BusinessReport.com

Position: Managing partners

Company: Sable International

What they do: Consulting in business development, project management, government affairs and workforce development

Revenue: Projected $1.5 million in 2009

Goals: Expand the company in Louisiana as well as internationally, especially in South Africa

Less than six months ago, James Gilmore Jr. was the president of Bayard Research Group, Eric Lewis was the president of Ephod Business Solutions, Isaiah Marshall was the president of Faith Service Inc., and Anita Tillman was the president of Tillman Consulting Group.

But in December, Tillman says the quartet experienced a “light-bulb moment,” realizing how much more they could weather the economy and expand their reach by working together.

The proposal was drawn in February and, six weeks later, Sable International was operating from an office on Third Street as well as a satellite office in Slidell.

“We can survive apart, but so much better together,” Tillman says. “There is life beyond recession.”

Merging two companies is daunting enough. Combining four of them could have posed impossible obstacles had they not shared a common vision.

“It happened so fast that we’re still awestruck by the speed,” Tillman says.

Bypassing the usual squabbling over territory, the quartet agreed to structure company divisions based on each consultant’s niche. Gilmore specializes in government relations and public policy, Lewis in business development, Marshall in workforce development and Tillman in public relations.

They also agreed to no titles. Instead, they are called managing partners.

“We left our egos at the door,” Tillman says. “We fight for compromise.”

To promote a smooth integration, constant communication and collaboration have become their mantras. The partners attend board meetings to discuss and execute projects.

They also agree they’ll disagree at times, which Tillman considers the real glue of the new company.

“At the end of the day, it’s important we’re all on the same page … saying the same thing and working toward the same goals,” she says. “We will fight because we still have opinions and have our own views. We expect that, but the difference is whether we fight, at the end of the day, we still have common goals.”