Change Ventures 2014 - Day 10
Today’s Quote
The desire to create is of the deepest yearning’s of the human soul. ~ Dieter F. Uchtdorf
What We Did
Last week students were asked to create an email survey to be sent to 5 close friends/family asking for feedback on a set of questions about the sender’s character, strengths and areas to work on. After this morning’s check-in, students shared some of the responses they’d received and reviewed how these compared to their own reflective takeaways during Break Down week. Next, we were happy to have visiting guest Tom Huges pop in and share with the group his three year journey since breaking away from a career in law and moving to Bali. Our next guest was Inspirational Speaker Lizi Hamer - lifeguard, triathlete and design thinker and graphic designer - who led an interactive session on storytelling. After lunch, students had the rest of the day to work on their homework and book office hours with Grace/Solonia and one-on-one sessions with Lizi.
What We Observed
- Many students were surprised by the number and depth of survey responses they received, as only one student from the group had done something like this before. It was clear that students felt appreciated and supported and it was heartening to hear one student remark that he’d never thought to engage his family members in his personal or entrepreneurial journey.
- We were fortunate to have Tom drop in and agree to an impromptu sharing session. In following his journey of running multiple things through streamlined collaboration and SOP structures, students learned the value of creating systems for managing people and operations.
- Students were fully engaged in Lizi’s talk as she shared some of the quirky brands and powerful campaigns from her body of work as well as helpful tips and frameworks for impactful storytelling.
Key Takeaways
- Sending a short survey to close friends, family or colleagues is a great way to gain insights to how others perceive you and how this compares/contrasts to your intention, projection and self-awareness. In today’s world of hustle and bustle, we seldom take the time to reflect on ourselves and engage those who know us well in these explorative assessments. When we do this, we can uncover areas for improvement and further development while reaching new heights of self-awareness.
- Most of us wear multiple hats - at home, at work, with friends and with our families. We subconsciously confine the scope and topics of conversations we have in these situations to what we think best fits the context. Particularly in Asian cultures, divulging our fears, uncertainties and dreams is not always common practice at the dinner table. And in Western cultures, revealing our true thoughts and feelings is seldom welcomed in a work setting. In cultures and societies where ‘being appropriate’ and ‘putting on your game face’ are emphasised, how do we reconcile our true selves with our environment?
- Both Tom and Lizi’s talks left the group - myself included - much food for thought. As we work to build things faster, bigger and better, how can we optimise systems and processes to work smarter? And when we do deliver, how can we tell the great story of our good work in a way that is engaging, inspiring and impactful?
