Most consulting firms talk about innovation. Some even have innovation departments. But very few have cracked the code on systematically driving transformation while maintaining their core business. Syska Hennessy, a 700-person MEP (mechanical, electrical, plumbing) consulting firm approaching $200 million in revenue, has built something different – a three-pronged innovation engine that’s reshaping how they compete and serve clients.
Robert Ioanna, the firm’s CTO and head of operations, didn’t set out to reinvent innovation. His journey began in 2019 with a simple request from Building Ventures Group to evaluate a startup called Envered, which scrubs carbon dioxide from the air. That single evaluation opened his eyes to an entire ecosystem of companies working to solve problems his industry faced daily.
“I went to the board and I said, hey, we need to be part of building ventures, platform, et cetera,” Ioanna recalls. What emerged from that conversation became a comprehensive innovation framework that every consulting firm can learn from.
In this episode, Robert Ioanna, Executive Principal of Syska Hennessy Group, shares his innovative approach to construction tech investment and internal R&D.
The Three-Pronged Approach
After years of development and iteration, Syska Hennessy settled on what Ioanna calls their “three-pronged approach” to innovation:
1. External Investments: Strategic partnerships and investments in early-stage companies
2. Internal R&D: Developing proprietary solutions and tools
3. Corporate Ideation: Systematic processes for generating and developing ideas from within
This wasn’t a theoretical framework imposed from above. It evolved organically as the firm discovered the unique advantages each approach offered and how they could work together synergistically.
External Investments: Learning from the Ecosystem
The external investment arm operates through Syska Innovations, a separate subsidiary formed in 2021. Unlike traditional corporate venture capital arms that lead deals, Syska Hennessy positions itself as a strategic add-on investor, focusing on alignment with their vision rather than pure financial returns.
“We do it more because it aligns with our vision,” Ioanna explains. “When we’re talking to our clients, we have to be telling them that we’re analyzing the latest and the greatest products that are out there.”
This approach serves multiple purposes beyond potential ROI. It keeps the firm connected to emerging technologies, provides their team exposure to cutting-edge solutions, and helps them understand where the industry is heading. Perhaps most importantly, it positions them to “drive the disruption of this industry that we’re in from within as opposed to somebody coming in from external the space and disrupting it on us.”
The firm focuses on seven specific innovation buckets: smart buildings, digitization, products and methods, eco innovation, industrialization of design, project design, and project management. This framework ensures investments align with their core business while pushing boundaries in areas that matter most to their clients.
Internal R&D: Building What Doesn’t Exist
The internal R&D program operates differently than many consulting firms’ innovation efforts. Rather than having a small team working in isolation, Syska Hennessy treats R&D assignments like project assignments, involving 30-40 team members across the firm.
“We assign the assignments who are R&D just like you would get a project assignment,” Ioanna notes. This distributed approach ensures R&D stays connected to real client needs while leveraging the firm’s collective expertise.
The program includes both full-time dedicated resources and part-time contributors, allowing them to tackle complex challenges without massive overhead. They’ve already released DigiDux, a mechanical design tool they developed and offer for free to clients – a concrete example of how internal R&D can create value beyond traditional consulting services.
Corporate Ideation: Systematic Creativity
Perhaps the most innovative aspect of Syska Hennessy’s approach is their systematic corporate ideation program. Inspired by a presentation from Leo Chan, who worked at Chick-fil-A, Ioanna built a framework that democratizes innovation across the firm.
The program centers on a “coaches network” – approximately 40 people trained in specific innovation techniques and facilitation methods. These coaches run monthly workshops using structured exercises designed to drive creativity and uncover pain points.
One particularly effective technique is “photo serendipity,” where teams discuss client pain points, then use randomly generated photos to spark new thinking. “Just by sort of taking your mind completely away from the project you’re trying to solution and looking through a different lens, we’ve gotten some pretty amazing solutions,” Ioanna explains.
The program includes a gamification element called “inner points,” where employees earn points for innovative activities – recommending ideas, specifying invested products, writing blog posts, or making presentations. With about 20% of the firm participating, this creates sustained engagement and keeps innovation top-of-mind.
The Chick-fil-A Connection
The fact that Syska Hennessy modeled their innovation framework after a fast-food restaurant might seem odd, but it reveals an important insight. Chan’s philosophy was that “you need innovation to drive innovation in a firm – it needs to be decentralized and it needs to touch as many people in the firm as you possibly can.”
This decentralized approach contrasts sharply with the traditional model of having “five guys off in the corner doing some pretty awesome stuff.” By involving hundreds of employees in innovation activities, Syskaa Hennessy creates a culture where innovation becomes everyone’s responsibility, not just the innovation team’s.
Measuring Success
Syska Hennessy sets concrete goals for their innovation program: reduce FTE productivity requirements by 10 people annually and generate enough revenue to cover the costs of labor and investments. This dual focus on efficiency and revenue generation ensures the program creates measurable business value.
The revenue component comes from both returns on investments and additional work generated through exposure to new technologies. For example, their involvement with liquid cooling technologies for data centers has led to new client opportunities and revenue streams.
Implementation Lessons
Rolling out this comprehensive innovation framework required careful staging and buy-in building. As a consulting firm where “our asset is people” and “we sell time,” justifying significant innovation investment requires demonstrating value early and often.
Ioanna started with workshops and proof-of-concept successes before asking for full-time headcount. The hiring of David Victor as a full-time innovations project manager proved transformational, providing the organizational backbone needed to scale the program.
“At that point, it took off like a rocket ship,” Ioanna notes. Having someone dedicated to coordinating the coaches network and organizing the technology stack made the difference between a good idea and a functioning system.
Challenges and Adaptations
Even well-designed innovation programs face obstacles. Syska Hennessy learned that their most innovative people were often too busy with client work to sustain innovation activities. They pivoted to include a broader mix of people with different availability levels.
They also discovered that generating ideas is easier than executing them. After successful idea-thons that produced numerous concepts, they had to balance enthusiasm with realistic execution capabilities. “People are kind of like, all right, we’re submitting all these ideas. When are we going to get to work on all these things?”
The Competitive Edge
This comprehensive approach gives Syska Hennessy significant competitive advantages. They can speak knowledgeably about emerging technologies with clients, their team stays current with industry developments, and they’re positioned to shape rather than react to industry changes.
For other consulting firms, the lesson is clear: innovation can’t be an afterthought or a side project. It requires systematic investment, clear processes, and firm-wide engagement. The three-pronged approach provides a framework that consulting firms of any size can adapt to their specific context and resources.
