Flying High.

• Author: Wilson, Diona
• Position: Brief Article

Shane Carlson is a fighter pilot at heart which explains his "unchartered" flight to a highly successful career.

ABI Consulting Inc., a company that develops and administers employment-place drug and alcohol testing, was Carlson's solution for how to pay for flight school in 1989. In addition to paying for flight school, he managed to complete his University of Utah business degree and develop ABI into a $7 million company. It's no wonder his personal philosophy of life is to "focus on the journey and the destination will take care of itself."

Reared by a drug enforcement agent, Carlson retains a life-long abhorrence for drug abuse. He credits his parents as initial partners in the concept of nationwide, corporate drug testing, acknowledging that his father was "ahead of his time" in seeing the need for companies to deal with drug problems in the workplace. His dad is still the drug-testing expert, while Shane as CEO, is the business expert. His mom, Sherry, manages the sales team. ABI has triumphed as a family business because its principals recognize each other's strengths and allow space for independent decisions.

"I would never question my father on how he conducts a drug-testing seminar, and he wouldn't question my business sense." It's a winning formula proven by performance: the company ranks 61st of 100 Fastest Growing Companies in Utah, experiencing a 600 percent increase over the past three years.

Father and son are not the only crew members responsible for the company's success. "If you interview our clients, no one would say that Shane Carlson is ABI," says Shane. "Everyone is -- from the guy who shows up to do a drug test to the person in customer service."

Further, he firmly...