Worknow_Aotearoa_NZ

It had been a while since the game of generation bashing has had a look in but the floor is open again to generational commentary, stereotyping and general whinging following a research report on the values, attitudes, behaviors and demographic characteristics of American Gen Y | Millennials: A Portrait of Generation Next

Born 1979 outside or upper end of the generational “age bracket” does nothing to change the fact that I identify most strongly with the Y Generation. While I can see in many friends my age, a stronger tendency to Gen X some of us never had the new generational “stereotypes” to qualify our actions.

Generation Y on Careers

I had to live my “traits” before they became widely touted indicators of our generation. My work career for instance in which I’ve had more than 10 jobs in the last 10 years. Inevitably, there were interviews in which I was asked to justify my job “hopping” to which my response involved learning, challenge, personal circumstance.

Now, in retrospect I can claim this as normal for an entire generation of people. No longer such an outlier, there is some reassurance to the fact that the following opinion is as true to me, as it is Amanda and probably millions more like us.

I don’t think that staying at one company for 20+ years necessarily correlates with building a career. Gen Y’s are more adaptive and willing to jump companies if it means advancing their career and lifestyle goals. I believe that this is a strength of our generation, not a weakness. I would rather change jobs many times to advance my career than allow my career to stagnate due to “corporate loyalty.” ~ Amanda, Tustin, CA : July 8, 2010 4:24 pm

Gen Y on Opportunities

Granted, I can understand that a CV of contract research and 6 – 12 month “career” efforts probably looked disconcerting to potential employers. And probably well it should because each job was for me about discovering something new about what I wanted to do with my life.

In some cases I learnt lessons about what I would do and what I could achieve but in most I learnt more about what I didn’t want. It was a process of discovery that has lead me to the clear realisation that as an employee other people were never going to allow me to challenge the status quo, learn and grow by testing limits.  I was not made to fit the “employee” mold, a fact which I believe will prove true of many of our generation.

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.

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.

We, Gen Y, have the information, insight and connections to harness ourselves some rather impressive purchasing power.

Already we use tools like Trade me, to help establish market price and demand. Price Spy to inform us on competitive retail pricing and of course, there’s the ever present forms of social media (facebook, twitter, blogs) that we use to seek out recommendation from the people we trust.

Gen Y … are serious, independent information seekers who expect to interact with products and companies online as a matter of course,” … Their decision process begins and ends online, where they seek information, recommendations and validation…Collaboration is another Gen Y trait. As part of their consideration process, they seek recommendations and validation. Favorite tools include social networking, peer marketing, online support networks, text messaging and blogging. Source

There are always new tools or combination’s of existing tools entering the market. Tools like Bid Rivals, cashing in on the established Trade me culture and auction frenzy around low price deals. While here at Worknow  we’ve set out to provide people a more cost effective way to connect with service opportunities.

In a world awash with online and mobile tools, it’s no longer a question about HOW to connect, it’s about knowing with WHOM we connect.

We humans are social creatures, so finding and connecting with other people – in part nature and in part need – is a process that is continually refined and enhanced.

Today’s online world has become a social space for seeking out and facilitating human interaction with the growing power of social search seen with the launch of twitter lists.

Literally, millions of lists created to organise diverse topics – Dunedin (location) Distiller (Group) Volunteering (Industry Sector) – as a collection of who, rather than what.

Worknow, connecting talented people with work opportunity

We’ve combined tools to help people find and connect with work opportunities based on their talent profile.  A community marketplace using the familiar bid, buy and feedback system to help people find and bid for work on paying projects and offer time on volunteer work opportunities. As a community member you can use social networking tools to:-

Register your talent profile, today.

Our Freedom of Expression

Technology has made sharing opinions, information and knowledge easier. We no longer need a degree in Journalism or a PhD to publish findings. Having a voice no longer requires the interest of a publisher or editor yet clearly our growing freedom of expression is threatening to some people.

The rise of social networking sites is indeed a disturbing trend that may be continuing to fuel the narcissism of a generation [Gen Y] becoming more desperate than ever to maintain their fragile self-esteem. Source

I wonder what this Dr would say about the need to adapt? Because despite all the evidence gathered in support of their stated point of view there is much more to prove that Social media is not just a “trend”, it is a new way of connecting and communicating.

For more information please visit the source @ http://www.personalizemedia.com/garys-social-media-count/

Worknow, Find Connect & Work Together

There is so much more than ego in play here. Social networking tools can harnesss the collective potential of people and our new venture team is proof that they can be applied to entrepreneurship and new business creation. It’s our intent to help others like us – young aspiring and active entrepreneurs, business catalysts and change makers – use these tools to;

• Showcase their talents, skills and values
• Connect with people of common purpose and vision
• Find work experience and business opportunities
• Build teams with which to drive the creation of new business

Using Technology to Connect with Generation Y Volunteers

We are presenting a workshop at the Volunteering NZ Conference – Wellington, Thursday 29th October @ 10:45 – to present the idea that online media is an effective way to reach out and engage with young people and encourage them to volunteer.

I’d taken for granted that non-profit organisations were already using online media to engage with potential volunteers. In fact, I know several that do www.350.org.nz is a great example of a non-profit that applies social media to good effect.

Yet, when we asked Otago University students recently where they would look for volunteering opportunities we recieved answers such as; in the newspaper.

Clearly, there’s a perceived notion that the non-profit world is still marketing via the old school methods which presents the opportunity to raise awareness and engage with Gen Y volunteers, online. And that’s not just my bias speaking either, it’s advice straight from the horses mouth.

“What do you think is the most effective way for organisations to promote or advertise to students?”

We’ve been asking Gen Y students variations of this question for weeks now and the following answer, reflects the opinion offered by more than five out of every nine students

“For students I think the internet. Internet for us, is our demographics best marketing tool. It’s what we do…social networking sites are pretty key… and get out to a lot of people really quickly”

Many Gen Y would describe themselves as always online “…’cause thats were everyone is, all the time…” The online environment is such an integral element of our life now days that we’ve begun simply to assume that if we seek information, answers or opportunities they can be found at our fingertips.

So despite having only 20 minutes, luckily, both students and the online usage statisitcs support our proposal that; online is a great way to connect with the next generation of volunteers. If you’re in Wellington on the 29th and interested in talking volunteering and / or time trade we’d love to talk.

There’s an old school mantra that advises “do not underestimate the competition” because knowing your competition is necessary in order to build strategic advantage. Yet from a Gen Y perspective, many of those same competitors are potential collaborators.

If we were to offer a mantra of advice in regards to competition it would be to “seek opportunity to collaborate rather than compete” which makes it ever more frustrating that the older generation, people we would also like to collaborate with, continue to deny the talents and capabilities of my generation.

Even an over educated, under experienced MBA student knows that success comes from being able to climb the greasy management pole. You don’t do that by trumpeting that you know it all or that Facebook is the interface proxy for enterprise applications.

Try that in this economy and you’ll be at the head of the queue when the next round of pink slips are distributed (sic). You can only know that from having worked in enterprises, experienced the nuances of management practice and negotiated the politics of power. Source

This comment completely fails to recognise that management hierarchy’s are not the future. While they might have worked for the industrial revolution, entrepreneurship, collaborative, mobile, networked teams are the future of our knowledge economy.

Political Hierarchies vs Collaborative Teams

Sorry, old guard but we don’t actually need to climb your “greasy management pole” because with today’s technology we can connect and circumvent your traditional hierarchy’s to collaborate and build businesses of our own.

Rather than politics, power and vainglorious titles we aspire to work together as co-founders in recognition of our interdependent need for each others talents, skills and trust.

Our entrepreneurial spirit makes us increasingly willing and able to take risks, our education has armed us with knowledge and insight and today’s technology allows us to connect, share and collaborate in new, more effective ways.

Dismissing the fact that we are tech natives, and assuming that we need to be “employees” fails to recognise that we are creators of our own future.

Love us or hate us 10 years from now we will represent almost 40% of the New Zealand workforce. Perhaps it’s time to accept that aspects of our work ethic, like our collaborative spirit, may be the best form of work organisation for a knowledge based economy.

We are a generation influenced primarily by peers and friends.

It’s a fact. In a world awash with information we’ve become adept at questioning the messages feed to us by the media so in order to make informed decisions we turn to those we trust and know. Traditional advertising, barely even registers with us.

Instead of watching TV you’ll find us engaged online and on the move. While the odd Facebook ad might generate a click through (relevant to our social profile) in general, unless it’s funny, sexy or otherwise “hot” it probably won’t even measure on our radar.

Unfortunately, the non profit sector is one where these “general” rules can’t be applied because it’s probably not funny, selling sex can be a crime and hot involves sub Sahara living conditions.

Where traditional advertising and marketing don’t apply it becomes even more important to engage Gen Y through peers, friend and the communities in which we interact. Here at Worknow we rate online communities and networking tools as the most effective way to reach and communicate with Gen Y and luckily for us, we’re not the only one’s backing online community.

The approach we recommend involves creating and maintaining a community – a permission asset if you like – that attracts, captures and leaves a legacy of goodwill around the interactions that occur for your brand or organization on a daily basis. Source

Champion of a cause

Time Trade is a tool to help empower recipients of charity, by valuing their experiences as a means to help others – to provide recognition for the Champions of a cause. As you can watch below, empowering champions is a common theme in of Youth Marketing for Non Profits

If you’d like to hear more about how Non Profits can engage with Gen Y we are holding a workshop at the biennial New Zealand National Volunteering Conference on the 28 – 29 October 2009 in Wellington Town Hall. For more information on this years conference check out the Volunteering New Zealand Website Our abstract aligns with the one of two conference themes:

Volunteering Tomorrow: New Opportunities – new ways for volunteering

And will incorporate concepts on:-

* Generational diversity
* Volunteering in community development
* New and interesting ways of doing volunteering