Welcome to Counsel
by James Allen
When I took the leap to founding this business almost a year ago, I had no idea what we had in store.
Brexit seemed to be creating as much uncertainty as I thought likely in the political and business environment. Well, I got that wrong. Fast forward a year and times are more uncertain than ever. Brexit is still here of course but we are now living too with the biggest public health crisis in a century (with no real end in sight and no idea when and even if times will be ‘normal’ again). That environment can make people crave ‘normality’, want desperately to pretend it isn’t happening and to look away. These instincts are understandable, but deeply damaging and potentially fatal for organisations. The need for quality advice, thinking deeply about strategy, facing uncomfortable truths and committing to staying relevant, delivering quality and to doing better is greater than ever.
“ We are here to make a difference”
There are some things too that really haven’t changed. The values I had when I started this company are enduring. I’d worked in delivering consultancy services for many years, in different sectors. I wanted to do things differently, to deliver more personalised services and to do things better. Counsel is all about providing high quality, bespoke support. We are independent and we provide good value services – with a real return on the investment that our clients make. We are a values-driven, social purpose business. We are here to make a difference – to deliver practical, workable solutions that will drive lasting impact. We are here to constructively challenge – to support but also to ask questions and to work hard to improve the performance of everyone we work with.
“Excellence, integrity, creativity and collaboration”
I have been privileged to work across multiple sectors – in government, in sport, in the public and voluntary sectors, with businesses of all sizes, with higher education and with international partners. The range and diversity of projects that I’ve experienced has been huge and that’s accelerated in the last year. I’m really grateful to all of our clients for backing us and giving us the chance to make a difference.
That vote of confidence means that I’m now able to further expand our team. Alongside Verity, we are delighted to be welcoming Rhys, Gavin and Simon to Counsel. You can read all about the new team members here and have a look at a selection of some of our current projects and interests here.
Our core services are expanding too – we founded on the basis of providing high quality support in public affairs, policy, governance, communications and strategy. We’re now able to expand these areas and to offer wider services across the full range of research disciplines, in online communications and marketing, in delivering training and working with wider international partners.
In practical terms, the new team means that we can do more – take on more projects, help more people and work across more new areas. I’m proud of our diverse mix of skills and experience but I’m even prouder of our shared values of excellence, integrity, creativity and collaboration.
“Whatever the rest of 2020 throws at us, we’re here to help.”
As a business, we are committed to doing things differently. We are selective about work that we will take on and who we work with. Put simply, we will only do things we feel we can do well, giving the time needed to deliver the highest quality projects. If we can’t help you, we’ll be honest with you about that and will help you to find someone who can. We also have the mental health and wellbeing of our whole team at the heart of what we do – we work in a flexible, mutually respectful way. We believe in the value of ‘checking in’ and in the value of conversation.
As a team, we are all committed to our wider social contribution too – we all fulfil a variety of volunteer and pro bono roles alongside our professional commitments. If you think we can help you, or if you’re facing challenges and need some help in identifying your needs, then please get in touch.