Worknow_Aotearoa_NZ

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.

Discussing Time Trade recently, we were asked whether we believe Gen Y are as concerned or involved with volunteering as we might hope.

While we might not have as much cash to give, yet, I and others I know volunteer our time and talents to help with work as diverse as marketing to community gardening, environmental action to peer support.

Personally, I think we are as active, if not more than older generations but that much of our work goes unrecognised because we tend often to work together of our own accord (rather than under the umbrella of established charitable causes) by using  networking tools  to connect, collaborate and work together.

With Time_Trade we  provide recognition and a measure of the value (T) Gen Y contributes as volunteers. Evidence of a generation, although often labeled selfish and self-centered, that are as passionate about causes and helping others as those before us.

The fact is, as the social networking phenomenon shows, many Gen Y’s are highly connected and community orientated.

Anyone seeking to engage Gen Y needs to recognise that as digital natives one of the most effective ways to communicate with us is through online networking because these tools helps us save time and achieve the work-life balance we seek.

In addition to work we may also be juggling study, friends, family, sport, other paid and unpaid work commitments.  Hence the need for a more flexible, increasing mobile method of communication

Although Time Trade developed primarily as a tool to provide recognition for Gen Y volunteers Time Trade has the potential to help charitable oranisations achieve more with less money by maximising existing resources and:

1. empowering people that might only otherwise be recipients of charity and
2. encourages people that may not normally volunteer their time and talent.

We also understand that Time Trade can not replace the need for money so by implementing the bid, buy and feedback process we also offer the opportunity for individuals and organisations to source the best value service suppliers.