Hello

Catching up with teams for breakfast or dinner, is often a buzz for me for a number of reasons. Yep I love people, but it’s more than that. Engaging with teams, you get to feel the energy that is generated from the conversations and connections which is often palpable. But what I have really noticed this month is the high level of fun, that is so invigorating when you get up close. Thanks for having me guys - I appreciate the opportunity. 

Last night I pondered what a full month this has been, and this morning in preparation for the newsletter, I started mapping out what has been going on for me in July.  Here are some highlights.

Brave Thinkers is a Palmerston North initiative to promote the world of business to secondary school pupils, and I was asked to be a mentor. Another local businessman Chris and I were assigned a team of 5 pupils who had gathered from around the country. We needed to help them take a commercial concept through to a pitch in 4 days, to a dragons den panel. Lots of fun working with this age group, and yes, of course we won!  What was fascinating for me, was that of the speakers, mentors and judges that were involved from around New Zealand, 8 were either current or previous Collective Intelligence members. Very cool to see so many volunteering their time.

Sophie Harris of Te Awanga Estate asked me if we would be up for being a sponsor of the North Island Young Winemakers awards. I was stoked to be asked, and the awards were last Friday evening in Hawkes Bay. It was super interesting for me, and has stimulated this months Blog. 
 
I was asked to give a speech to the Omega Lamb farmers in Timaru, and chose my favourite topic Curiosity as a catalyst to open up discussion. It worked, and we had a very productive day with some blind lamb tasting at lunch - Omega Lamb came out the clear winner.  


Another invite was to assist with a strategic planning session with an outfit Soda inc based in Hamilton. SODA are like a Founders Haven which helps people get their business ideas up and running, and beyond. What I love about these guys, is that they focus on supporting the Founder first and foremost. I think they have a real point of difference and look forward to watching them grow their offer over time.

It is fascinating to see Guardian Trust trial and measure a 4 day working week recently. Productivity versus time at work . I’m excited to see if they convert permanently to this system.  

Thanks to everyone for your positive support of our new branding and philosophy which emerged last month. Lots of discussion generated around B Corp as well, and I was fascinated to see the listed company Synlait publicly state they are looking to certify as a B Corporation in the next 12 months. 

Harv.

This Months Featured Members

Harv was the facilitator when Ren first joined his Collective Intelligence team, and can clearly remember the sheer joy for life and the wonder he brought into the meetings. Ren’s favourite saying during hosts days in those first few meetings was - ‘nothing is quite what it seems’.
Here are some tributes from his team members and colleagues. 
 

7 skills needed by Managers by 2025 (that's not far away peeps)

This article is totally on track and worth the read. Our favorite quote is:
Being able to lead collaborative teams with the appropriate level of tension and constructive debate that will lead to innovative ideas and timely results that can get to market at the time when consumers are looking for solutions. That’s a critical skill for future managers.
Sounds easy enough??
 

Harv's blog

Book of the Month