Crossroads is a large consulting firm, based in New York City, but with branch offices all over the world. It was founded in the 2020s as an alliance of several smaller consultancies working in various disciplines. Crossroads targets the “social problems” market, attempting to resolve social difficulties brought on by the rapid advance of technology.
Crossroads consultants work alone or in small teams (a team usually includes at least one attorney, one memetic engineer, and some number of experts in “hard” technology). The usual Crossroads client is a government, or a private institution with at least regional scope. Crossroads consultants are most often called in to study a local situation and recommend economic or social policies. Sometimes they are needed to help mediate a social dispute. While Crossroads tries not to get involved in situations of imminent violence, its consultants have sometimes been caught in the thick of a riot or uprising.
The Crossroads corporate culture is strictly egalitarian; there are few social distinctions between the CEO of the company and its lowliest data analyst. The salary structure is also remarkably flat, and there is an extensive training-and-education budget for all employees. Crossroads is a superb firm to work for, but it is very selective in recruitment. A potential employee must speak several languages fluently, demonstrate the ability to adapt to different cultural norms, and be willing to travel worldwide on a moment’s notice.
Crossroads has a very good public reputation around the world, based on a solid record of accomplishment in a wide variety of cultural contexts. For example, in 2088 the firm gave the new government of Uganda a comprehensive set of policy recommendations, which have since served to firm up the national economy and resolve long-standing differences between internal factions. Meanwhile, throughout the 2100s Crossroads has been deeply involved in India, helping various local governments deal with ethnic strife and economic difficulties. These efforts have been successful more often than not, and have incidentally done much to keep India stable and out of the nanosocialist camp.