Social Oomph

I've taken out a free trial of the professional version of Social Oomph - https://www.socialoomph.com/


I think the paid version is too expensive for individuals, so I'll be making the most of the professional features for the six days I have it.


One of the features I particularly like is the ability to add a recurring post with lots of variants. You type as many tweets as you like into one post and tell Social Oomph which Twitter account you want to post to and how frequently you want to post (for Twitter once a day is the most). Social Oomph then posts randomly from your variations to keep your online activity busy all the time.


I've used the feature to advertise that I'm currently available for interim work and free programme health checks. I've also advertised my free programme case studies. I have a second recurring post set up to promote my pub directory www.findfriendlypubs.co.uk
One of the side effects I've already found is that it has increased my number of followers.
I really recommend you take a look at Social Oomph if you have any kind of social networking account. Even the free version is good; if only they had an intermediate paid version for individuals!

Free Programme Health Checks

I've decided to offer organisations free health checks for their business change programmes with budgets in excess of £10m.

More than ever, in these current economic times, organisations need to be sure that they are doing the right programmes, aligned to corporate strategy, in the right way and with the right people.

A programme health check or gateway review should provide reassurance, but can cost thousands of pounds. Now people can have them for free if they contact me (remember, I'm an OGC Approved Gateway Reviewer).

Why would I do it for free? Well, the market is so quiet at the moment that most of my assignments only occupy a small proportion of my time. By giving these health checks for free I'm creating a larger business network for myself, and hopefully generating plenty of goodwill that could repay me at a later date.

For more details about the offer - and it genuinely is free with no catches - visit http://www.stevesyder.com/free.htm

Hard Times Indeed!

Proof if it were needed that times are hard; I was just called by one of the best agents I have ever worked with who told me his company has folded.


To add insult to injury he was given no advanced warning and arrived to locked doors one morning. What a bad way to treat loyal members of staff.


Things really are bad if people like this cannot sustain business. I wish him well for the future.

Lessons from the recession

I was approached today by a senior manager I worked with some years ago, asking my advice about freelancing.


I suggested that now was not the best time to leave the comparative safety of a permanent job. A combination of the recession and the impending - and somewhat unpredictable - General Election makes an assured monthly pay cheque something that should not be abandoned lightly.
But I did advise him to increase his networking activity and his web presence.


One thing I have become firmly convinced of over the last fifteen months or so is that the interim market will never be the same again. In my experience, freelancers fall into one of two categories; they either select a handful of reputable agencies and rely on them to come up with suitable contracts, or they spray their CV around like confetti, forging no lasting relationship with any agent and being content to take work from anyone who can deliver it.


Both models, I would suggest, are now fatally flawed.


If the hard times brought on by the recession have taught us one thing, it is the value of networking. Of course, recruitment agencies will always be major players in the interim/freelance market, but when times are hard the pressure increases to get appointments right first time, and the value of personal recommendations comes to the fore.


I've always tapped into my personal network to learn of potential assignments for myself or to pass on potential assignments to others. Now, even that is not enough, and the interims who survive are those who up their networking game and build solid business relationships.


I've dabbled with various networking groups over the last nine months, in a bid to find one that is right for me. Some were dominated by small, local businesses, so I felt they were not the best place for me to commit time and money. Others seemed more like money-generating schemes for their originators. Not scams - that would be too harsh by far - but perhaps a little opportunistic.


I've now settled on two where I feel I can forge the most promising business networks - the Institute of Directors and the Interim Managers' Association. I've yet to attend an IMA networking event, but the IoD ones have started to yeild results, with people I have met really "getting"networking.


I've also, with the help of a handful of like-minded colleagues, started a micro-consultancy - The Freelance Network, www.freelancenetwork.org.uk which is designed to be in part a networking community but, more importantly, it affords each of us the opportunity to add more value for our clients because of the collaborative nature of the organisation and the good blend of skills and experience within the membership.


I firmly believe that the business relationships forged now, while the going is tough, will be the ones to endure, and as the economy revives more and more interim assignments will be carried out by people introduced through personal recommendation.

Data Backup

I'm fanatical bordering on obsessive when it comes to backing up my data, so when I inadvertently deleted huge swathes of important stuff yesterday I wasn't too worried.


Twenty minutes later it was all restored thanks to the excellent backup software I use.


However, I had a folder containing around twenty files that I hadn't backed up, as they were comparatively insignificant and I was going to get round to "sorting them out eventually". Now they're lost forever. Feels quite cathartic really. 

Worldwide Recession

Golfing in Spain last week really brought home the effects of the recession.

OK, so it was early in the season, but the (three) golf resorts we played at were almost deserted. Great on the courses where you could enjoy a leisurely round, but the bars and restaurants at night were practically empty, leaving the place with no atmosphere.

Returning home, the market for interim programme managers remains quiet, but there are signs of the private sector waking up.

I think things will remain pretty flat until a General Election produces a government - of whatever hue - with a working majority, and if the polls are to be believed that could be some way off.

Golfing in the sun!

I have a couple of things on the go at the moment, bu thtings in general are quiet, so now is a good time for me to go off to Spain for a week to play golf with the sun on my back!

A few tidying-up activities plus an IoD networking event this week, then I'm off!