing a career in technology consulting, both were articulate in action steps from translating academic skills into real-world applications, but also surprisingly candid in terms of the work hours, tactical skills, and limited scope when starting as a junior analyst. Sessa advised that "crisply articulat[ing] a story[... is] a fundamental skill that you have to have as a consultant”. 

"Our people are our product, and we need to make sure that we're clear in what the quality of that product is, and that our expectations align to that for all of our people,” he added. This philosophy ensures that addressing that need requires not just technical skills but also empathy, adaptability, and a genuine connection with both clients and colleagues.