Let's get this out of the way: Happy 2018 to everyone! It’s going to be a ripper.

I would like to thank everyone who has responded to last month's blog and sent their best wishes to my son Guy. Thank you. He's doing great, and his sense of humour is still as sharp as ever. He told me recently "this bloody depression will make me depressed soon."

Another quote came from Hamish Ramsden. He sent me an email saying he was keen to join CQ as he felt that he was operating in a comfort zone, and needed a kick in the ….. Now that wouldn’t be such a big deal, however Hamish is a tetraplegic. It was rather humbling for me.

At the beginning of every year while having a break I do something I don't do the rest of the year, which is mix with the great unwashed. What do I mean by that? Well most of the year I hang out with CQ people, and that means I have conversations that are robust, well rounded, challenging, and fun as a result of the vast diversity of the members.

During the break I hang out with a whole lot of people who do not have the richness of conversations that I'm used to. A consequence of this is that I struggle at times to stay engaged with one-dimensional conversations. I have got better at handling these.  I used to get rather frustrated, but the one-dimensional conversations do remain.

A feature of these conversations is that they are dominated by people who have no interest in anybody else's opinion, let alone someone having an alternate view. In fact they are not really conversations at all but rather a ‘mini lecture’ that the speaker presumes everybody should be interested in.  

And then out of the blue I had the good fortune of reading a book by Richard F Thomas - ‘Why Dylan Matters’.  It had a fabulous quote from Bob Dylan's acceptance speech for the Nobel Literary prize last year; ‘certainty represents ignorance’.  

And I reflected that without diversity in conversation, we can become rather certain.

So this year I'm going to be far less certain in my views, and be more curious.

The Big CQ Meeting - Registrations close 7 February!

You’ve asked for more opportunities to get together as a group, so here’s your chance. We’re hosting the Big CQ Meeting in Wellington on the 9th & 10th of March 2018 in honour of CQ's 10 year anniversary. Register by 7th of February to secure your spot.

The Big Question for our Big CQ Meeting is: Do we have the ability to keep pace with the changing world? And how is this impacting the ways that we show up in the way we live, love and lead?

We will explore two main concepts, Addiction and Diversity. What do these really mean? How does it first show up in us, and what do we do about it? And then the bigger question becomes. What are we willing to do about this?

Our goal for the Big CQ Meeting is:

• Build meaningful connections across our wider CQ community

• Explore together how we activate our Collective Intelligence to the next level for effective action and positive impact

• Fund more CQ Scholarships

How will it actually run?

We’ll have a members Meet & Greet on Friday evening, a full day interactive session on Saturday, followed by an Anniversary Cocktail & Dinner party at Te Papa that night.

• Friday Meet & Greet

This is your chance to get to know more of our CQers in real life. This will be part facilitated, part serendipity, with some drinks and dinner at Mac’s Brewery to boot. We hope you’ll come out of this with new networks and connections that you can deepen on Saturday and beyond.

• Saturday Full Day Meeting

  • We will have a mix of round table discussions, speakers, activities, and paired work from 9am - 4pm.

  • We’ll open with a Mihi Whakatau and activity, grounding us in our indigenous culture.

  • We’ll hear from our speaker, Tommy Benefield:  ‘Addiction for everyone…..’

As an Addictions Therapist for the last 16 years, and as a person in recovery from his own severe substance dependence for the last 21 years, Tommy Benefield knows a thing or two about addiction. In his personal and colourful talk, Tommy will cover a wide range of topics regarding addiction and other wide spread mental health issues. This will include; the nature of addiction, contemporary theories on addiction and treatment, an introduction to the full spectrum of addictive behaviours and how they affect people, the difference between an addiction and a habit, and how best to support yourself or others with addictive patterns.

• We will run through an exercise with facilitators, Ali and Sarah Tocker on diversity. During the session we’ll experience and discuss what happens when we come across differences in people. How we respond, how we can develop our thinking and systems, how we can build a culture in our work, home and community that combines the best of what we offer and how to avoid the ‘us’ and ‘them’ stories that shape a lot of our conflict. You will also develop your own diversity plan.

• Saturday Anniversary Cocktails & Dinner -  CQ will host Cocktails and Dinner at Te Papa. You’ll get the State of the Union from Harv, and hear from Rod Oram, an acclaimed commentator on a wide range of economic and social topics.

Register now to secure your spot. Tickets range from $220 (Anniversary Cocktails & Dinner only) through to $870 (Meet & Greet, full day session at Te Papa and Anniversary Dinner).

Songs that represent 2017 from members

• Dave Blackwell - Opportunity by Pete Murray

    The gates are open for 2018.

• Andy Gowland Douglas - Don’t Stop Believing  by Journey

Because we should never stop believing in ourselves and CQ is good at reminding us of this even when things are hard and our inner critic has taken over the reins from the inner coach

• Andy Whitson - Pickles from the Jar by Courtney Barnett

• Lance Gillespie - “Let it go” by Zac Brown Band

For me this talks about letting go of what you can’t change and pursuing what you can.
Keep your eyes wide open to people and opportunities.
I am not the only person, look out for others.
Forgive the ones you can’t.
Leave your mark on this world.
Choose your battles. (Applies to my daughter and what’s worth fighting for)

• Rumi Shivaz - I Can See Clearly Now The Rain Is Gone : Jimmy Cliff

The rain for me was fear - fear of running out of money, running out of work etc.  It’s a hangover from the monumental failure of my first business.  So I was running my current business with one foot on the brakes, so to speak.  

Belonging to CQ has helped me to get rid of that debilitating fear; and have faith that I have the innate capacity to solve any obstacle that may come my way.

• Pat Mahony - Blowing In The Wind by Bob Dylan

CQ has helped me push myself out of my comfort zone and engage with so many fantastic people, while understanding that my life isn't set in concrete and only I can change myself.

• Danny Auger - You’re The Voice by John Farnham

This time, we know we all can stand together
With the power to be powerful
Believing, we can make it better
You're the voice, try and understand it
Make a noise and make it clear
We're not gonna sit in silence
We're not gonna live with fear

• Harv - Get It Right Next Time by Gerry Rafferty

This song stood out as I have tried incorporating 3 other managers within CQ, with different degrees of success and unsuccess, so I am all the more appreciative of having Mary Beth by my side now.

CQ is looking to grow its recruiting base

The CQ community is growing, and we are looking for experienced recruiters to join our high energy team to help attract new members from across NZ.

Our team are a great bunch who work hard and enjoy having fun with a uniquely supportive and collaborative work culture.

This will suit people who like to work autonomously, with plenty of support behind the scenes.

The position is part time and totally flexible.

We are looking for recruiters in Auckland, Hamilton and Wellington in particular, so if you or someone you know would be a great fit please email Annabel.

Harv’s Blog

Here's an idea I think we could incorporate

Books, Films or TED Talks to check out!