Traditional agencies and Big Consulting firms operate a payroll model, i.e., they have a set number of employed consultants on their books, paid monthly to work on projects and business development. Payroll models are great at replicating existing processes and proven frameworks – e.g., running a quantitative panel or a commercial due diligence process. They can also be a pretty lucrative business model, provided that the projects sold are replicated enough times. But when it comes to innovation and strategy, traditional models can actually be bad news. Access to talent and skills is limited by whoever is on the books. Running profitable projects often means replicating existing thinking and stretching senior, experienced consultants thin. All of those dynamics tend lead to projects that are run efficiently – but with limited strategic impact or original thinking. In an increasingly volatile, uncertain, complex and ambiguous world, those traditional models fail to deliver the intricate and original strategies that businesses need to stand out. So after decades of experience in large and traditional outfits, we wanted to find a way to unleash the power of expertise and provide services that could truly help our clients reach their growth ambition. That’s why we’ve created our hybrid model: part agency, part independent network. It allows us to supercharge our teams with the specialized independent talent needed to make the difference, self-select for entrepreneurial types and encourages original thinking – while our agency staff makes sure that we can match the delivery impact of big consulting firms.