It seemed more like it was the Partner Correct Conference, as it had all the large players in operating platforms and infrastructure – including Google, HP, IBM and Microsoft all having their say, but apart from Amazon, Apple, Oracle and any one from the Open Source side of things, of course.  The latter seem to be in the “out group” or their own world (a cloud?) away from this set of players - so where’s the IT conference or exhibition that includes everyone in the industry nowadays?

Nevertheless, the grouping at this event did give me a good insight into how most of “the old” and/or big proprietary players position their local resellers for life with new and big corporates, and it’s the best event I’ve found yet for walking (or sitting) around and getting an overall view on what’s new infrastructure-wise, as well as ways of comparing and proselytising one’s position if one is a reseller in the marketplace for IT (and now digital telecoms).

The Scene From The Seminars

There was still an element of these big players being cats circling one another from what I gleaned from the seminars with key reps (and quiet words with a few afterwards).  Judge for yourself from this short summary of sound bytes from the ones I attended:

• Cloud computing is a business model, not an IT one, as nearly everyone espoused.
• Google originates from the cloud – yet I did challenge  its partners’ positioning on its service offerings, as I had found from independent consulting work earlier this year that these are not clear – and hard to know how to find and compare one partner. Even Googling them does not help with knowing who’s best!  
• IBM sells business services now, not IT – however it is looking beyond the cloud and sees Smart Cities as being what’s on its horizon, and so living in a world where energy, telecoms and IT are sold and supported as one small box that sits in a corner somewhere in the house, as well as everything being auto-responsive in turning power up and down as maybe asking or telling you what to do in various operating scenarios.  Somehow I kept thinking of that movie “Transformers” throughout the presentation by Simon Baker (but “Space Odyssey – 2001“ now, as I write this). Still, it was good not to have anything more said on the cloud by the time I attended that one!
• Microsoft thinks its in the cloud – but all other vendors think that it has no idea, other than Hotmail, about what the cloud is. That said, buying Skype may have changed that…
• the Chrome netbook starts up in six seconds and all its apps are resident in the cloud (sorry, web?). This advice on a device came from the presentation by the President and CEO of CompTIA, who had brought every one of over a dozen different tablet and mobile devices with him and is not linked in with anyone in saying this…. 

In summary, the future’s not bright, its cloudy. Indeed, so the Google Partner rep advised, only they talked about the cloud three years ago – and now everyone wants (to offer) one. Really it was only IBM that seemed to have anything different and farsighted to talk about than the others – but then they are about business services now, right, and not just infrastructure!

The Scene from the Sidelines

Besides the big players, the outsider in this in-group was an organisation called CompTIA which positions itself as supporting no one vendor in particular, but being there for the IT professional in general. 

CompTIA is an international not-for-profit organisation that is a mix of an independent training company and vendor-independent technical certification authority that IT professionals can use for working with principles and concepts of any infrastructure. They also offer networking events for bringing IT professionals together who work in supporting  IT infrastructure.  

From my brief look into their offerings, ComTIA’s certifications do appear to be neutral as far as software is concerned – and are in things like project management, networking, etc – however, perhaps naively since they are new to operating here in the UK and Europe, their certifications are geared more to working in an American corporate world as they ignore best practice defined by organisations like the OGC such as PRINCE2, ITIL, etc. When I attended their drinks later I got a chance to query this in talking direct with their President and CEO, Todd Thibodeaux. Todd advised that their certification aligns more with PMI. So why not just offer PMI certification, I thought?  Oh, yeah, that’s because they are vendor-independent….

The thing is, I did happen to meet a fellow independent contractor there from the IT backup world who had used their services and sat through Todd’s presentation with me. Even Todd’s lead-in to the presentation clearly showed that the UK was new to him from not having brought an adapter for UK power supplies, and so being faced with power from over half of his devices running down until he could find one – as he promptly demonstrated by using this dilemma as an excuse to pull each one of his dozen devices out to show us all how much of a gadget junkie he is.   

The CompTIA courses are not totally new though, as my insider told me that he had found CompTIA’s training and certifications to be very expensive for what you can leverage from them – which is rather strange for an organisation that touts itself as being not-for-profit. So maybe a local reality check is in order for CompTIA before claiming to be open to one and all IT professionals?

Still, I appreciated being able to attend CompTIA networking drinks at the end of the conference and how their President and CEO said he would be happy to get someone to host an event for us to attend and form our own opinions of them in supporting the IT professional.  Maybe we in the OPTN can educate them at a networking event, as much them us, about what UK and European IT professionals really need to help support us in doing IT work here, as well as advise them on where they can buy a power supply for adapting U.S. IT networking and sales people’s devices for working here in the UK and Europe….

Everyone seemed to LOVE the magic and charm of the world music performer we’d discovered over the course of 2008 to 2009 in getting out to discover live music around London. Milli Moonstone is that performer and we hope to see more great gigs by her, as well as perhaps hear her and her songs on the radio (and we all agreed that songs from her album, “Lose Myself” sound great on an iPod!)

Thursday night’s crowd also said how they loved the idea behind the London Charm networking concept.

The idea of London Charm is to provide a place online to meet others in London with similar tastes in music, as well as specific bands and venues that each other likes. From learning what each other likes online (and marked with the Facebook “Like” feature at a minimum), the members are then given opportunities to meet up and go out to discover those great acts with others who like them, or simply to discover places to see great music performed live around London.

The numbers in the group have now been boosted by 20 in only a few days after the intimate gig (which was limited to 50 guests only and had 20 existing members attend with a friend).

The night was also a good test to see whether we could apply 7C Alliance’s structured networking concept to social networking events, as much as we have done to business ones (as developed and trialed last year with the London IT Contractor Alliance Meetup group – which has now been aligned with the online group, the Open Practice Technology Network, to include anyone with an interest or involvement with technology).

The structured networking concept works based on the event coordinator preparing a summary profile of guests attending based on what they can glean from the guests’ profiles shown on the host networking tool that they use (i.e. Facebook, LinkedIn, Ecademy, etc).

This summary guest profile list is then printed and made available to everyone at the event so that they can check it, and see who they want to network with on arrival, as well as having a few details as hooks for conversation starters with those people.

The idea is to beat having to go through the standard: “What is your name, what do you do, what are your hobbies, etc” as well as having some details to hand for the networker that are targetted towards a more specific focus and purpose for the networking event.

For instance, last Thursday’s event was not just about meeting and seeing Milli perform but also about people’s interests in live music around London – and so the Guest Profile List showed people’s music interests as well as what other interests they had, where known or shown on Facebook or LinkedIn. People could update their details on the night too, and so this is then available in the networking group’s registration database for use at future events.

If you would like more like more details about the 7C Alliance’s structured networking, and assistance with building a business and social network, then email contact@7c-alliance.com .

Oh, and please feel free to join London Charm, the first social network that the 7C Alliance has created on Facebook, at http://www.facebook.com/home.php?#!/group.php?gid=148304341899 , or otherwise the Open Practice Technology Network – the first online business network it has created on LinkedIn for independent technology professionals in finding work and the lifestyle they want to go with it.

Members of the 7C Alliance firstly set up a simple web-site (created by Steve Foster) and, later, a Facebook Group was created and built up with help of friends from Patrick Whelan’s and several others’ networks. Matt Miller then tested out promotion of the group through different social networks such as Secret London, a Facebook Group with over 200,000 members in it, as well as people on MySpace and myvillage.com. He then also shared details about it by word of mouth at gigs at a few places that people said they liked.

From doing all this, numbers have begun to build up and so we are now looking to find people interested to help us work out bands and venues to see, as well as get people out to gigs together – including making a few gigs happen like the one on Thursday, 11/11 @ The Tabernacle in Notting Hill.

The gigs we will look to make happen will, for now, be at The Tabernacle in Notting Hill, a venue that has a performance space in it that can hold up to 250 or more people and has had the likes of Take That, Lily Allen and others play exclusive gigs there.

We have also reserved the Conservatory at The Tabernacle on Thursday, 11th November for people to come together before the performance and meet each other as well as discover what each other has to offer in bringing online business networks like those typically managed or participated in by members of the 7C Alliance, together with social networks such as London Charm, Secret London, MyVillage and others on Facebook, LinkedIn and MySpace.

Later on, we will celebrate these new beginnings with music from Milli Moonstone, one of the acts discovered by London Charm, playing music from her new album, “Lose Myself” with relevant lyrics from the number, “New Day”.

So we look forward to seeing you there at what we expect to be a unique night for both business and social networking, as well as enjoying good live music! Tickets are £15/head and include price of canapes and performer. They can be bought online at http://www.wegottickets.com/event/97497

Please note that numbers of tickets are strictly limited to 50 – and so please get in quick to not miss out!

If you are based in London and want to join London Charm to meet others interested in live original music and share your sense of style then click on the following: London Charm social network.

It is therefore not enough to be able to “walk the walk” when you want to be the best – you must be able to “talk the walk” too.

The 7C Alliance has recognised this and, in the interests of its top Senior Associates and Principal Associates being able to be the best they can be at walking AND talking, we have formed an alliance with St Paul’s Speakers.

St Paul’s Speakers is one of the clubs of Toastmasters International , a global organisation with a long history of success in developing successful public speakers. Some businesses, such as McGraw Hill (who the 7C Alliance has also established a relationship with in reselling its technical books at a discount to its members), have their own club that they use to develop the public speaking and leadership skills of their senior employees.

However it goes well beyond that. Toastmasters has a tried and tested way to develop public speaking skills that has led to it having over 250,000 members in more than 12,500 clubs in 106 countries. Each club works to the same formula of being voluntary and non-profit, allowing members to use a self-paced format with clear stages to development. This begins with an Ice Breaker speech, at the first stage, through to how to fully structure delivery of a speech that might be expected of an industry leader at a conference or even a politician on a podium for election.

The beauty of Toastmasters is that it can be seen as a fun night out too, as they allow guests to come and observe – and even participate too! For instance, some of the more amusing topics in the past include:

The topics can also be highly personal and intellectual at the same time, such as dealing with the condition of “Electromagnetic Hypersensitivity” (adverse medical symptoms caused through exposure to electromagnetic fields) or abstract and highly scientific, such as one recently given by a friendly local physicist on his work with data from the Large Hadron Collider – a device based in Switzerland that is being used to test scientist’s theories about the origins of The Universe. They can also be personal and personable, as well as highly amusing too – such as one member’s James Bond addiction that left the audience both shaken and a little stirred….

Hopefully this gives you an idea that it could be anybody, from all walks of life, on anything. It could even be you, a member of the guest audience, as every club night there are a set of impromptu table topics where anyone in the audience can be invited to talk.

The 7C Alliance is looking forward to a long and happy association with Toastmasters and to some amazing members amazing others with how they well they can talk – and walk the walk too!

The 7C Alliance has organised for an introduction to the St Paul’s Speakers Toastmasters club in London for members of the London IT Contractor Alliance Meetup (LITCAM) group for Wednesday, 12th May. If based in London and interested to attend, then please register for LITCAM using the form at the bottom of the page before 1st May.

For those wishing to learn more about Toastmasters, and its educational programme, please visit the main Toastmaster’s site for further details.

Subscribe!

Enter your email to join LITCAM today!

When:

Thursday 11th March

6pm onwards
>

Where:

West London

Featuring:

SOME Project

of the 7C Alliance

and

Art on “Life”

by Ron Best

with

Complimentary Wine

Selected By Members

Register for LITCAM to receive details

We will be meeting up at The Old Fox Theatre Bar, 54 – 56 Hurst Street from 6.30 pm onwards. Read on for a few more details about some of those confirmed as attending as well as for more details about The Old Fox and registration of interest to attend.

Special Interest Guests
Jane Fisher, who runs Organise Limited – a Mobile Phone Application consulting business – will be attending along with co-founder and Technical Director, Mark Slight.

Jane knows a lot about both IT and Telecom contracting in The Midlands area from having been both a business analyst and project manager there for many years. She recently wrote a poignant and heart-felt blog about the impending closure of Ericsson, a once very profitable Telecommunications business based in Coventry, and is interested to meet others to talk about how we might be able to revitalise businesses that were once iconic like GEC, or otherwise bring more business to The Midlands area.

Mark has worked for a number of telecoms companies since leaving university. He was involved in the company that put the first Smartphone OS on a mobile phone back in 1997. He has written software for all of the Smartphone platforms and has developed for other handheld devices as well. He has led software teams designing VOIP, IM and MMS and worked as a consultant. He is a hands-on mobile software expert that likes to embrace new technologies.

Organise Limited is a new venture that Jane and Mark have started up this year in response to interest in what can be done using the new generation of smart phones – and is a sign of the initiative being taken by a new generation of entrepreneurs emerging in response to the downturn in the traditional market for contract work.

7C Alliance Members Attending
The following people will be attending from the 7C Alliance and 7C Alliance Limited:

Stuart Brown, the author of the very well-received 7C Alliance blog on “How to stay positive while looking for a job” and an Associate Member of the 7C Alliance. Stuart provides services to the 7C Alliance on a voluntary basis for facilitating sharing of knowledge about Social Media, including raising awareness of its value, as well as currently being on a part-time contract to 7C Alliance Limited where he is working as a CRM Business Analyst reviewing and refining the Contractor Support Analysis and Contractor Resource Administration functions.

Matt Miller , Founder of the 7C Alliance – and Managing Director of 7C Alliance Limited, the business responsible for coaching and marketing top quality IT contractors, as well as facilitating or assuring other support services available to them. Matt himself is a contract Business Systems Consultant and Project Manager with a focus on effective delivery and support of Enterprise Applications to support Customer Relationship Management (CRM), Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) and Supply Chain Management (SCM) business processes. He also has product-specific knowledge of Oracle Server technologies and Oracle E-business Applications – and so will be attending the Oracle User Group Conference in Birmingham from 30 November through to 2 December.

Registration of Interest to Attend
Please email contact@7c-alliance.com if interested and able to make it along, along with name, contact details and interest in Oracle, IT and Telecoms contract work.

More About The Old Fox
Click on the following link for more details about the pub: The Old Fox.

Further Discussion on IT and Telecoms Contracting in The Midlands
For further discussion on the status of IT and Telecoms Contracting in The Midlands, as well as meet and chat with Jane and other 7C Alliance members online, please join the 7C Alliance’s newly rebranded Open Practice Technology Network , which is operated and managed online using a LinkedIn discussion group

Diana started well with her intro that engaged the group on how helpful it is to know what makes us notable and known when networking. The example of David Beckham – and his ability to “bend it” on the playing field – helped identify those interested in football by contrast with those who know him better for being able to “strut it” on the red carpet with Posh Spice or on the catwalk. So, when networking, we should also be aware of what others are likely to know and be interested in, as well as what makes us good or interesting to talk to.

Diana also gave a few tips to help get the group started in networking on the Vinopolis wine tour that followed the talk.

These tips were as follows:

1. Have a Goal

2. Prepare a 30 second advert

3. Ask Open Questions

Sound simple? Maybe, but how many times have you been to a networking event and not known where to start, who to talk to or what to say? If so, these tips are for you – and here’s a little more on each to help you do what you have to do

Have a Goal

This amounts to:

Prepare a 30 second advert

In IT and other areas of technology, it can be challenging enough to help explain what you do – let alone make it interesting in explaining your edge in it.

To help you, you need to perhaps discuss it with others to get the idea – such as using a great discussion similar to one recently on LinkedIn about how to explain “Enterprise Architecture”, simply, to The Board in less than 160 characters. You may have heard of such things referred to before as an “elevator pitch”

Once you have a simple catchy definition of the area you work in – and one you think that the listener may need to know and be interested in – then you need to practice it.

This combination will:

Ask Open Questions

This makes the person you are talking to “open up” – and allows you to find out more about them and their relevance to you, as well as make the conversation flow and them more interested in you

Open questions start with: Who, What, Why

So what’s the value of these tips?

Diana referred to recent blogs on other IT industry professional sites where support has recently been given for IT contractors to be able to “talk the walk”. This is never truer than when having to meet someone in a social setting, and especially when you only have a short space of time in which to introduce yourself and get them interested in what you do. So Diana’s tips help with that.

But How Do I Get To Know Who I Need To Meet?

It also helps to have some support from the hosts of the event in providing some means to help you know who you need to know.

7C Alliance Limited has developed a structured approach to networking, using a mix of its guest profile list and networking coordinators, that helps guests identify who is relevant to them based around common skills and knowledge elements in technology, or other areas of known interest. This helps make it easier to meet and get to know who you need to know readily.

What’s more, where they are happy to share them, the guest profile list even includes a few things about what the person likes to do socially as a way of having something more than just “shop talk” to talk about with them…

The rest, beyond identifying who you need to get to know, is certainly helped by the tips that Diana shared.

Further Events on Networking

Diana, Stuart and Matt look forward to hearing from people interested in coming along to a workshop in the New Year where you can learn a few more tips from Diana and practice the art with others in ways that will help you to achieve what you need and want to do. Such as using it to get yourself a new contract job – but also to have some fun in doing that too (like we did in the course of the Wine Tour last Thursday).

Thank you once again to all those who came along – and especially those who came along from St Paul’s Speakers, a Division of Toastmaster’s International, to support Diana.

Written on behalf of the London IT Contractor Alliance Meetup (LITCAM) Group and the 7C Alliance by Matt Miller, Director, 7C Alliance Limited

National Freelancer's Day

Did you know that there was a day set aside for us? It has been initiated by the Professional Contractor’s Group and is intended to get recognition of the contribution that freelancers make to the economy. Check out more details on the National Freelancer’s Day web-site

The evening will include a short talk on how to network effectively for work by someone who is setting up a business to help people do this (and see below for details on them and this talk), followed by some great networking opportunities while taking the Vinopolis “Grapevine Tour”.

Read on for a few more details about the night and speaker, or register online as indicated in the section below.

A Little Bit About The Vinopolis Wine Tour
Vinopolis is a well-renowned venue for showcasing wines from across the world in one place – and their Grapevine tour gives a good introduction for novices and enthusiasts alike.

The price listed on the web-site for the wine tour is £19.50, however if more than 20 people register interest to attend, then we will be able to get a discounted price of £18.50.

The tour includes:

• • Admission to the Vinopolis Wine Tour (1.5 hours in length)
• • A ‘How to Taste Wine’ session
• • 5 regular wine tastings
• • A Bombay Sapphire cocktail
• • A Vinopolis tasting notebook

Click on “Vinopolis Grapevine Tour” to go to the site and get more details.

A Little About Diana Lowe and “The Art of Networking” Talk
Prior to taking the wine tour, 7C Alliance is proud to announce that it will introduce Diana Lowe, who will give a short talk she has developed through attending Toastmaster’s entitled “The Art of Networking“.

She has developed her public speaking skills, and this talk, through being a committee member and mentor at the St. Paul’s Speakers, a Division of Toastmasters International

She is using this talk as an opportunity to present her and her new business, which is based on following her passion to help people grow their careers and improve their interpersonal communications. Further details on Diana, and her new business, can be found out by using the general enquiry facility through the 7C Alliance web-site, along with a message: “Diana Lowe and The Art of Networking” as well as any specifics about what you are interested to know.

This will be a great opportunity to come along and listen to Diana in her first public talk launching her new business supporting IT professionals in getting work. We are sure that she will provide some very handy networking tips as well! If all goes well, the 7C Alliance will consider engaging her business as an Alliance Partner and using it to help support its members in developing their public profiles and sourcing work through networking.

Special Guests Confirmed As Attending
Already invited and confirmed as attending are a number of other special interest guests including:

• • A Business Continuity Planning (BCP) Manager of one of the world’s largest investment banks, who is also a prominent member of Toastmaster’s, a group that assists people with developing their skills and profiles in public speaking
• • An expert from iELEVATE, a business specialising in interview techniques, mentoring and life coaching – and 7C Alliance’s newest Alliance Partner

After the wine tour concludes, attendees can continue to network and then adjourn for dinner at a local pub or wine bar.

Registration
Please register your attendance by going to the Contact Us form on the 7C Alliance web-site, and select London IT Contractor Alliance Meetup (LITCAM) Mailing List” along with a statement in the query section I would like to attend the Monthly Meetup on Thursday 12th November“.

N.B. In registering for this event you will also be added to the LITCAM list for future events – unless you request otherwise in the query section.

Registration is required by close of business on Monday, 9th November.

This event is open to any IT contractors and independent technology consultants. If you are not an IT contractor, or do not work in IT, but would like to attend, then please send a request to attend as a query using registration method stated above – and please state interest.

Looking forward to a great evening, in a great setting with some great people!

For Further information and Future Events
For any further information about this event, please email Stuart Brown on stuart@7c-alliance.com or info@7c-alliance.com with ideas or plans for future events. Please call 7C Alliance on 0844 844 2470 to arrange a time for a callback or a meeting to discuss this event or future events

It is one where the IT industry business associates and colleagues of IT Contractors – such as IT contract recruiters, IT training companies, Job Board marketing people and possibly even end-clients’ HR or current/prospective hiring managers – are invited, along with a few interesting special guests, to meet up in a social setting where everyone can compare how their professional profiles and interests coincide, including what contacts and interests they share, as well as opportunities or interests be identified for working together on contract.

The focus of this meetup is on making first contact in a relaxed and sociable setting – and before moving on to more formal meetups and networking opportunities. It is ideally suited to contractors who want to establish rapport and develop friendly relationships with people who they might encounter in the course of seeking and doing contract work – including other IT contractors that they might be likely to work with as well as IT contract recruiters, training companies and contractor hiring managers.

The Setting
The LITCAM Monthly Meetup is currently held at a pub – but it does not have to be!! It could just as easily be held in another relaxed, fun or active setting – such as in a nice cafe somewhere with good coffee and comfy seating, over a game of cricket or ten-pin bowling, or even at an outdoor evening music concert in a park (such as held each summer at The Open Air Theatre in Regent’s Park). The choice for this setting, as well as preferences for who and how these meetups can be held, is up to those who sign up to the LITCAM mailing list. This can be done by advising interests for the Monthly meetup when submitting details through the Contact Us form on the 7C Alliance web-site. To do this, select London IT Contractor Alliance Meetups and, in the query section of the form, advise that not only is your interest in attending the LITCAM Monthly meetup (or other meetups), but what setting you would prefer that meetup to take as well as what types of people you would like to meet from the IT contracting supply chain or IT industry at large. You can also advise any special interests that you have which will give an indication of who might be good to invite as a special interest guest or which setting could be good for you for the monthly meetup.

Other Types of Meetup and Networking Opportunities
The LITCAM Monthly Meetup is an informal meetup – but it is not the only form of meetup that is available to those who sign up to the LITCAM list. Other types of meetup can be suggested and discussed in response to this Blog page being posted as a News item listing through the IT Job Board’s LinkedIn Discussion Group or the 7C Alliance LinkedIn Discussion Group (which are two of the key places where LITCAM is actively promoted and discussed). Other types of meetup can also be sugested and discussed at the Monthly meetup itself.

The form that OTHER types of meetups can take, as well as what opportunities those meetups provide for members of the list to network, are as follows:

- Strictly social: an event where friends of IT Contractors and work colleagues are invited along (such as a few drinks after work or a barbecue) to just meet and enjoy socialising.

- Informal: an event where business associates and colleagues of IT Contractors are invited along, with some interesting guests, in a setting where everyone can meet to compare how their profile and interests coincide as well as see what contacts and interests they share as well as how they might work together – before moving on to more formal networking opportunities.

- Semi-formal: a night where IT contractors can meet IT contract recruiters and other IT contacts, including possible end-clients, to chat about opportunities for work in their area

- Formal: A seminar or meeting (possibly sponsored by a company) where a meeting or conference room is booked and topics of interest are presented by speakers. Industry or contractor market networking opportunities are possible before or after such meetups, as well as Q & A on topic or topics in question.

About LITCAM
London IT Contractor Alliance Meetups (LITCAM) is an initiative of 7C Alliance, a contractor business coaching and marketing business, that has been created to look at ways to bring independent/freelance IT contractors together in person to socialise as well as source opportunities to find work or work together to create opportunities for work. N.B. Given that some of the proposed activities involve meeting up and networking in pubs, 7C Alliance promotes responsible drinking where alcohol is involved. It also fully respects the interests and concerns of those who belong to communities where alcohol is forbidden or restricted from being consumed for cultural or religious reasons and, for that reason, 7C Alliance is keen to seek and promote ways that will allow all good members of the contracting community to come together in the interests of being good at what they do – and respected for that – and so are interested to hear about ways that we can help make that happen that are interesting and acceptable to all.

What is 7C Alliance?
7C Alliance is a business born out of the necessity for IT and other types of independent/freelance contractors to find new and innovative ways to source or even create work for themselves – as well as continue to be the best that they can be at what they do, as well as get the best from doing that. Our primary aim is enable or encourage contractors to achieve excellence in doing work in IT or other forms of contract work. It is also to promote a healthy and happy lifestyle that not only the individual contractor themselves can be proud of – but the end-users of contract services at large can respect and also want to encourage and perhaps even be a part of.

The 7C Alliance Ethos
7C Alliance’s slogan is: “Independence through Interdependence“. The ethos underpinning this is that we will use our best endeavours to provide opportunities that are equal and fair to meet, prepare, network, get and do work – and according to levels of interest and drive of each individual in wanting to work together, happily and responsibly, with other members of the community operating in the same area of the market as them. The key principle is consideration of what is good for all, and expects that everyone will accept and respect what each individual is considered best at doing – and support each other in doing that, even where they may be in competition with one another for a contract opportunity.

In this way 7C Alliance aims to help contribute to a happy and integrated society where there is freedom and equal opportunity for all – and in open and true respect of not only the principles of corporate social responsibility (CSR) – but just commonsensibly what is best for all humanity and the environment.