New joiner blog: Kieran’s reflections on four months with JCURV

I started my career in small start-ups before moving into consulting and joining EY, inspired by the scale of the opportunity and encouraged by the fact that many of the founders I worked with and looked up to had followed a similar path.

I found what I was looking for at EY: opportunities to work with talented people in helping to solve complex problems for leading companies. Increasingly, though, I began to realise that in moving from being one of 30 employees to one of more than 300,000, I had lost some of the passion for my work that drove me earlier in my career.

Reflecting on what motivates me, I arrived at three criteria I hoped to meet with my next role. I’m very pleased and fortunate to say I’ve hit all three at JCURV.

1. Joining a purpose-driven company with strong values

JCURV’s mission is to increase the agility of organisations so they can thrive in an increasingly uncertain world. Whether supporting an iconic retailer to position itself for accelerated growth, or helping a charity refine a campaign strategy with an inspiring goal, I’ve had the chance to make a genuine difference in a short period of time.

At JCURV we are committed to four core values, and they are meaningful because we hold ourselves accountable to them. We measure how we feel we are performing individually and collectively against each of them on a monthly basis, and the frank conversations this leads to fosters an environment built on mutual respect and trust.

2. The chance to help build something

A big part of what motivated me working in a start-up environment previously was the opportunity to help build the company. At JCURV I’ve joined a boutique consultancy with huge ambition and a track record to match, delivering transformative work for household names across a range of sectors. I wanted to be hands-on in helping to deliver on that ambition, and that certainly has been my experience so far.

A recent highlight for me was all of us at JCURV co-creating our strategic goals for the year ahead and our plan to reach them. It is empowering to be directly involved in defining the strategy you are responsible for delivering together. We are all encouraged to engage actively and challenge the way we do things. Each time I have done so, I’ve been able to help drive change as a result.

3. Working on meaningful challenges with brilliant people

Along with several colleagues, I am currently helping the Chief Technology Officer and Technology leadership of an established footwear and clothing brand design and implement an agile operating model and introduce new ways of working to deliver on their strategy.

It is certainly challenging, but it is also hugely rewarding, in large part because I have colleagues who support and encourage me, providing open, constructive feedback to help me develop. The team at JCURV is one of the highest performing teams I have worked with, but we also have fun whilst doing it and all recognise the importance of balancing work with everything else that makes up our lives beyond it.