Seeds

In this conversation with Michelle Berriman we hear about her purpose driven work, her fascinating background and what has led her to New Zealand.  We also talk about a report that the Fundraising Institute of New Zealand have just released prepared over two years on giving, wills and bequests (downloadable here ) called 'New Zealand's Willpower'.   Her bio: Michelle has been causing disruption an...

Stephanie Defregger is a photographer who captures stories and the essense of a person through her photos.  In this interview we discuss her background and growing up in Munich, her move to New Zealand and her work as a photographer.  We particularly discuss storytelling and the role of photos as well as the significance of certain 'thin places' where each of us feel connection and grounding.  I r...

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 steven@theseeds.nz ... Our speakers are: - Sue McCabe the CE of Philanthropy New Zealand  | Tōpūtanga Tuku Aroha o Aotearoa wi...

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 Judit...

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 abo...

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 whi...

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: Christchur...

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...

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...

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 m...

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 che...

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 tal...

Welcome to the audio version of the White Paper that you can download here: " The Decentralised Revolution: Understanding the potential of Blockchain, DeFi, Crypto, DAOs, NFTs and the Metaverse to drive innovation, creativity and new paradigms ". You can download the paper here: https://theseeds.nz/the-decentralised-revolution-white-paper/   Know anyone who might like to see a copy? Sparked by the...

This is a short story I wrote to encourage us when we lose sight of the value of what we are doing.   The printed version is at The Empty Square here: https://www.theemptysquare.org/stories/the-apple-tree Thank you Julie Holck and Simon Glinvad Nielsen for publishing this and other writing.  Check out their site for a lot of great content. If you like this then would you consider sharing it with s...

Oonagh Browne is an expert in Chocolate and Cacao.  In this conversation we hear about her childhood in Ireland, her moving to different parts of the world, her feeling on arriving in New Zealand, first experiences with making chocolate and why she started The Cacao Ambassador.  We find out a lot about chocolate and cacao as well!  Find out more about her work here https://www.thecacaoambassador.c...

Oonagh is an expert on Chocolate and Cacao.  In this conversation we hear about this topic as a preview of the full episode which will come out next.   Find out more about her work here https://www.thecacaoambassador.com/

Kirsty Allott is an expert in human resources, personality and job satisfaction.  In this interview we talk about all of that and more but start with her background and love of dance.  We then talk about psychology and her own career transition which was sparked by a manager asking if she was happy.  Since then she has worked in human resources and helping people with their careers and navigating...

Kirsty Allott is an expert in human resources, personality and job satisfaction.  In this extract of the full interview we talk about the questions we each should be asking about our Jobs.  For resources mentioned they are at Vargo + Lewis: Vargo+Lewis - Empowering Performance Together   For more interviews visit www.theseeds.nz  

Audio book version of the newly released " Laying Foundations for Reimagining Business: Essays ".  For more information on print copies, downloadable PDF and comments about the book visit: Laying Foundations for Reimagining Business: Essays – seeds (theseeds.nz) Would you be willing to share the link with others?  A message could just say this and if you tag me I will like and comment! Check out t...

This is a short bonus episode with the audio of an article I co-wrote with Louisa Taylor - it arose after she gave a talk that I attended about lawyers hindering innovation so it was fun to collaborate on this with her and prove that collaboration can result in good things! The stuff article: https://www.stuff.co.nz/business/prosper/advice/300335515/how-agile-contracts-can-promote-project-innovati...

Alina is an impact storyteller who has just released a book about the power of story.  She first appeared on seeds for episode 143.  In this shorter follow episode 279 we catch up with her to find out about the book she has released called A Future Untold: The power of story to transform the world and ourselves . Check it out at the links below. Website:  www.alinasiegfried.com Earlier interview f...

John joins the latest impact sector call to share about The Cause Report which he is a co-author of for JB Were.  In the report there is an analysis of the For Purpose sector with data on charities analysed to look for trends and insights.  The sector John is the Head of Philanthropy for JB Were and tells us about what this is and key conclusions that result.  The impact sector calls are held ever...

Melanie has a focus on preserving indigenous knowledge and highlighting the importance of mātauranga Māori and using that understanding to meet environmental challenges we face today.  Her expertise in biodiversity and driving environmental outcomes are underpinned by an indigenous worldview.  In this very wide ranging conversation we discuss all of that as well as colonialism and decolonisation,...

The truth about Hepatitis - what do you know?  In this interview Hazel takes us on a journey to understand her life and experience as someone who has been impacted by Hepatitis C but has found the cure which literally saved her life.  There is a lot of misinformation on this topic out there so I enjoyed hearing first hand from someone about this topic.  We also dive back into her early years to le...

This was fun.  Elle Archer, Sina Cotter Tait, Tim Jones and Michael Phillpott joined me for an online seeds podcast unlike any before.  Each of them shared one leadership myth they have seen and we had some discussions about what they shared.  A key theme came through of lifelong learning.  If you enjoy this then why not share with others?  And check out earlier episodes with them below.  www.thes...