An opportunity for ICG members to meet and exchange ideas/opinions with other members. Members are paired up for 3 months, after which the pairings change. No huge commitment needed, just a willingness to (probably virtually) meet up with your ‘buddy’ at agreed times and agree to share work issues/concerns/questions with each other.

To sign up to our next Buddy scheme, REGISTER HERE

“As an independent consultant you can so easily get stuck in the rut of working, prospecting, proposal writing, chasing down leads and opportunities; client service, chasing payments, making payments that suddenly you realise that the isolation of following your initial desire to be independent can be quite different to how you imagined it might be.

Thankfully organisations like the ICG are more than like-minded people going through the same experiences. The ‘buddy’ system implemented a few years ago has for me given an opportunity to reach beyond the usual contributors and be introduced to people within the membership who always stimulate a thought, a wish or a desire to do something a little different.

I love the collaboration it offers – that may not be a commercial one but a free exchange of ideas and experiences to use as prompts and challenges to my own way. I have met some great people and some who I may never talk to again, because the open spirit of letting a conversation flow was not there to start with. Buddy’s are not network introductions so don’t think of them like that. They are a chance to have a conversation with someone who may feel the same way you do or may have a much better way of operating or a skillset you don’t have yourself.

Be open-minded and honest with your buddy and they may just become a friend, a collaborator or a spark for a new idea.”

ICG member Alan Bowman, The Buzz