At its best, Jericho combines the wisdom of a think tank with the commercial nous of a strategy consultancy.
It is a collaborative platform that spans multiple areas of expertise – but without the bureaucracy and the bullshit.
We have a social purpose at our heart – we’re campaigners for the common good – and have been described by one client as “the much-needed antidote to McKinsey and WPP”.
Jericho enables experienced and specialised consultants to work independently and together, under one umbrella. The Jericho brand offers a coherent narrative and identity that demonstrates we are not, as one client put it, a bunch of grown-ups working from our bedrooms or the local Starbucks. It also provides high-end shared services for all partners and collaborators: open work spaces, meeting rooms, access to research, billing and invoicing, printers, refreshments, etc.
Every partner at Jericho is committed to making the world better. We only work on projects that we believe contribute to the wider good of society in large or small ways. This is clearly subjective, so we work with people we trust and who share our values. We all have a sense of what better looks like. We have a set of working principles – you can read about them on our website.
Jericho is also a rejection of traditional consultancy models where senior people ‘sell in’ junior teams by touting their experience and then are too busy selling the next thing to do the work. We all do the work. We do not sell bureaucracy. We are focused on better outcomes.
It is also a hugely flexible working environment. We have no fixed hours, no holiday allocations and very few rules generally. Everyone has another life – whether it is writing, speaking, running a pressure group or pruning roses. We like it that way. If you want to know more about the Jericho story so far, you can read about it here.
Everyone bills for their projects at the rates they set (we can advise on this is you want us to but we believe you should choose your billing rate).
20% of what you invoice a client goes to the central pot to pay for the building and support services. To pay for those services requires us to collectively bill about £100k a month. If we exceed that we make a central profit. It’s not an issue that currently troubles us but, in the future, we expect/ hope to distribute profits according to the efforts contributed to the central enterprise, once we have covered all our costs, start-up investments and have a working capital, cash reserve.
There are no maximum or minimum thresholds for earnings and no new business targets, aside those set by individuals to meet their needs/expectations/ambitions. That said, we generally find the happiest partners earn £10k or more a month through the business they generate through Jericho. This can take some time to get established and obviously there are ebbs and flows.
There isn’t one because we have no plans to exit.
Jericho is designed to reward those who work on the business they generate and work on. As we’ve said, we don’t set financial targets and intend never to do so. We look for a cash cushion at the centre – and that’s about it.
Initial working capital was provided by George Pitcher and Robert with contributions from other partners, too. George’s start-up loans have now all been paid off. Robert’s remain in the business to support cashflow and growth. In addition, Robert and Christine underwrite the rental costs of 12a Charterhouse Square with a 65/ 35 split. Any ownership, as such, reflects all of the above.
It’s also worth pointing out that nobody – except Becca – is employed by Jericho. Everyone has their own trading company and is responsible for their own employment status, taxes etc.
The office building is owned by The Charterhouse. We have it on a ten-year lease (with a break after five years) from January 2017. We share it with Blueprint for Better Business and the Forward Institute, at our invitation. We wanted to create a community of those working together for a better society.
Jericho is, legally speaking, a partnership. In practice, it is a collaborative platform. Those who do best give it their time and attention and actively seek to bring in work for themselves and others on a regular basis. Even though they may win their own projects, many enjoy the access to other people with ideas, energy and experience.
Sometimes work comes through other partners when they ask help work on their projects and share the revenue that comes in. This is at their discretion and is a good thing as clients get access to a range of skills. But working on other people’s projects alone isn’t a sustainable way to be a part of Jericho because you are dependent on other people sharing their work/budgets while offering them nothing in return. They will probably get tired of this arrangement! You also can’t ensure continuity of earnings and will always earn less as you won’t be cutting the budgets.
A balance of both works best. Our advice though is definitely don’t join Jericho unless you can and plan to drive your own business. That might sound scary if it’s not what you are used to but we will help you to define your skills, plan your new business outreach and advise you on the best ways to engage with clients. Not that we claim to always be right, of course.
One of the pleasures of Jericho is the enormous variety of work which in turn reflects the breadth and depth of expertise across the partners. As you can see form the website, we can consult in highly specialised areas but also come together on bigger issue projects, that usually sit at the heart of building a better society. Our work, for example, on Responsible Tax, the Future of Work, the Digital Futures Index, and the built environment reflects this.
Management of Jericho is very light-touch via Christine and Robert with input from our Finance Manager, Diane, and active partners. If you are concerned about anything we’re happy to discuss it but generally we try to keep our focus on the work on the grounds that everything else will flow from that.
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Based on experience, we like to work with people for 6 – 9 months before we list them on the website as partners. This is to ensure it’s a good fit for them and for us. We may make exceptions if we know you well or there are practical reasons for doing it sooner. Is that all I need to do to join? What happens if I want to leave?
Yes. That’s pretty much all you need to do to join. We work on trust and goodwill. If you want to “leave” Chambers, all it takes is a sensible discussion with Robert and/ or Christine.
Whenever there is space. We rely on you to be charming and collaborative and work out the right amount of office time for you. We can’t sit everyone full-time but we do love to see you and know that spending time together leads for more work. Which is why we encourage all partners to meet each other, connect and work together where they can. We do occasional Jericho meetings, some networking events and encourage you to come along and to contribute to Jericho Times and client events also, as appropriate. The women of Jericho are, for example, welcome at the Coven (but perhaps not all of them at the same time as it might get overwhelming).
We have a pretty simple process. You let Diane Winship know the details of the project and the amount to invoice and the date. She will create an invoice that you send and copy her so she can chase if needed. You are paid when the bill is settled: usually within 48 hours. If the client pays late, we are paid late.
Yes, but Eve and Becky are independent contractors with their own bsuinesses just like the rest of us and you will need to agree and allocate a budget for their time. They have agreed day rates, like us all. This is then built into the billing & payment process.
Rebecca manages the building, meeting rooms and the diaries of Robert and Christine. She is pretty busy. You can ask her for help on small things – setting up meetings for example – and she will help if she can. Generally, given how many people are involved, we all have to be self-sufficient and book our own tickets, lunches, etc.
Yes. Call Hiscox. Or chat to Di. We have a group rate (we think!).
In the interests of transparency – and because our work often touches government – we voluntarily subscribe to the Register of Consultant Lobbyists. Four times a year, we will simply ask you to say “yes” or “no” to any disclosures you may need to make with regards to UK government work.
We roll our eyes and you owe Rebecca as much time as you waste of hers when she opens the door for you.
That is between you and them. But if you would like them to do it again, it may be both wise and polite.
Yes – pretty much, it is.