By: May Nguyen
During the Summer 2024 quarter, SU welcomed Rachael Luciak, a strategic advisor with over 15 years of experience, to its Corporate Information Planning graduate class as a guest lecturer. Luciak, the founder of Strategic G Advisors, provided the students with insights drawn from her career as a business consultant, primarily working with construction companies navigating growth and change.
Aligning Vision and Embracing Change
Luciak’s career has been shaped by her deep understanding of change management and her ability to lead cross-functional teams. Throughout her presentation, she emphasized the importance of aligning a company’s mission, vision, and values with its long-term goals. Her philosophy is centered on embracing change and adapting business strategies to the evolving needs of an organization.
“To be successful, Luciak explained. “Businesses must be willing to step into the unknown.” Flexibility and adapting to change are vital for both personal and organizational growth. Luciak emphasized that while the brain naturally resists change, breaking down large goals into manageable action items can help overcome this challenge.
During the session, Luciak shared several tools and techniques she uses with her clients, including the Impact/Effort Matrix, a method for prioritizing goals based on their potential impact and the effort required. It helps teams simplify complex objectives into actionable steps that align with shared goals. The students practiced this method in an exercise, which made the process of setting SMART goals both insightful and practical.
Interactive Q&A Session
After her presentation, Luciak conversed with the graduate students in a lively Q&A session, where she shared additional insights into the world of strategic consulting and career building. The students were eager to learn more about her path to success and her advice on establishing a strong career foundation in the business field.
“Can I start as a strategic consultant?” One student asked.
Luciak responded with an honest and encouraging perspective: “There’s really no right or wrong path. You just need to put in the work to feel confident enough to move forward.” She emphasized the importance of taking action and noted that the hardest part of becoming a consultant is simply getting started. “It takes time, patience, and drive,” she added, reassuring students that success doesn’t happen overnight, but with persistence. In due time, it will be within reach.
Another student inquired, “Any other advice for building relationships that are helpful for our careers in business?”
Luciak’s response centered on self-awareness and strategic networking. “You need to know where you want to build your career and understand your strengths,” she advised. She encouraged students to seek out associations that align with their long-term goals and to immerse themselves in environments where they could meet potential clients or business partners.
“Strength is to lean into the unknown and have that willingness to step into the unknown.” Her remarks on adapting to and embracing change not only addressed corporate growth, but also resonated personally with the students.
The guest lecture imparted the graduate students with meaningful insights about strategic consulting and practical steps they could take to build their own careers. Luciak’s emphasis on patience, kindness, and the value of networking in the business world offers the students a blueprint for success.