Hello and welcome to the summery July edition of Jericho Notices.
Notices this July are all about away-ness – venturing away from the elegant precincts of Charterhouse Square and making waves in the wider world.
Away-ness encompasses everything from being out on the road discussing the death of PR and the resurrection of Trust; projects lifting off and away on exciting and wholly unexpected tangents; getting away with having two children under two; moving away from tired political models, or simply joining London’s mass exodus to the beach – nurturing new ideas, a book or two in tow.
As ideas of social responsibility and reciprocal vulnerability become more mainstream, the collective brain of Jericho is being enlisted to help organisations break away from traditional models, and to do such revolutionary things as deliver on promises, add flex to their structure and hear the views of the public. This feature in CorpComms Magazine describes the progress of the Responsible Tax for the Common Good project, and goes some way towards illustrating the Jericho model in practice.
Books for the Pool
Summer brings the prospect of well-deserved holidays to many of us. In the weeks leading up to those dreaded moments of packing we start to look ahead to which books will be crammed in, finally to receive some much needed pool-side attention. We’ve rounded up a collection of Jericho’s books for holidays. Hopefully they can inspire not just us, but you too.
How to get away with having two small children…
In her article for International Business Times Christine gives brutally frank advice for coping with 2 children under two. Her seven-point plan includes such gems as “Choose your sanity points” and “Don’t hate the father”. In another article she wrote for her Power Mums series in Management Today, Christine gives an account of the working mother behind the mask of Columnist of the Year Zoe Williams – who admits other mums think she is “nutty”, and fears her gang at the school gates “can come across “a bit ‘Mean Girls’”.
Away from old political models
An article Neal wrote for The New Statesman is a rollercoaster insight into the origins and history of the Labour party, and the influences that have shaped it – from Marx to Blair to Facebook. Neal poses a question about the death of Labour as we know it, and whether the party is capable of self-reflection and self-renewal, transforming into an ‘open tribe’. In a separate article for The Guardian’s Observer Charles sets out his vision for a Labour party renewed, with 14 steps and ideas that are inspiring for being simple, practicable, innovative, and – at least in the context of conventional party politics – ever so slightly insurgent.
Brexit or Bremain
Does Brexit mean breaking away from Europe, or simply shedding the shackles of Eurocracy and rethinking the way we cooperate? How do we maximise the benefits of being in the EU? Organised by Catherine and Jules, a highly civilised discussion took place over (French) wine and (English) beer on 25th June. It was led by Eurosceptic businessman Rob Lewis and government lead non-executive Sir Ian Cheshire, who generally speaks out for the benefits of the EU. Massively overused as it is, the term ‘constructive dialogue’ in its true sense is probably the phrase that best sums up the evening, as everyone in the room forgot their differences and concentrated instead on ways of finding positive ways forward for Europe. Read a more detailed summary of the event here.
PR is dood – Wat nu?
Away from London, the concept is clearly catching on, as proven by this article for Express.be. Following the successful launch of Trust Me, PR is Dead, and in response to popular demand, Robert took to the road to talk about new models of public leadership. Appearances ranged from London’s Ivy Club, to the Full Circle Club in Brussels, as well as a talk in front of a packed massing of PR heads in east London’s Crystal venue, for FutureComms15 – see full video coverage of the latter talk here. Where he couldn’t be in two places at once, Robert led discussions over video link – watch a talk given remotely to the European Association of Communications Directors here.
CFOs going away travelling…
Whatever next? News that Google’s chief bean-counter Patrick Pichette was stepping down to travel the world with his wife led Jericho partner Gary to ask just when it was that CFOs become so funky. In this article for Observe: The Odgers Berndtson Global Magazine, Gary dissects the new role of the CFO, and a CFO’s evolution from number-cruncher to leader.
Up up and away
A number of schemes have hatched and are going places fast. Jules was able to announce an important milestone for Divest Invest Philanthropy, with over 100 philanthropic trusts, foundations and family offices – including names as diverse as Ben & Jerry’s Foundations and the Rockefeller Brothers’ Fund, and together controlling over $5 billion in assets – now having committed to divest themselves of fossil fuels and invest in low carbon economy. In addition, as part of his work on the ‘next economy’ Jules presented to a group of international foundations in Paris on how to take a systems change approach to funding for the next economy. Finally Jules also won the annual WPP Atticus strategy award for his pamphlet on ‘21st Century Business’.
The Liveability of London and other cities
In his capacity as Chair of Capco iD, Robert led a discussion that encompassed topics such as crowdsourcing and global innovation ideas, the quality of life, invention and creativity in the workplace, and the pleasures of city living. This coincided with the launch of Volume 2 of London Essays from the Centre for London, based on an original Jericho idea for a new journal for the capital city.
Whether or not you will be quitting the city this summer, we wish you very Happy Holidays… and happy summer reading.
Eve Harris & Buddy Steiner-Lawson
July 17 2015
