The Future of Work Blog

Coworking Gold Coast Kick-off

It's time to move from talk to action as the formal co-creation of Hub Gold Coast kicks off!

You are hereby invited to contribute to the process and be a part of the Hub Gold Coast community from the start of the journey which will kick-off on October 3rd. The community building will last for at least six months of catalysing connections and curated peer-to-peer learning experiences in the lead-up to the opening of an awesome coworking, innovation and learning space at the start of 2013.

The event is on 3 October from 6.00pm to 7.30pm at Gallery One, 107 Ferry Road, Southport.

The aim of this ideation session is to:

1. Create the space for the direction and founding membership of Hub Gold Coast to emerge. 
2. Enable Hub Gold Coast community building across sectors, disciplines and generations. 
3. Participate in an active learning experience of Crowd-Share Innovation.

Refreshments will be provided and there will be lots of time for networking and connecting with Gold Coast innovators of all walks of life as well as guests from Sydney and Melbourne.

Register here

http://cocreatehubgoldcoast.eventbrite.com.au/

I hope you can make it and look forward to sharing this exciting journey.

Libby Sander

CEO & Co-Founder

Hub Gold Coast

First Co-working space on the Gold Coast opening soon

 An award winning residential community on the Gold Coast in Queensland will be the first co-working space on the Gold Coast.  Not just a great place to live, Sphere will be the first residential community in the world to offer a dedicated co-working space exclusively for residents. 

Due for completion in March 2012 and designed by Coworking Activist Libby Sander, InSphere will incorporate a convenience store kiosk, a suite of concierge services, a café and a business co-working centre.  In the heart of the Gold Coast Health and Knowledge precinct and right alongside the 2018 Commonwealth Games Village, InSphere is a bespoke innovation hub for the residents of Sphere.

In line with global shifts in the future of work, the concept for the co-working space borrows the best from a members’ club, the infrastructure of an office, the stimulus of an arts centre and the comforts of home to create a new type of workplace which facilitates increases in agility, productivity and competitiveness for business.

InSphere is designed to inspire, connect and empower people to realize enterprising ideas, a space with all the tools and trimmings needed to grow and develop business, to retreat, relax and to think.  We have lots of ideas in the pipeline –  great events that offer ideas on better ways to work and live, a café where you can get truly good coffee, a glass of wine or take home a meal from one of the Gold Coast’s up and coming chefs produced just for us. 

A space for meaningful encounters, exchange and inspiration, full of diverse people doing amazing things.  A place that is locally embedded and globally connected – the future of work and living.  Libby is also heading up a project for a second co-working space for the Gold Coast also opening in 2012.

For more information contact Libby Sander at libby@libbysander.com.

 

 

AIM Thought Leaders Breakfast Brisbane

High level, thought provoking sessions designed to challenge and inspire your thinking

Next Session: Tuesday 5 October 2010 , AIM Management House

Have you been to a Thought Leadership Session yet?

Thought Leadership is radically different from top-down leadership; it is about the willingness to explore new ideas and concepts in the pursuit of a better way of doing things in business.

The concept of thought leadership was attributed in 1994 to Joel Kurtzman, editor in chief of Strategy and Business Magazine. He used the term to describe leaders who had contributed new thoughts to business.

Book now to join other managers and contribute to the information, insights and ideas generated and shared at these small and intimate sessions, facilitated by an established Thought Leader.

AIM is proud to announce that October's Thought Leader is Libby Sander FAIM.

The scale and nature of work is shifting rapidly, applications for the iPad are making many businesses redundant and it's more and more challenging to out-imagine the competition. How do you create uniqueness and positioning in the new global landscape?

Thought leadership is about asking different questions, questions that lead to fundamentally different results.

At this session, attendees will explore ideas around uniqueness and positioning across three dimensions:

• The environmental/ecological perspective
• Sustainability of business models
• Sustainability around your personal brand and career
• A compelling opportunity to advance your thinking and impact

About the Speaker
Libby Sander FAIM

Libby Sander FAIM is passionate about creating better business. An organisational ecologist and Thought Leader specialising in the future of work, Libby works globally re-thinking and redesigning business for dramatically different outcomes.

With nearly 20 years experience working in a wide variety of corporate settings, Libby's expertise has seen clients achieve double digit productivity increases and have added seven figure sums to capital.

Described by clients as exceptional, compelling and inspiring, Libby will show you how to turn trends, theories and ideas into pragmatic solutions that actually work.

Event Details

Date:	Tuesday 5 October 2010
Time:	7.00am to 9.00am
Venue:	AIM Management House  Cnr Boundary & Rosa Sts Spring Hill
RSVP:	Monday 4 October 2010
Cost:	$44.00 AIM Member $55.00 Non Member
Bookings:	book online or call 1300 882 895

Libby featured in Gold Coast Bulletin

Click the link below to read the article on Libby and client Net Effects in the Gold Coast Bulletin business section.

Download Gold Coast Bulletin

What's the big idea? Business Inspiration

 

 
 If the prospect of work on a Monday leaves you cold, maybe it's time for a new gig.  In the first edition of Monocle Mediterraneo, a newspaper produced for the European summer as an anti-tablet idea by the team from Monocle, here are 10 things to think about before you dive in to that new idea.

1. Proceed with passion - love and believe in the idea - market research and metrics are no substitute.
2. Old is the new 'new' - there are many great heritage businesses out there ripe for revival and re-invention.
3. Be prepared to put in the hours - from drawing up a business plan to buying the coffee.
4. Branding goes a long way - make sure you know what you stand for and communicate this.
5. Aim big - a one-year plan is well and good, but also have a plan for world domination.
6. Make the world better - have pride and a belief that you're bringing something important to the market.
7. Have fun - if you're not enjoying it, don't expect your staff or customers to.
8. You're the small guy - so be footloose and adaptable.  Learn lessons, but never trade your core idea.
9. Build trust - you're making relationships for life so never under-deliver or disappoint.
10. Be focussed - know what it is that you do, and do it well.  You can only diversify from a solid base.

Commitment - Make a Stand

  

We all want our customers to be so in love with us that they are prepared to line up for hours or days for our new products like they do at Apple.  Or to want to work for us so badly that a resume is sent every 25 seconds like they do at Google.  The reality is that generating commitment in an organisation over a long period of time is tough to do.  We hear how we need to be creating movements and tribes of devoted followers, but some days it feels like an achievement if we can just get people to show up.

What is the magic that makes the difference?  Institutions, organisations, tribes or movements that are able to sustain commitment from their people over time are generally successful at doing one of two things – making a stand against something or fighting for a cause.  There is a third option of course – fear.   And while some organisations and managers might still try to operate out of this paradigm, the reality is that it doesn’t work. 

Tribes from the bohemians of the early nineteenth century through to hippies and rock and roll were all founded on the magic of making a stand or fighting for a cause.  Or both.  It’s a more elegant way of thinking about the idea of creating an enemy, mooted in the old leadership and organisational theory literature.

I once worked for a plaintiff personal injuries law firm.  As far as being a lawyer goes, this is a pretty tough gig.  The media and the public are not very enamoured of the practice area and the tag of ‘ambulance chaser’ is never far away.   It’s hard to attract staff and hard to maintain enthusiasm amongst a constant flow of negativity from media, colleagues, family and friends.

The firm however had an amazing culture, every employee felt part of a fight for the cause of justice and individual rights.  They recited speeches by the great US attorney Clarence Darrow.  They were phenomenal at building a culture of success around the stories of their work, of celebrating being in David and Goliath battles.  They fought some of the most high profile litigation in Australia.  They even formed an association with Erin Brokovich.

Is Apple making a stand for great design?  Is Google fighting for the cause of instant information access? Think about what your business does.  And then re-think it.  How are you making a stand or fighting for a cause?

Congratulations Leschen Smaller

Congratulations to my client Leschen Smaller who was appointed today to Partner at WMS accountants, the first female partner in the firm.  Leschen is a great thought leader and an inspiration to women in leadership.  A momentous day! 

 

Have you been to a Thought Leadership session yet?

Have you been to a Thought Leadership Session yet? Next Session: Wednesday 7 July 2010 l AIM Gold Coast AIM's Thought Leader Mentoring Series presents high level, thought provoking sessions designed to challenge and inspire your thinking. Thought Leadership is radically different from top-down leadership; it is about the willingness to explore new ideas and concepts in the pursuit of a better way of doing things in business. The concept of thought leadership was attributed in 1994 to Joel Kurtzman, editor in chief of Strategy and Business Magazine. He used the term to describe leaders who had contributed new thoughts to business. Book now to join other managers and contribute to the information, insights and ideas generated and shared at these small and intimate sessions, facilitated by an established Thought Leader. AIM is proud to announce that this month's Thought Leader is Libby Sander FAIM : Libby Sander FAIM is passionate about creating better business.  An organisational ecologist and Thought Leader specialising in the future of work, Libby assists create organisations that are agile, innovative and bring out the best in people.   With nearly 20 years experience working in a wide variety of corporate settings, Libby's expertise has seen clients achieve double digit productivity increases and have added seven figure sums to capital.  Described by clients as exceptional, compelling and inspiring, Libby will show you how to turn trends, theories and ideas into pragmatic  solutions that actually work. AIM Events Event Details Date: Wednesday 7 July 2010 Time: 7.00am to 9.00am Venue: AIM Gold Coast First Floor, Eastside 232 Robina Town Centre Drive, Robina RSVP: Monday 5 July 2010 Cost: $44.00 AIM Member $55.00 Non Member Bookings: book online or call 1300 882 895 Australian Institute of Management - Qld & NT cnr Boundary & Rosa Streets Spring Hill Qld 4000 PO Box 200 Spring Hill Qld 4004 Phone 1300 882 895 Fax 07 3832 2497  Gold Coast  Regional Partner

The Dark Side of Expertise - Take a Leap of Faith

Finding and owning expertise can often turn into a category or genre exercise and this is a challenge for many thought leaders.  What I do and what am I really great at are uncomfortable bedfellows against the vexing question of how this differs from other people or businesses.

Once we figure out what our deep expertise is, we often become so wedded to it that it’s difficult to define ourselves in any other way.  Sometimes we need the perspective of someone else to see things in us that we cannot see in ourselves.  This is often the case in the world of classical music, and for the high-brow, Juilliard trained artists of the grand art of opera.  As a result, many have been surprised by the recent release Dark Hope by the American darling of opera, Renee Fleming.  Encouraged to try a project worlds apart from the opera stage, producer David Kahne has worked with Fleming to produce a CD of songs by some of rock’s greatest songwriters.

The narrow interpretation of Fleming’s expertise is as an opera singer, but the core of it is a voice and intellectual sensibility that can produce the most astonishing music.  Instead of just doing ‘crossover’ where performers sing popular music in a classically trained style, on Dark Hope Fleming “wanted to bypass the middle ground and get to the other side of the divide completely”.  She sings in her speaking voice, two octaves lower than her soprano voice.

The middle ground should make us all nervous.  Staying within the lines means that we can be in danger of thinking the same way as everyone else and offering similar solutions to our clients.  If we are all reading the same books and watching the same talks, we are coming at problems in ways that can limit our thinking.

I am an organisational ecologist, a field that looks at how the planning, management and design of organisations impacts individual, team and organisational performance.  From an academic perspective, this is a relatively new and narrow field. 

While I need to immerse myself deeply in the research, my expertise has been enriched by so many different things that other academics would probably discard as irrelevant.  Some of these include riding Olympic level dressage, an Arts degree in Japanese and passions for sword fighting, Buddhism, truck driving and philosophy.  I get lots of ideas from magazines like Dazed and Confused.   I love wandering around fringe festivals and exhibitions and talking to people who don’t inhabit my world.  For me, all of these things are massively relevant to my field and I force myself to never settle on a boundary as to what ‘fits’ my expertise and what doesn’t. 

I am asked to design workplaces precisely because I am not an architect or formally trained as a designer.  I approach the work with different eyes, very different questions and fresh assumptions about what is possible and what will create the result the client wants.  How else might you define your expertise and apply it in new ways that re-invent possibility?

Don’t be afraid to think differently and seek everyday to do things that might enrich your expertise in surprising ways.  Blur the lines, be intellectually curious and have the courage to take risks, especially when you aren’t sure what the outcome will be. 

Fleming is a thought leader, claiming ground where few opera singers would dare to tread.  Being a thought leader demands you inspire others with your fire, soul and sheer originality.  Take a leap of faith, shun the middle ground and go to the other side of the divide.  No matter if you are a devotee of KD Lang or Jeff Buckley’s versions, or if you’ve never heard the song, it is difficult not to be transported by the application of Fleming’s expertise to Leonard Cohen’s Hallelujah.  A revelation indeed.

From article by Libby to be published in July edition of Thought Leaders Magazine.