Darren has worked for many years in the NGO sector and now assists organisations to maximize social impact through Direct Impact Group. In this interview we talk about his childhood and early years and career before he joined an NGO. We focus in particular on governance and impact and how you go about maximising social impact. We also discuss what he has observed over the years of working as the head of an NGO and now consulting to assist them. https://www.direct-impact-group.com darren.ward@dir...
Aug 18, 2019•59 min•Ep. 121
Bill Murphy is the founder of Enterprise Angels and of the Purpose Capital Impact Fund. In this episode we talk a lot about entrepreneurs, start-ups and impact investing. However, we also talk about Bill's life and what has led him to what he does today. If you enjoy this check out earlier episodes as there are more than 100 in the back catalogue. Video of the session after this with about 20+ people about the Purpose Capital Impact Fund: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m_qkLezg_o8 Video of this...
Aug 12, 2019•51 min•Ep. 120
This is a short presentation in Melbourne at the Charity Law Association of Australia and New Zealand (CLAANZ) annual conference. The topic was looking at private enterprise and business in the context of how they relate to charities so I shared some reflections on what is going on right now in the world and the fact that there may be a paradigm shift occurring. A lot of this thinking comes from doing this podcast and also from playing a small part in helping write this report: https://www.akina...
Aug 06, 2019•9 min•Ep. 119
Ian was the ambassador to Japan at the time of both the Christchurch and Tohoku earthquakes of 2011. In this interview we hear all about his childhood and what led him to the diplomatic service. We also find out about what he loves most about Japan and what it is actually like to be a representative of a country. These days Ian is involved in the Japan New Zealand Business Council so we also learn about that organisation. Japan New Zealand Business Council https://www.jnzbc.com For more content ...
Aug 05, 2019•55 min•Ep. 118
Bridget cares about the UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and founded social enterprise Bead and Proceed to highlight them. In this interview we find out about the SDGs as well as her own life story and journey including her work with the Student Volunteer Army, Global Shapers, working as a lawyer and time on the TV show, What Now. For some reason we also discuss a lot of memorable and inspiring quotes on this particular episode - it was great to welcome this self described "enthusiastic h...
Jul 30, 2019•59 min•Ep. 117
A short reflection. The text of this is here . What do you think? www.theseeds.nz Photo from Pixabay by suetot: https://pixabay.com/photos/barcelona-sagrada-familia-spain-3960591/
Jul 27, 2019•5 min•Ep. 116
Japanese decision making - how is it different? What can we learn? This is a short little presentation at the Canterbury Employers Chamber of Commerce on doing business in Japan. I lived in Tokyo and Osaka for 5 years and worked two of those years within a very large Japanese trading house so this episode contains some of the key things I learned. In particular, I talk about the concepts of Nemawashi and the Ringi system of decision making. Video of the talk is here: http://theseeds.nz/meanwhile...
Jul 23, 2019•18 min•Ep. 115
Hannah is a communications consultant and wordsmith who helps organisations focussed on impact to communicate their stories. She founded Ngātahi Communications and in this interview we find out about her childhood growing up on a remote high country farm, her early love of writing and stories, a special relationship with her great-grandfather, studying communication, the impact of the earthquakes and why she focusses on organisations creating positive impact. We also chat about her decision to s...
Jul 22, 2019•59 min•Ep. 114
This is a live panel discussion recorded 17 July 2019 in Christchurch at an event to answer questions about B Corps. In it we hear from 6 different people about their experiences either working for B Corps or looking to become one, as well as from Andrew Davies from B Labs Australia and New Zealand. The panellists are: Tim Jones, from Grow Good (Tim hosted and organised the event) https://www.growgood.co Andrew Davies, CEO of B Labs Australia and New Zealand https://bcorporation.com.au/about-b-l...
Jul 19, 2019•1 hr 17 min•Ep. 113
Israel has a clear sense of identity and purpose and we talk about what led to his co-founding the building company, home, which has a real focus on people and community and is an impact driven company. From his earliest years as a child growing up in the cult his Grandfather founded (now called Gloriavale) to time in the United States and Australia, working at PWC and co-founding IT companies, working in the movie industry, we talk about that and more along the way. What shines through in this ...
Jul 15, 2019•1 hr•Ep. 112
Glen's start-up Happy Cow Milk failed. That failure resulted in an outpouring of support - so he started again. In this interview we talk about his dreams and what went wrong, what happens when you admit defeat but then get even more support, the value of transparency in business, the impact of pursuing your dream on your family, the corporatization of farming today and what it means for the people and animals involved, moving from being a milk production company to becoming an IT company - oh, ...
Jul 08, 2019•1 hr 21 min•Ep. 111
Dave has been studying leadership and the key elements that make up a good leader. As well as that his focus is to understand stress and what that does to leaders, in both good and bad ways. In this interview we talk about his origins in Scotland, what brought him to New Zealand, his entrepreneurial journey and his work today. Dave has a new book coming out later this year so we get a bit of a previous of what sort of topics it is going to cover as well. Website: https://davesewell.nz The book i...
Jul 01, 2019•54 min•Ep. 110
Hayley-Maree is a counsellor and in this interview we talk about change, personal growth, addiction and moving forward in life. We also find out about her early years growing up on a farm where race horses were raised, overcoming trauma and grief and becoming a counsellor. We also chat about Aroha and Love after the events that have impacted Christchurch in the last 10 years. Website: https://www.hayleymareelittcounsellor.com Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/hayleymareelittcounsellor/ Hayleyma...
Jun 24, 2019•53 min•Ep. 109
This one is powerful - today we hear from Abdigani Ali and Osman Ahmed, who was one of those shot in the attacks in Christchurch in March 2019. I was due to interview Abdigani Ali about his initiative, the Canterbury Resilience Foundation, and Osman Ahmed came along as well from the Canterbury Muslim Community Trust, so I just decided to interview both of them. This is rare as normally I only talk to one person at a time. But they both have fascinating stories about being immigrants in New Zeala...
Jun 16, 2019•1 hr 3 min•Ep. 108
David is Dean of the University of Otago, Christchurch. His main research has been into infectious diseases and in this interview we discuss that research, his time spent living in remote Nepal for two years as well as the role of antibiotics and breakthroughs he is searching for. Link: https://www.otago.ac.nz/christchurch/index.html He is the co-leader of The Infection Group, the co-director of One Health Aotearoa, a Senior Associate in the Department of International Health at Johns Hopkins Sc...
Jun 03, 2019•1 hr 5 min•Ep. 107
Tech for Good? This is a panel discussion on that topic recorded just one week ago. We joined forces with Ian Wells (many thanks to you) from Canterbury Tech and hosted a Techweek 2019 session in the Parry Field Lawyers boardoom considering "Tech for Good" and what legal structures are best: charity? Company? Social Enterprise? Something else? After an intro from Kris Morrison (Partner at Parry Field), we heard from a range of panelists with questions facilitated by me and hearing the journey of...
May 27, 2019•1 hr 37 min•Ep. 106
Emily practised as a lawyer for many years and now assists both law firms and lawyers with thinking deeply about the work they do, and why they do it. This interview was recorded live in front of an audience of more than 100. We talk a lot about a commonly used word: "balance", and whether that is achievable, or not. We also talk about the idea that "your work is your love made visible" and how life could be more integrated with work, in a positive way. Emily shares about her own life story and ...
May 26, 2019•51 min•Ep. 105
This breakout session at the Philanthropy Summit 2019 deals with a very topical issue: The future of business in the "human economy" - but what is meant by that term and how does it all fit with social enterprise? In this session we got to hear from three leading experts each offering a unique perspective and insight on the state of play in Aotearoa, New Zealand. First is Louise Aitken the CEO of the Ākina Foundation, Christna Bellis from Thankyoupayroll and Shay Wright from Te Whare Hukahuka. C...
May 20, 2019•41 min•Ep. 104
The Philanthropy Summit 2019 was held for the last three days (15-17 May) at Te Papa with 500 attending. To celebrate getting to 30,000 listens of seeds podcast thought it would be great to release a session I was involved in about impact investing. I helped out with facilitating the Q&A time for this breakout session where close to 100 attended - recorded it all so that those not in the room could also listen to what was discussed. Impact investing represents a real vision for the future an...
May 18, 2019•1 hr 28 min•Ep. 103
Harv founded Collective Intelligence and in this interview we find out what that is and how it works. We also learn about his childhood, his family being torn apart by a murder trial, the impact of partial deafness, what it was like working as a Shepherd and then a farmer and his fluency in reading people's body language in groups. This is one of those interviews I love because we had so many different rabbit holes to go down. If you enjoy this style of interview and hearing about someone's life...
May 17, 2019•1 hr 23 min•Ep. 102
Oliver founded Medsalv 18 months ago and in this interview we hear about his entrepreneurial journey. We also find out a lot about the medical industry and single use devices and the amount of waste which goes to landfills. UCE and it's programmes for encouraging entrepreneurs is also discussed. Medsalv is a fantastic business approaching things in a unique way that combines profit and purpose as they seek to make health care more sustainable. www.medsalv.com Oliver's email: oliver.hunt@medsalv....
May 13, 2019•53 min•Ep. 101
This was not planned. Which makes it the perfect 100th episode as we always look for depth and meaning in unexpected moments. Justice Joe Williams got up to give the keynote speech at the recent Charity Law and Regulation conference held at Te Papa in April 2019 and rather than start straight into that topic he took time and instead reflected on the Karakia which had been said just before that, "Whakataka te Hau". I thought the description and explanation provided was really beautifully done as ...
May 08, 2019•12 min•Ep. 100
Do you remember being 6? Most of us have forgotten but it's important to try and recall sometimes. This episode may help a little as we hear from Isabel about what she enjoys in life and how she sees the world. What can adults learn from kids and what should they do less of? It's a great 99th episode with a unique perspective! For more episodes check out www.theseeds.nz
May 06, 2019•14 min•Ep. 99
Lauren loves mathematics and that shines through in this interview. She has worked for many years as a maths teacher and so I wanted to talk with her about her life and perspective on this as well as her work with the NZ Association of Maths Teachers. This podcast covers any topic that we want it too - variety and quality of story are the consistent principles! We first met almost 20 years ago when I was living in Wellington so it was great to be able to chat with Lauren about her life and what ...
May 01, 2019•59 min•Ep. 98
This is an audiobook of the report "Structuring for Impact: Evolving Legal Structures for Business in New Zealand" that was released 17 April 2019 (index of key sections is below). I am really proud to have been involved as one of the co-authors and wanted to provide a different platform for it be accessible on here for those who might listen but not want to read the whole thing. Grateful assistance on this was received from my wife Ellie Moe, who read out the quotes from those who were intervie...
Apr 24, 2019•2 hr 27 min•Ep. 97
Georgia is a changemaker, ex-lawyer and now CEO of Humanitix NZ, and she shares about building the world's first non-profit events ticketing platform backed by Google and Atlassian, the value of education and the power of community. In this interview we talk about her childhood, the value of community, the importance of vulnerability and being honest in her life and career. We also discuss her new role as the CEO of Humanitix which she began at the start of 2019 and we discuss the business model...
Apr 22, 2019•47 min•Ep. 96
Louise is the CEO of the Ākina Foundation and she spoke this morning in Wellington at the launch of the major new report: "Structuring for Impact: Evolving Legal Structures for Business in New Zealand". I really enjoyed the process of helping to co-author this report with a group of amazing people who are mentioned in this podcast. Please have a read of the report and help us share it to your networks too - it is about what the ingredients are to help empower business of the future here in Aotea...
Apr 17, 2019•19 min•Ep. 95
Yes, this is a very long episode! Have a listen to short intro to understand more but it is all the audio of more than 10 sessions at the two day conference "Future prospects for charity law, accounting and regulation" held 11-12 April 2019 at Te Papa and providing it all here so accessible to all those who were not in the room but would be challenged and empowered by the content. I was on organising committee and all of those on it wanted to make the content readily available to others through ...
Apr 16, 2019•9 hr 19 min•Ep. 94
Carolyn is an expert on the history of financial reporting - in this interview we spoke in front of a live audience of almost 200 at a conference held at Te Papa in Wellington on 11-12 April 2019. In this wide ranging interview we discuss the history of what might sound like a dull topic by jumping back in time ancient Egypt as well as fish hooks in colonial New Zealand and what has led to our current reporting standards. I have been on the committee organising this conference which brought arou...
Apr 15, 2019•28 min•Ep. 93
This bonus episode is all about impact and social enterprise in New Zealand. It was recorded on Friday 12 April 2019 as a live panel discussion at Te Papa. It was moderated by Steven Moe with Louise Aitken, CEO of Ākina Foundation, Professor Dana Brakman Reiser from Brooklyn Law School, Holly Norton co-founder and Chief Community Officer of Collaborate, Kay Maree Dunn, co-founder and CEO of Āhau and Andrew Phillips from Charities Services. The full audio from the conference will be released in a...
Apr 14, 2019•1 hr 5 min•Ep. 92
