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"If you are anything like me you've been paying close attention to the global financial crisis but still adopting a relaxed attitude that "it couldn't get that bad in Australia". Well no longer... as I continue to read articles and watch news stories I have woken up to the fact that we need to adopt an extremely conservative approach to business and managing our finances in what could be troubled times ahead.  This is true for both large and small businesses alike.  Contract World has recently posted an extremely sobering review of the facts leading up to the global financial crisis and goes on to explain the impact for large and small businesses, including the potential failure of large US icons like Ford and General Motors. Whilst the Australian economy is supported by a strong export market to China, we rely more heavily on Japanese exports, one market predicted to be hit hard by the global credit crisis.  When (if?) this occurs together with an inability of large infrastructure projects to secure finance, rising unemployment, falling property markets and the highest personal debt levels in history the prospect of Australia avoiding a slide in to recession seems unavoidable.  Consequently we all need to be vigilant in how we manage our businesses (and household finances). For some very useful tips I strongly recommend that you read the article on Contract World. In short... prepare for the worst and be pleasantly surprised if it doesn't get as bad as predicted.

On a more positive note, aCE talentNET is pleased to report that at this stage we have seen no such contraction in projects and opportunities for our Talent Network.  We will continue to work closely with our clients to ensure that they have the resources they need (at cost effective market rates!) to deliver the projects committed to in current and future budgets. 

So what does this mean for the consulting market?  Who knows what the future holds... I'm not really brave enough to make a prediction at this stage.  I guess there are two immediate thoughts:
1. that the project/contracting market will downsize as larger organisations adopt conservative attitudes to project initiatives and, as mentioned above, large syndicated finance becomes harder to access thus putting on hold many planned initiatives; versus
2. larger organisations may turn to contract resources to deliver on project initiatives (whilst putting downward pressure on market rates) and avoid replacing and/or taking on new hires in a recession environment.  Perhaps it will be a mix of both?  Time will tell.

We would also like to say a big THANK YOU to all the Consultants that have taken the time to complete our Inaugural Consultant Survey... the response rate has been extremely pleasing.  For those of you yet to complete the Survey we strongly encourage you to do so, as this is your opportunity to tell us how aCE talentNET can support you and your business.  The Survey will take no longer than 15mins and completion before 30 November 2008 enters you into a draw to win a Nano iPod - how can you refuse??!! Complete Survey.

Deirdre Gruiters
Corporate Talent Agent

Deirdre Gruiters is the Executive Director - Consulting for aCE talent NET, or in other words, aCE talent NET's Corporate Talent Agent. She is also an internationally published author as a result being featured in the July edition of "Consulting Ahead" India (.pdf 5mb) . So if looking for Organisational Development resources is what you're needing to do, then Deirdre and the team of aCE talent NET know how to find them. Ask anyone of our continually satisfied clients

develop youredge The following 3 articles are our favourites for this month; and a snapshot of the fabulous content on the aCE talentNET blog  ... feel free to visit and make comments Success-Driven Philosophy    Finding Clarity of Purpose and Achieving Arete Through Philosophical Examination - Joshua Goldman & Jason Shen for ChangeThis.com This manifesto will facilitate your philosophical examination as you iron out what you believe and why you believe it. We do this by providing a philosophical toolkit, as well as a framework for considering the principal areas of philosophy... read on Six Figures High Salary Earners Report 08  Six Figures recently conducted a survey of over 100 people earning $100K+ salary packages across a myriad of professions to find out what their key drivers were when it came to changing jobs or career. What really stood out from the results was that the drivers for this market segment are very different to other market segments. However many businesses still have a “one approach fits all” attitude when it comes to attracting talent (the exception being graduate recruitment) and wonder why the talent is not biting! The talent is indeed out there, it is just that businesses need to adopt a more progressive and targeted approach to lure them... read on Consulting is in the top ten of the... Most Profitable Home-Based Businesses Whilst this is US based data, we'd be fairly confident that similar views would also work in Australia... Who needs a nasty commute when you can make a decent buck but a few feet from your kitchen? Over half of all U.S. businesses are now based out of an owner's home, according to the U.S. Census Bureau. With the economy shedding jobs, the ranks of the self-employed may well keep swelling. Plenty more entrepreneurs may look to eliminate rent and fuel costs to pinch pennies. Facilitators--from brokerages to consultancies--nabbed five of the 10 spots; creators, such as specialty design shops, earned three; and repair outfits rounded out the rest. To be sure, not all will fare equally (or well) in the economic downturn... read on ... The two big challenges mentioned: marketing and pricing your services. That's where the services of aCE talentNET come in to their own... and which is why completing the survey is so important.

Consultants

To be eligible for up-coming opportunities, please use this time to complete your online Consultant profile on the website. 

• We are delighted to welcome a number of new Consultants to aCE talentNET.
  
• If you do wish to see what your details are on file, now would be a great time to visit and update as required. However, don't despair if you have lost your password, simply request a new one be sent to you!  We look forward to seeing many of you update your details soon!!!
  
• And don't forget to add your CV directly into the database for ease of updating and information data access.