A few weeks ago, my partner-in-everything Kate Frykberg facilitated an exercise with me to distill my core values. My main reason for wanting to do this was to achieve better clarity on my own internal reasons for deciding which work opportunities to pursue, which to decline, which to double down on, which to close down.

The bottom line is that time is a precious resource, and it’s helpful to have some measurement tools to figure out whether your activities are aligned to your values.

Here’s where we got to –

My vision: A world where people feel safe, confident, prosperous, loved and connected, and love what they do.

My Kaupapa

• Spirituality
  • I express gratitude for the world and people around me
  • I approach my activities purposefully and mindfully
  • I seek personal growth in my daily life
  • I take space and time to reflect and nurture calmness
  • I organise my activities so as to have an appropriate level of energy and attention to apply to them
  • I treat criticism and setbacks as information, and use them to improve

• Applied goodness
  • I seek to do good in my daily life
  • I am honest and authentic. I call out others who are not, in a contextually appropriate way.
  • I try to make people around me feel good about themselves and the world
  • I facilitate others to achieve their full potential and goals, and be forces of good in the world themselves, through encouragement, sharing resources, inspiration, role modelling
  • I try to help others when they are in need
  • In a team, the whole is greater than the sum of the parts. I recognise the strengths of each person in the team, and work to maximise the value of each person’s contribution.
  • I seek, explore, and value the wisdom of others, especially when their point of view is different than my own

• Acting on foresight
  • I am always learning
  • I try to keep up with current developments in my fields of interest, and the world in general
  • I look for opportunities that are not recognised by others
  • I explore and push boundaries, and what happens when constraints are removed or unlike things are thrown together.
  • I am inspired by others, especially when they have worked hard to succeed or fail at achieving a goal.

• Building
  • I take a constructive approach
  • I like solving problems, and creating order from chaos
  • I aim to make things more valuable through my actions
  • I get joy from “making things go”, especially through programming

• Validation
  • I like presenting ideas and inspiring people
  • My activities build my mana
  • I get fulfilment from achieving goals, but really enjoy life’s daily little triumphs.

Expertise

• Investment
• Early stage companies
• General tech
• Governance
• Internet
• Software development
• Mentoring
• Writing
• Lexicography
• Innovation methodologies and practice
• Research
• Public speaking
• Bush legal

Personal strengths

• Relationship management
• Networking
• Integrity
• Working with diversity
• Fast learner
• Adaptable
• Analysis
• Empathetic
• Long term thinking
• Action oriented

Weaknesses

• Impatient
• Detail
• Paperwork
• Singlemindedness
• Can jump to conclusions
• Challenge authority
• Can be intimidating
• Overcommitted / bad at saying “no”