Tag: work

Open Call To Play | Back On The Creative Market

Via the astonishing bleuje.com

The role I moved from NZ to the UK for wasn’t for me so am looking for new adventures—am a creative nomad hungry to add value in the world and I don’t do MUNDANE!

Here’s what I can do as a:

  • Speaker Coach : tutor leaders (1-2-1 & teams) in honing powerful spoken stories (in-person and online) via masterclasses in ‘purposeful storytelling’ (foundation and advanced learning experiences available, either half-days or full-days)
  • Creative Producer : consult and / or craft and deliver delicious learning experiences on a scale of 10 to 1,000 attendees with 5,000 people watching online plus do in-studio content creations like this
  • Speaker-for-hire : about the stuff I’ve done and am doing.

I’m driven to enable people find and have voice.

A fan of reaching beyond my grasp and taking others on that journey. About being bold and ambitious, shying away from business-as-usual and not being held back by fear or risk aversion (see Defining ROI | Exploring New Definitions).

Huge fan of working with people who know more than me and crafting space for them to shine. Collaboration is about combining skills in open spaces for people to shine and not dulling them because you have a lack (see People Are Awesome | The Hope Generator That Is TEDx).

When trying something new I look for those with pedigree and / or aligned successful processes, then either enable that person and get out of the way, or learn rapidly, to adapt / adopt via the evidence on show. Once experience is gained you can then iterate (see Crafting Creative Collisions | 100 Starts).

I spend a lot of time developing killer taste, curating tasty things and not being interested in good but in great. Maximising to excellence and surround myself with others who strive to ask / answer better questions (see CLNZ19 Talks Are All Live | Watch, Learn, Share).

I cherish difference. If that means you prefer drawing or moving as an expression of communication rather than just writing then I’ll do my best to protect that. Being inclusive means mentoring, celebrating, managing by doing, creating conditions for others to shine, to live in their story (see Wrapping Up Creative Welly | A Study In Human Intimacy).

One of the precious things I’ve learned in the last decade is that of self-respect. To challenge (always with kindness and politely) those who make you feel small and defend others without agency. If you don’t, toxic / muted environments bloom and those in “power” blame others for what they created (see Authority Doesn’t Come From Titles | Brave Leadership Summit 2023 Review blog post).

To illustrate, here are some highlights:

Check out the testimonials on the front page for a flavour of what people think about me.

So if anything sparks from above just holler at me via the contact page.

Published

#62 March 2024 | Monthly Digital Breadcrumbs

A bunch of things (which I added to my Tumblr) for your eyes and ears plus brain to spend time on (as no longer on Twitter).

READ

“Regulators and lawmakers fail to make any changes to proactively protect the public, while allowing crypto firms to advertise and recruit new customers who seem far more likely to wind up as victims of yet another collapse as they are to become the next crypto-millionaires. How many people will have to lose how much money before we stop believing the lies from an industry that has preyed on people’s trust and hopes for financial miracles, only to dash them on the ground in failure after failure?Bankman-Fried is going to prison, but nothing has changed.”

Sam Bankman-Fried is going to prison. The crypto industry isn’t any better for it | Sam Bankman-Fried | The Guardian

“Use of the arts in healing does not contradict the medical view in bringing emotional, somatic, artistic, and spiritual dimensions to learning. Rather, it complements the biomedical view by focusing on not only sickness and symptoms themselves but the holistic nature of the person.When people are invited to work with creative and artistic processes that affect more than their identity with illness, they are more able to “create congruence between their affective states and their conceptual sense making.” Through creativity and imagination, we find our identity and our reservoir of healing. The more we understand the relationship between creative expression and healing, the more we will discover the healing power of the arts.”

The Connection Between Art, Healing, and Public Health: A Review of Current Literature – PMC

“MSI Reproductive Choices (formerly Marie Stopes International) and the Center for Countering Digital Hate claim the platforms are restricting local abortion providers from advertising, but failing to tackle misinformation that undermines public access to reproductive healthcare. MSI, which provides contraception and abortion services in 37 countries, said its adverts containing information on sexual health, including cancer advice, had been rejected or deleted by the platform.”

Meta and Google accused of restricting reproductive health information | Global development | The Guardian

“A study published by a team of international researchers last month found that gravity batteries in decommissioned mines could offer a cost-effective, long-term solution for storing energy as the world transitions to renewable power. Scientists from the International Institute for Applied Systems Analysis (IIASA) found that the world’s abandoned mine shafts could store up to 70TWh of power – roughly the equivalent of global daily electricity consumption.”

This disused mine in Finland is being turned into a gravity battery to store renewable energy | Euronews

“For many, it’s not just about recognizing a global issue but feeling a deep, personal impact on their mental well-being. Especially for those with a strong connection to their environment or homeland, this pervasive anxiety and distress manifests in unique ways. Such feelings can give rise to “solastalgia,” which refers to the dread originating from environmental change. Unlike nostalgia, which is a longing for a place or time in the past that one cannot revisit, solastalgia is the experience of distress from belonging to a home that is undergoing change.”

A Psychologist Offers 3 Tips To Deal With ‘Solastalgia’

“Scholars might call it a philosophical treatise. But it seems familiar to us, and we can’t escape the feeling that the first text we’ve uncovered is a 2000-year-old blog post about how to enjoy life.”

Vesuvius Challenge 2023 Grand Prize awarded: we can read the scrolls! | Vesuvius Challenge

WATCH

EXPLORE

Curated list of games no betterverse.be to help you think critically and imaginatively about the future of society, and collectively imagine brighter tomorrows.

Love the way this muzzleapp.com demonstrates the problem it’s going to solve (see notifications examples on the right hand side of the screen).

Starting a couple of new projects soon and always good to get some inspiration from onepagelove.com.

Want to practice your typing? typelit.io does that for free, online, and gets you to type out classic books.

morss.it creates RSS feeds from websites and a whole lot more, check it out.

ambient.garden is an algorithmic audio landscape.

All monthly digital breadcrumbs posts.
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Back To Europe | Free Slots For Extra Gigs

Who’s around in February 2023 and wants some professional development for public speaking?

At the end of the month I’ll be back in the valleys spending time with my immediate family again plus old friends. Will then be delivering more of my masterclasses for some clients and then be off to mainland Europe for more exploration.

I have the following dates available:

  • South Wales: Friday 3rd Feb
  • London: Mon 6th Feb (afternoon) + Tue 7th Feb (morning)
  • Dublin: Friday 10th Feb
  • Munich: 16&17th Feb
  • Berlin: 21st Feb

Here is the blurb for my ‘Purposeful Storytelling’ beginners masterclass (there’s also an advanced one as well if you need it):

Public speaking is a skill set which can be nurtured and developed. When combined with a range of storytelling techniques it provides a powerful strategy which is guaranteed to have a positive impact on achieving communication which resonates. This half-day OR full-day session, for up to 12 leaders, will cover:

– Why nerves are your best friend
– What personal qualities to amplify
– Where TED/TEDx gets it right / wrong
– Which body language techniques resonate
– How to engage the audience from passive listeners to active participants

The above can be delivered also as a stand alone talk of about 75mins (which includes Q&A) and there’s no limits on attendee numbers for that. Great for a ‘lunch & learn’ session with the teams to kick off a year of professional development. Happy to also explore some 1-2-1’s as well on crafting great presentations plus delivering them with style.

If you haven’t seen my in action before check out the recent TEDx talk which went live last month (December 2022):

Let me know via the contact form if any of the above is of interest and looking forward to discussing it further. Here’s to another adventure of the spirit / heart.

Published

Intersecting Influences | Looking For Collaborating Opportunities

Throwing a request out in the universe.

There’s a great essay by Alan Moore on the creation of “V for Vendetta” where towards the end, he outlines the preciousness of true collaboration:

“V is something that happens at the point where my warped personality meets David’s warped personality, and it is something that neither of us could do either by ourselves or working with another artist or writer. Despite the way that some of the series’ admirers choose to view it, it isn’t “Alan Moore’s V” or “David Lloyd’s V.” It’s a joint effort in every sense of the word, because after trying the alternatives, that is the only way that comics can ever work. There is absolutely no sense in a writer trying to bludgeon his artist to death with vast and over-written captions, any more than an artist should try to bury his writer within a huge and impressive gallery of pretty pictures. What’s called for is teamwork, in the grand tradition of Hope and Crosby, Tate and Lyle, Pinky and Perky, or The Two Ronnies. Hopefully, that’s what we’ve got.”

Read the whole essay here

So:

CAN YOU HELP?

Am hungry to COLLABORATE with good humans & BUILD audacious things – and looking for opportunities which have a DK-shaped-opportunity in their current operations.

I excel at:

  • making the complicated simple (see my ‘creative producing’ work)
  • aiding people to find their voice (see my ‘speaker coaching’ stuff)
  • achieving creative excellence (see my TEDxWellington & Creative Welly offerings)!

I craft actionable strategies in the intersecting creative arenas plus spend my time delivering upon them as well (not just directing).

Have worked on five continents, been in the tech space, worked at senior level of local government, delivered for central government clients, done events at scale with 6 figure budgets and thousands of people plus also at cost at the 1-2-1 level.

Am also open to this being in any part of the world with large or small entities who share the values of creativity, kindness and aiming to make the world a better place.

Asking here where the community should already know me, what I’m capable of and also have an idea of what I should be doing with my life when I grow up :-)

Can you help / tag someone in / like or share the post (as then more people see it) / hit me up in DM’s to explore further, please?

Below are my top five strengths from the CliftonStrengths assessment I recently completed:

For a fuller picture of me and my pedigree click here—thanks in advance for your time!

The above is posted on LinkedIn yesterday.
Image credit.
Published

Work In Progress | Why Everything And Nothing Has Changed

WIP17 dk and sarb

24 hours out got invited to add my voice to the Work In Progress conference.

I followed my friend Kaila Colbin as she wonderfully made heads spin about the exponential growth in technologies using the Singularity University lens (and her role as Ambassador). My part was to continue the discussion with (another pal) and MC, Sarb Johal on stage for the 300+ attendees.

The main thrust of this section of the conference was digital disruption, something which for over a decade I’ve been delivering services around relating to social and digital media. And even with the newer concepts of AI, automation, big data etc. already shared, I mainly focused on the need for understanding the importance of creating work cultures which amplify curiosity, celebrate learning, plus cultivate audacity and exploration:

“The feedback we had about DK’s “Reflections” component was all extremely positive and people were talking about the Digital Disruption Topic late into the night whilst referring to the ideas he brought up, along with Sarb and the video presentation from Kaila as well – DK’s contribution certainly hit the mark.”
John Dow, Director of “Work in Progress – Wellington’s New Collar Future” Conference

Image credit / cropped

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New Zealand Is Calling | Land Of The Long White Cloud & Opportunity

adventure

Come on over.

Since arriving over five years ago, Aotearoa definitely feels like home.

Due to the international audience and network I’ve been luckily enough to accumulate over the years, here’s a couple of ways to get your bums over here, live the dream and add value to this progressive little nation:

Looksee Wellington

If you’re in the tech industry then *Looksee Wellington gives you no excuse to explore opportunities in the creative capital. If you’re free 8-11 May 2017 then hurry and submit your details to the site:

“…we’re bringing 100 of the best people we can find to fill 100 great tech jobs right here in Wellington. It’ll be four days of pre-arranged job interviews, meet-ups and exploration, with all flights and accommodation paid for. At the end of the week there’ll be offers to jobs you never knew existed in a place with a lifestyle you never thought possible.”

Edmund Hillary Fellowship

*Edmund Hillary Fellowship is the brainchild and result of the good work my pals at Kiwi Connect has been doing. Be sure to check the small print though as applications can set you back $850-$3,000 if applying from overseas (although this is cheaper than other visa routes):

“Global Impact Visas (GIVs) is an innovative new visa programme that aims to give visionary entrepreneurs, investors, and startup teams a platform in New Zealand to build, incubate and support ventures with global impact potential.”

Other paths

There’s the Traditional Visa Path which can be an expensive and sometimes lengthy route. Check out the skilled migrant category as definitely the most advantageous route.

There’s a few incubators and accelerators who I’m sure are open to overseas interest like: FinTech NZ, Mahuki, R9 Accelerator to name a few.

Oh and you can always buy your way in like Thiel.

*Looksee is not exclusive to overseas folks and will be taking applications from anyone outside the Wellington region and Edmund Hillary Fellowship is also taking applicants from NZ residents also.
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