Worknow_Aotearoa_NZ

“The deepest secret is that life is not a process of discovery, but a process of creation.  You are not discovering yourself, but creating yourself anew.  Seek, therefore not to find out who you are, seek to determine who you want to be.” ~ Conversations With God

Absolutely! I believe we create our own futures and I live the belief that one of the best ways to determine who we want to be is by focusing on our talents, interests and passion. At the same time though I cherish the fact that life is a process of discovery, discovering truths and purpose, talents and passion, discovering the joy of other people.

Augmented Reality

Over the last couple of weeks I have begun work on a project involving the deployment of an Augmented Reality showcase of Dunedin’s heritage, arts and culture.  Our project is inspired by immersive heritage experiences like  Museum of London | Street Museum with so much potential for the platform we propose, I feel amazingly blessed to have discovered collaborators to help create and share this vision for our City.

In order to create my own future,  I’ve committed to this project the most valuable resources I own, my talent and time, passion and energy. I wholeheartedly believe that this project will serve our City for years to come, providing not only a fun and engaging, compelling and immersive user experience but also establishing an open access platform that many members of our community can contribute to and potentially monetise.

Collaboration & Gratitude

I am inspired and encouraged by the range of support I have discovered in bringing together this collaborative. I see this project as a catalyst for on-going and future collaboration, spanning many of Dunedin’s most talented and creative industry sectors.

Most importantly, Thanks to my Great Omnipotent Deity for blessing me with talented people to work with. Thanks & massive respect to my talented collaborators Stu Fleming Tim Calder Pierre-Emmanuel de La Bussière and community support from:-

• Tourism Dunedin
• The Southern Heritage Trust
• Samuel Mann at Otago Polytech
• Applied Design Research Centre
• Otago Settlers Museum
• Taieri George Railway
• NZ Sports Hall of Fame
• many folk within the DCC &
• As always, my crew at The Distiller

Arohanui xo Renee Lee

Tomahawk Smaill’s Beachcare Trust, Dunedin NZ

Tomahawk Smaill’s Beachcare Trust is a non profit organisation that aims to develop community supported environmental restoration, education and awareness.

TSBT started in 2000 with the aim of replenishing the local environment by replanting, dune stablisation and catchment care. Since then the trust has been active with dune clean ups, planting days and community engagement.

The nursery, managed by Gaileen Ross will produce around 4000 eco-sourced native plants each year and is the hub of the Beach care movement. As a charitable trust TSBT is always keen for volunteers. As an environmental volunteer with TSBT you can:-

• gain hands on learning in horticulture
• gain hands on learning in plant propagation,
• learn about local native dune species.

Aramoana Conservation Group

The community volunteer team cares for Aramoana beaches and the salt marsh. People are welcome to join the relaxed volunteer team during Spring – Autumn. As an environmental volunteer with TSBT you can:

• build team work skills
• improve your botanical knowledge
• learn about local eco-systems
• nurture an appreciation for nature

Orokonui Eco Sanctuary

In less than 10 years, the Orokonui Ecosanctuary has become the only place on mainland South Island of New Zealand where native birds, animals and insects can live a life safe from predators.

Volunteers are provided with direction, a safe walking environment and any equipment and materials needed. Contribute to a project that provides a legacy to future generations, gain new skills and meeting like-minded people. At the moment we need new volunteers for:

• Planting and weeding
• Pest and fence monitoring
• Track building and maintenance
• Regular care of habitat areas

Conservation Volunteers Needed, Dunedin NZ

If you’re willing to learn and happy to work outdoors then gather your friends and workmates and come help out as a conservation volunteer. For more information on volunteer work opportunities check out our volunteer marketplace.

If the right job is not here yet then simply create your talent profile and receive volunteer opportunities that match your talent, skills and interests as they are posted.

If your a community or charitable trust that needs volunteers please register a profile to promote volunteer work on our website.

Hui – A – Tau Queenstown 2010

Our Southern Maori Business Network gathered last week for the annual Hui.

Four generations of people, Maori and non Maori, representing businesses from concept and start up to long established success stories, in fields as diverse as recycled glass art, spot factoring and farming to native perfume, tourism and accounting.

It was a great success and although all good things must come to an end I returned to Dunedin inspired by the talents,  intelligence and collaborative strength of those that attended the Hui.

I am encouraged by the vision of our people, our capacity for sharing and the enduring nature of Maori community. There were many highlights: great company, beautiful surrounds, delicious food, ongoing opportunities to learn and share and connect with people…

I’d like to Thank

• Karen, Viv and Trish for making this happen. Awesome work ladies
• The crews from the University of Otago Te Taituara Maori Commerce Students Association and Wakatipu High for your participation
• Ta Tipene O’Regan for challenging us to work for the collective good and find new ways to envision and create our future
• Llyod McGinty, for insight into the future of our green economy and the simple tips (from an energy consultant) like join powershop
• Phil Broughton, for making accounting “sexy” his words but we believe him and the students were swayed in favour due to his engaging styles and real life application of knowledge
• David Kennedy, for being funny while also making the important distinction that business can create logos and positioning statements but that brand is how our other people perceive our business
• Richard Kerr Bell, for highlight the importance of values such as communication and trust in business
• Robbie Paul, for evidence that our education system can innovate with today’s skills based learning, training and qualifications providing people with improved pathways to work
• Don Rhodes, for challenging the forms of organisation that I believe in and helping me to practice the skills of listening and remaining open minded

Supporting People in Business

I’m am forever thankful to have discovered KUMA at a time in my work life where I was being misled as to the importance of values.

I will never forget the manager that advised that sticking to personal values (honesty & personal integrity) could create barriers to getting work done.

I have never before been so disheartened and am thankful to have moved well beyond that place with a slew of lessons about “what NOT to do”. If it had not been for the wonderful support I received from KUMA – the Southern Maori Business Network I might not have stayed in Dunedin long enough to discover all the other great people and communities that I now know are here.

I’d like to especially thank Phil Broughton and Suzanne Spencer for your support and encouragement and for giving me the opportunity to be a part of this great network. It is an immense privilege to be a member of this board of trustees.

At that very first board meeting I discovered a true sense of caring and community (whanau) from a team of people proactively working to help others which confirmed that I could aspire to be in business to help people rather than on the basis of “what’s in it for us”. KUMA empowered me to believe in my values, aspirations and my motives and continues to help me be my most authentic self.

When we plan it is inevitable that we make some assumptions.

As we put our plans in motion however, we have talked to people, tested our service and developed means to continually question our assumptions

In doing so we recently discovered we were off target so we changed our plans. We haven’t changed our destination but we have re-prioritized development within the scope of our long term vision and purpose.

We decided to make this change in order to provide what we understand will be a more simple solution to matching people’s talents and skills to volunteer and paid work opportunities.

And then this evening via twitter I come across an article Venture Capital 101 for For-Profit Social Entrepreneurs. We are bootstrapping this journey but I aspire to implement new financial and business models for social enterprise so I was compelled to read further and view the presentation below.

Although most of the Venture Capital talk does not apply to us,  I discovered two slides #10 #11 that allay some concerns because although I intuitively trust that our decision is on track, it is a little at odds with recent sage advice concerning the importance of executing on plans.

The “execution paradox”

#10 Start ups need to be adaptable: Changing directions used to be a near-death experience for startups.  Now, it’s common fare.

“The pivot – what do successful startups have in common?Pivot is the ability to change directions quickly. The difference between a successful and an unsuccessful start-up is the number of pivots a start-up makes before it dies.” [Eric Ries]

“[...] some things that startups that aren’t run well do: You don’t change direction fast enough. Every startup should be looking at its direction every month or so.”  [Robert Scoble]

“In the average Y Combinator startup, I’d guess 70% of the idea is new at the end of the first three months.” [Paul Graham]

The “execution paradox”

Those startups who are adapting and changing like they should, are not “executing” against their prescribed milestones.  Consequently, they will get eaten up by VC with all the “downside investing”.

Those startups who are not adapting and changing like they should, are apparently “executing”.  In a high R-o-C environment, these are statistically likely to be failing.

Agility needs to be an intrinsic part of VC/startups.  Was: “execute, execute, execute”.  Now: “pivot, pivot, pivot”.

Free will & the freedom to choose

Free will, the freedom to choose and therein create our own future, is from my perspective the defining factor of what makes us human in this universe.

I was moved this week by the film “A Soundtrack for a Revolution” a documentary of the music that inspired and supported the 1960’s Civil Rights Movement in the United States of America.

It made me realise that I have the luxury of freedom. A luxury too often taken for granted considering that freedom has and continues to be for so many people a long and hard won battle.

I wonder, do we not then owe it to ourselves, our families and our communities to recognise and claim our right to choose and create our own futures? Yet, in a society where we have the luxury to choose any number of things we often fail to choose that which would make us most happy. So I am asking,

Why not choose to do what we love for a living?

Workplace Freedom: establishing the optimal work life balance

I for instance chose to leave a job in a recession to found a company despite a complete lack of funding or the income to cover my outgoings.

By all accounts it was a risky decision, but one that I chose to take in order to pursue my dream of building a company through which I could help other people.  It was one of the best decisions of my life.

Granted I am young and single so I was in the position to make this choice. Understandably, many people would say that they do not have the freedom to choose, when or where they work.

It may seem at times that the need to survive, to care for ourselves and others means we do not have the option to leave a job that makes us unhappy, unfulfilled or simply ambivalent. Yet at any time at least two options exist.

1. You can choose to do nothing and retain the status quo or;
2. You can choose to try something different, plant a seed see if it grows

The difference between one and two;  willingness to change and adapt.

Towards Work Place Freedom

Choosing what, when, even why you work can eventually transform the way you live.

“Choose a job you love, and you will never have to Work a day in your life.” Confucius

Here’s a couple of things you can do today to begin the move towards greater workplace freedom

Step 1 write down you answers to the following questions:

1. What are your greatest strengths or talents or to rephrase: what do you love to do?
2. What three things do you think you do best in life?
3. Are there any talents or skills you’d like to teach?
4. If you could do your dream job what would you do?
5. What could you volunteer to do or learn that would put you one step closer to that dream job?

Step 2 is to take your answers from step 1 and create an online talent profile so that we can match your talents, skills and interests to work opportunities.

I completely believe that we can all work at and be rewarded for doing what we love, I’m not saying that it will be easy, just that you’ll probably enjoy it.

However, work place freedom – like so many freedoms won before – can only be achieved through connected, collaborative community effort.

We need people like you to build this talent community in which each individual is willing to help others achieve the same freedom through active participation.

I am a member of an incredible web start up community called the Distiller: A collaborative support network of young and aspiring entrepreneurs creating an environment wherein we support and encourage each other, offer feedback and share the highs and lows of the new venture journey, together.

It is organic, collaborative business community at it’s best, one which provides a shining example of an environment “…overwhelmingly governed by the trust/reputation/community approach…”

Throughout the year we hold 12 week “Sprints” as a primary means of sharing with and supporting one another. Each sprint is made up of six fortnightly “therapy sessions” : a forum to discuss the stepping stones towards our end goal.

Basically it’s about answering the question: where do you want to get to over the next 12 weeks? and then breaking this goal down into smaller action orientated tasks.

It is a practice in planning, intended to instill a sense of urgency and keep us focused on putting our plans into action. It is a great model and planning is an excellent disciple but a plan is only ever as good as it’s execution which of course comes back down to having the right people, as I discussed in lessons from an Angel

Failure to execute was seen as the number one reason that companies fail and for this reason – People – the management team is the number one factor influencing the angel’s investment decision.

Samson Ootoowak, it is pronounced Oo-too-vuck

Back in February our Worknow mission gained added momentum by the addition of another talented programmer, Sam.

“…Yeah it is an Inuk name. Samson Ootoowak: it is pronounced Oo-too-vuck…”

Sam, you’re brilliant we wouldn’t be here without you, you rock! Here’s what new this April…

Invite to Trade: Matching talent & work opportunities

Now each time you post a request Worknow can suggest people for you to invite to view your trade by matching keywords on your post with the keywords listed within their talent profile. You can also invite people you know to view your trade by creating a simple email invite.

Simplified Talented Profiles

People mentioned that the talent profile was a mission so on the basis of quality vs. quantity, we simplified. With only a single field now for keywords we hope the change helps people focus profile keywords around the work opportunities they want to be matched to.

Organising trades

We’ve established Groups functionality  to enable existing communities to self organise and build community specific marketplaces. At this stage groups are created on request by providing a group name and contact email to renee@worknow.co.nz

We’re testing a new format for the Workspace to make it easier to define the status and actions pending on open trades. And we’ve updated the My posts page to provide a little more detail on the trades you have posted.

Work Opportunities

There’s bound to be some bugs and areas we can improve so we’d be really interested in peoples feedback but more than anything we’d love to see people building keyword rich talent profiles and posting requests so that we can match people with work opportunities

Lessons from an Angel

I aspire to one day be in the position of Mr Bill Payne – being able to invest time and money in talented, entrepreneurial teams – but I’ve got a long way to go and in the meantime I will glean as much learning and insight as I can from the experts in order to execute the plans we have for Worknow.

Mr Payne’s insights into the world of new venture financing are summarized in the presentation he offered The Capital Food Chain but in addition to taking notes it is necessary to reflect upon the knowledge imparted. Therefore, the following are some of the key points I took from  Mr Bill Payne’s talk, which I feel are important to the new venture journey.

People: the management team is the number ONE factor influencing the angel’s investment decision.

People make or break a company. We were advised the primary difference between company’s that succeed vs. those new ventures that fail is simply the people and their ability to execute on plans.

“Better to invest in and A team with a C idea than a B team with an A idea”

Failure to execute was seen as the number one reason that companies fail and for this reason – People – the management team is the number one factor influencing the angel’s investment decision.

Important characteristics of the entrepreneurial individual / teams

• Integrity
• Industry Experience
• Experience working together
• Willingness to “let go” of control in the best interests of the company
• Passion
• Commitment

On the Investment process

If you don’t need money then don’t waste your time seeking investment. Bootstrap as far as you can. You’re better investing time executing on your plans than pursuing investors. That said…

Absolutely the best way to connect new venture teams with potential investors is to network. Talking to and learning from people is key to finding the best investors

Even before you need investment seek to learn from those with the knowledge, experience and connections to help, mentor and advise.  Join entrepreneurial communities or clubs. Attend events, seminars and lectures.

Look for “smart money”: Experienced people offering both time and cash.

Be prepared to pitch your idea with the view to attracting interest

Mr Payne advised that there are four key communication tools that those seeking investment will require:-

1. Elevator Pitch [60 seconds]
2. Executive Summary [2 - 4 Pages]
3. Presentation [10 slides / 20 minutes / 30 font size]
4. Business Plan [Due Diligence]

People often make the mistake of focusing too much on the product or service offering. They key is to ensure each form of communication provides a balance between product or service offering / opportunity / differentiation.

Five Mistakes to Avoid

For more information including the five biggest mistakes to avoid when seeking investment check out the full presentation The Capital Food Chain

Worknow & The Distiller

We hope that the tools we provide may help connect talented entrepreneurs with those seeking to invest in New Zealand’s next generation of start up teams. Thanks again Otago University, this time the Masters of Entrepreneurship – for inviting The Distiller Crew to attend.

People are assets

I was moved today by a simple thank you from a friend…

thanks Renee for showing me I’ve something to offer

Perhaps I’m still a bit emotional from watching Avatar yesterday but her simple note made me cry because it reassured me that this concept – that People are Assets -  can and does make a difference in lives and communities.

This talented lady is currently my go to person for anything regarding the preservation of food. She is talented,  fun and generous with her time and knowledge.  She continues to teach and inspire me.

We volunteered together to provide a preserves workshop last year, in which she shared her time and knowledge about preserving. The connections made from that initial volunteer effort have lead to further connections and opportunities, in an ongoing movement toward community resilience.

It is people like this that make our communities stronger, happier and healthier places to live and enjoy life and I am immensely thankful today for these people who sustain my capacity  to live [work] & hope.

Sailing is an investment of time that I consider a rather noble pursuit but then I am biased because my dad was an avid sailor -  John Lee, Skipper of the Leeway – and he was easily one of the hero’s of my life.

leeway: To slip sideways downwind while moving forward.

Yet this adds weight to the fact that I’ve heard several people talking about sailing this year, from simply learning how to sail to planned journeys around the world.

And it is their sense of purposeful adventure and discovery that has inspired my thoughts on the direction of my personal endeavors as well as our company this year.

Time to change tack

I resolved earlier this year to keep a written journal, a common device of those sailing the oceans.  Indeed, I much prefer the creative process of writing ones thoughts vs blogging and I struggled immensely over the past week to find the inspiration to add value to our blog conversation so far.

Beside commenting on articles that inspire conversation or challenge my thinking it seems 2009 provided all the time needed to convey our vision, values and service. Upon reflection I realise that I have said all I need to say about Worknow and it is simply time to change tack.

Tacking – Basic sailing maneuver refers to turning the bow of the boat through the wind so that the wind changes from one side of the boat to the other side.

While we maintain our heading, we now power up the sails with the stories of those with whom we collaborate and whose bearing impacts on the work that we do.

Indeed, it is only through the collaboration and support of people, with the vision and creativity to apply Time Trade as a tool to encourage volunteering in their own community, can we hope to reach our way-points.

Ready About

I hope to increasingly use this blog to share the story of those that serve our communities in the most direct sense of the word. I hope, like me, you will find their stories inspiring and thought provoking.

Most importantly I hope to convey the conscious, collective community spirit under which these people and teams operate in order to inspire and encourage us all  to volunteer our time and talent on a regular and ongoing basis.

Using the simple tools now at your fingertips just imagine what we can achieve, what change we can effect and the difference we will make when we work now, together for causes that benefit us all.