Fayetteville, Arkansas (PressExposure) November 11, 2010 -- Sovereign Consulting Inc., a 200-person environmental consulting firm in Parsippany, New Jersey, has grown by leaps and bounds in the last 10 years, landing on the number five spot in The Zweig Letter 2010 Hot Firm List. Vice President Marc Cicalese credits the firm's focus on client satisfaction for its success.
"Sovereign has not swayed from the values, principles, and ethics that it was built on over 10 years ago," he said. "We've gone from a $4 million to $46 million company, and retained our mission that successful projects are realized by establishing our client's needs and acceptable risk, while minimizing overall costs and project duration.
"In order to make this whole thing work, we needed to be very strategic in increasing our infrastructure, offices, and personnel. I believe that Sovereign's approach and quality personnel were instrumental in the success of our growth."
Cicalese said continued growth in the weakened economy is the biggest challenge the firm is currently facing.
"Shrinking budgets for environmental services and changing client priorities require us to be flexible in terms of contract structure and project approaches," he said. "It is important to remember that while necessary, environmental services affect your client's bottom line, so you have to continue to be smart, innovative and cost conscious on what, how and when you do things."
In order to be successful, Cicalese said it's important to never sacrifice the heart and principals of the company.
"Our goal is to maintain smart growth to ensure our success, and to ensure that Sovereign is the kind of place where people like coming to work," he said. " Do not just set personnel goals, but rather establish a work environment and purpose through leadership that allows your employees to be passionate about going to work in the morning- the ROI is much higher.
"Finally, be innovative and improve your operations to stay competitive, and maintain a network of strategic partners."