By the time the next newsletter comes out the General Election will be behind us and I imagine some very interesting negotiations will be underway. Maybe even completed.

CQ loves democracy, but is not politically aligned with any party, and I am rapt to say our members voted for every political party at the last election. This year will be no different, and demonstrates the diversity of the ecosystem that is CQ.

While democracy isn't perfect Churchill once quoted -  "Indeed it has been said that democracy is the worst form of Government, except for all those other forms that have been tried from time to time.…"

Personally, I like the online polls you can fill in to see which Party you are aligned to, and then the conversations that are generated from that. Very healthy and thought provoking stuff. Often it is surprising who you are most in tune with. I have always been proud of being a swinging voter, and try and start each election with a fresh view of who I am going to support come election day.

However, to observe without judgment is a very hard thing to do when it comes to politics, but hugely beneficial if you  want to actually understand what different parties policies mean.

So here's my question - do you vote for what is best for you, or what is best for the country?

Shout out to:

• Shelley Campbell - after a stellar role as CEO of the Sir Peter Blake Trust, Shelley is now CEO of the Cancer Society for Waikato/Bay of Plenty/Taupo/ Rotorua.
• Sue McCabe nominated for the Woman of Influence 2017 awards in the Community and Not for Profit sector. 
• Lisa King also nominated for the Woman of Influence 2017 awards in the Community and Not for Profit sector. 
• Che Wilson as chief negotiator for the Ngati Rangi Trust which has just initialled it’s Deed of Settlement at Parliament.
• Veronica Stevenson for her work on the investigative documentary ‘Mum, Cannabis, and Me’ which premiers on September 8th.
• Dave Craig for his work on The Manawatu Jets Board to get the basketball team back into the NBL with a refreshed model enabling young local players to become involved.
• Andy Ramsden for his vision for what the wool industry can achieve and the guts to do something about it.

CQ went to Outward Bound in August

Late last year Sarah Tocker came up with the idea of a leadership development program on steroids, which would feature a collaboration between Outward Bound, Tocker and Associates and some trusting CQ members.

What Sarah and Jon Lasenby from OB designed, was 4 days of intensive and hugely varied activities to test 12 ambitious CQ members to stretch themselves in ways that are hard to describe. Sarah even managed to coerce Harv into getting fit enough to participate!

Working in unison with nature and some very smart facilitators enables remarkable transformation to occur, which can be life changing.

Adaptive change was unbelievably demonstrated during the 4 days.
What is adaptive change? That’s the obstacle we all face when moving forward.

The 12 pioneers became a very tight knit group who will meet again in February to measure their progress since the course.

CQ’s intention is to run this on a regular basis, given the feedback and success of the program.

Thanks to Sarah, Ali, Jon and Anake for your energy and commitment.

Harv's Blog

As a result of the Outward Bound experience I am committing to being more bold and braver in the effect I wish to have on the world. So here’s my first foray with a blog.

My first topic is close to my heart as I was a farmer for 30 years before evolving as a social entrepreneur.

Who is perpetuating the idea that high numbers of Farmers are regularly killing themselves in this country? This troubles me cause it’s not true!

Harvard through a CQ lens

Recently Dave Blackwell (CEO Spidertracks) attended an executive education program at Harvard’ Business School and came away with some really interesting insights, and a wee pat on the back for the CQ community on the world stage.

Regional meetings

The Business Case for Sustainability

Books, Films or TED Talks to check out!