Seeds

Each month I host an "Impact Call" by zoom - this is the audio of the latest one featuring some amazing speakers about what they are currenty up to! If you'd like to join the more than 650 that get notifications about upcoming calls and news as well let me know by email to [email protected] ...

Our speakers are:

- Sue McCabe the CE of Philanthropy New Zealand | Tōpūtanga Tuku Aroha o Aotearoa will share about their new initiative Match | Te Puna Taurite which is about to launch and provide "a more equitable, accessible and collaborative funding system" https://lnkd.in/eJaHNZHF - Michelle Berriman the Executive Director of FINZ New Zealand who are releasing a research report soon. - Kaye Maree Dunn will share about He Kōrero – from these podcasts focus on Te Tiriti o Waitangi and the way different practitioners apply its intent and principles in their respective mahi. This mahi includes kaupapa Māori research, education, climate change, homelessness and community development. Link He Kōrero - Te Tiriti Podcasts - Community Research

Index:

00:51: Intro 04:09: Sue McCabe from Philanthropy New Zealand 13:19: Kaye Maree Dunn from 29:13: Michelle Berriman from Fundraising Institute of New Zealand

For more episodes visit www.theseeds.nz

Am curious - what advice would you give a new grad starting out in your role?

Am really pleased to have Sophie Tremewan join our team this month to share in our focus on purpose driven organisations, getting legal structures right, draft contracts where they are legally safeguarded and help them raise capital from investors. Sophie is also becoming a property law expert through her work with Judith Bullin – useful skills!

Am so glad to work with an amazing team which is growing, and are the only reason I am able to do the things I am involved in. Thank you Aislinn Molloy, Michael Belay Sophie Tremewan and Emma Hayes!

There are 10 pieces of advice I had for her as she starts out (really reminders for myself … ):

1. Add value. Always ask 'how can I make things better', by doing more than is expected or requested. If you are asked to write a memo, draft the cover email that you know is going to be needed as well. If you mention a resource to someone over a coffee or on a call, follow up by emailing them a link later. If a client has a problem, think about whether they are asking the right questions or if there are other issues they haven't though about yet. Be proactive.
2. Be curious. Law school prepares you to think logically but not to deal with the reality of legal practise. There are going to be questions you get asked that you don't have the answers to. Some of them will seem very dull ("What is the origin of section 22 of the Trusts Act 2019?"). But every question is a chance to learn something new, so approach them like greeting an old friend with enthusiasm and curiosity and soon enough you will discover that answering those dozens and hundreds of questions will build up over time into a foundation on which you can stand firm.
3. Be efficient. Learn to use time well and in particular look for those bits of time that are wasted. Have a commute? Perfect time to call prospective clients who want to talk. Have an interest in a subject area? Why not write a white paper about it and become known as an expert in that and reach out to others you admire to ask for their views.
4. Be creative. Following on from that last one always be looking to infuse your work with creativity too. Add a quote from a poet to that article you are writing. Spend time thinking about the cover image on the guide "Capital Raising key legal issues". We are lawyers, but we can be creative in how we express ourselves too. I like how Seth Godin puts it this way: "The distance from can to will keeps getting larger. You can connect, lead, see, speak, create, encourage, challenge and contribute. Will you?" I did a short episode on creativity here.
5. Seek impact. We are lucky to meet amazing founders and purpose driven people and get to help catalyse impact for them to achieve things and that is a great privilege. Actively consider the areas you want to become known for and become an expert in that. Becoming an impact driven lawyer is possible (a short talk on that here).
6. Assumptions are dangerous. Be careful when relying on an assumption about an answer, what a client wants, what someone implied or how long something will take to prepare. You'll get experience over time but until then always be wary about assumptions.
7. Own mistakes. Yes they will happen. Acknowledge them and apologise and learn from them, but then move on and don't let them drag you down over and over by playing on an internal repeat loop. I once emailed a "reply all" by mistake that went to 8,000 people! When I interviewed Michael Mayell for seeds podcast here he described mistakes as the compost from which success will grow. I really like that.
8. Relationships are key. Think of it like a spiderweb where we are all interconnected in some way – everyone in that web has value and one day you may be able to help them (or they could help you).
9. You are a leader. Think of yourself as a leader right from the outset because you are – at the very least lead one person, yourself. So start there and that mindset will help you grow and contribute…
10. Have fun. I started my career in 2001 so have been doing this a while. It's important to not let the pressure of work outweigh the having fun part . . .

What advice would you have for a new grad starting in your role? I'd like to know!

[email protected]

Raesha Ismail has grown up with multiple identities and we discuss her life story on this episode. Born in New Zealand but with strong connections back to India and being a Muslim has meant many rich cultural influences on her journey. What is it like to grow up in Christchurch? And what are the type of questions we should be asking others we meet who might not fit a neat box? We also talk about her work today as a counsellor, the loss of her brother in the March 15th attacks, and how that led her to join the Sakinah Community Trust which is a woman led charity of widows and others who lost siblings or parents and who are doing good work on uniting communities. Check out their upcoming events to mark the anniversary. This is one of almost 300 episodes so check the others out at www.theseeds.nz

Sakinah Community Trust: https://sakinahtrust.org/

Counselling work: https://canmen.org.nz/counselling/

https://www.petersgate.org.nz/counsellors

The Big Sick trailer we discussed: https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=cLM5DdUhkoM

For more interviews visit www.theseeds.nz

James Stewart founded Gemelli Consulting to work on impact focussed projects. In this interview he shares his personal journey, from being challenged about how he would use his privilege early in his life and the change that resulted ad led to seeking out purpose. We also talk about his unusual business model – profits get given away. Finally we talk about a white paper he has just released which is focussed on the housing crisis and one possible solution to that. I enjoyed this conversation and if you do as well check out some others at www.theseeds.nz

White paper: https://www.gemelliconsulting.com/white-papers/

Gemelli Consulting: https://www.gemelliconsulting.com/

In this converation with the Christchurch City Missioner Matthew Mark, we find out about his background and motivations as well as the work they do with the homeless and others in need. That is a lot more people than you might think. Matthew also shares about his own background and why this work is so important to him, and how we can support what they do.

Christchurch City Mission: Christchurch City Mission

For more interviews visit www.theseeds.nz

This is a very short 5 minute excerpt of the conversation with Nobuko Okamoto about Kintsugi, the Japanese art of repairing broken pottery using gold - we reflected on what it might mean for each of us and our lives and parts that might be broken.

"The thing that strikes me about this technique of Kintsugi is that if we think about our lives, so often there are broken parts in our lives - and it is easy to push them aside and say "I don't want to deal with that brokenness" or that pain or whatever it is. And the model that you are using is to say, "we can repair things and we can regognise that there is brokenness but that there can be beauty in the brokenness" - and by using Gold it is actually emphasising the places where the pottery was broken - and sometimes in our lives, well we don't want to talk about the broken things but in the same way we can be repaired, we can be fixed as well, and it can be something that even is celebrated, that it actually leads to some new life for this object ... or this person. It is a beatiful thing."

Facebook for more by Nobuko: https://www.facebook.com/nobu.kintsugi/

Photos by Nobuko Okamoto of work she has done - visit her instagram for many more amazing ones. https://www.instagram.com/nobu.kintsugi/?hl=en

For more interviews visit www.theseeds.nz

Nobuko is an artist who uses the Japanese method of Kintsugi to repair broken pottery. In this interview we talk about the process of doing that but also what it represents about us as humans as well. We also go into her background and life in Japan, being a professional snowboarder and what brought her to New Zealand as a teenager and then later in life as well. If you have any broken items of pottery that is special then she is the best person to reach out to! If you enjoy this conversation then have a listen to some of the almost 300 others in the back catalogue.

Nobuko Okamoto [email protected]

Instagram : nobu.kintsugi

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/nobu.kintsugi/

Stuff article: https://www.stuff.co.nz/life-style/homed/decor/300444143/the-slow-art-of-giving-broken-objects-a-second-life

www.theseeds.nz

Sid is part of the founding team of Neighbourhoods, which is focussed on the role of reputation in an online world. Before we talk about that initiative we dive into his past growing up in India, joining the banking system, abandoning that for several years including time at the Ghandi Ashram, thinking about the true meaning of wealth, finding that distributed ledger technology could be used to measure reputation and what Neighbourhoods is. I think it has real potential and am a supporter of the Project and have invested a small amount too. This is the longest of the interviews recorded because we talked about so many different topics - if you enjoy this style then make sure to check out one of the others in the back catalogue at www.theseeds.nz because there are almost 300 of them.

Website: Neighbourhoods | A design philosophy for Holochain hApps.

White Paper: White Paper v.1 - White Paper (neighbourhoods.network)

Twitter: Neighbourhoods (@Neighbour_hoods) / Twitter

The article on Captain Planet... Remembering Captain Planet, 30 years on | The Spinoff

Edmund Hillary Fellowship: Edmund Hillary Fellowship (ehf.org)

Index of topics

00:00 - Intro 02:40 - Childhood influences and cultural context growing up in India 10:04 - the impact of language on culture and communities 13:37 - the impact of neoliberalism and globalisation 21:57 - Discussing Caste system and impact 26:05 - first job in trading and experience 33:45 - Fissures in thinking about role of capitalism 38:24 - time at Ghandi Ashram and new paradigms of thinking from time there 55:55 - meaning of wealth and deeper thinking on this 1:04:02 - the implications of distributed ledger technology and ability to keep track of reputation 1:10:56 - Holo Chain and this enabling agency and new ways of social coordination 1:13:36 - some examples and tools Neighbourhoods provides 1:17:17 - what you need to create a Neighbourhoods Community 1:20:50 - plugging in and now and in the future 1:27:25 - impact of reputation on credit and accessing money 1:31:21 - comparison of Neighbourhoods to current social media platforms 1:34:03 - real world examples and scaleability of use 1:38:25 - Vision for future and how to define success 1:42:44 - Links to find out more 1:43:15 - reflections on the Edmund Hillary Fellowship

Nicola has recently been appointed as CEO of the Ākina Foundation so in this interview we find out all about the work they are doing in the area of impact. They have done a lot and continue provide many resources for those interested in the intersection of purpose, profit and business. We also hear about her life story and journeys across the world and in other roles. If you enjoy this then check out some of the hundreds of other interviews in the back catalogue.

Website: https://www.akina.org.nz

Earlier interview with former CEO Louise Aitken in November 2018 - interesting to hear how terminology has moved on since that recording too: https://seeds.libsyn.com/louise-aitken-on-akina-social-enterprise-and-being-a-twin

Joy co-founded One Mother to Another which is an amazing initiative providing handwritten notes and gifts to Mothers and carers in Hospitals going through a difficult time with a sick child. Their aim is to bridge the gap between 2 strangers and offer understanding and acknowledgement of their difficulty but mostly put a smile on their face and let them know they are cared about. Before we talk about that we also learn about her life story and what it has been like being a journalist on radio and television. I really enjoyed learning about her journey and am sure you will too - if you do check out their website below and don't forget there are nearly 300 other interviews as well for seeds.

Website: https://www.onemothertoanother.org.nz/

Ways to help: https://www.onemothertoanother.org.nz/get-involved/

www.theseeds.nz