The Story of WiFi - OzInnovation

One of the greatest Australian inventions, wi-fi technology was developed by a team of radio astronomers in CSIRO in 1992. The team comprised of Dr. John O’Sullivan, Mr. John Deane, Mr. Diet Ostry, Dr. Terry Percival, and Mr. Graham Daniels and worked extensively on the issue of radio waves bouncing off indoor surfaces and thus resulting in an echo distorting the signal. They resolved this problem by creating a fast chip for signal transmission during the echo thus leading to the invention of Wi-fi. This technology, now used by more than a billion people globally, has now become an indispensable part of our lives.

Link to other Oziinventions -https://leverageedu.com/blog/australian-inventions/

Joyous - HR tech company raises $14.5m to help build a culture of diversity equity and inclusion in the workplace?

The Wicked Problem 

“Organisations need to find a way of including all staff in decision-making and they need to acknowledge employee satisfaction and culture as key contributors to performance and those that succeed will outperform their competitors.” 

Says Mike Carden co-founder of Joyous 

“Employees want to tell their leaders about things that are happening to them, but there aren’t that many ways for them to do that outside of anonymous feedback, which immediately becomes someone else’s problem,”

The solution 

Joyous has raised $14.5 million from Square Peg, AirTree Ventures and Icehouse Ventures to build out its enterprise feedback software and enhance its machine learning insights - that will help track measure and reward employee engagement .

Joyous, is a tool that creates transparent conversations between managers and staff, directs them to relevant people within an organisation then layers a machine learning element to extract insights into how the company can achieve its objectives.

Mike Carden has done this before - and VCs back people! He founded  m HR software-as-a-service (SaaS) business called Sonar6, which was acquired by Nasdaq-listed Cornerstone OnDemand, in 2012.

Problems that need to be solved

How do multinational organisations cope with remote working across countries?

.

How can you track and measure how your team feels? 

How can employers use software to monitor where employees are and how they feel when they work remotely,?

Money use for 

The money raised will be used to hire  more data scientists to work with its large enterprise customers to further tweak how employee feedback can enhance business-wide decision-making.

Square Peg co-founder Barry Brott said.

“They’re building something of real consequence – giving workers a voice, and helping companies champion trust, action and autonomy,”

Other companies to look out for in this space 

www.rapidawards.com.au

https://culturalinfusion.org.au/

https://bbgforum.com.au/forum/diversity-equity-and-inclusion-forum/

Discussing Diversity Equity and Inclusion in the workplace

Lost your job or business? Where to from here ? 5 ways to move forward

Losing your job or business is scary, and the uncertainty of a secure financial future can make you feel hopeless. It can feel like you’ve been punched in the gut and are caught completely off-guard and you are thinking where to from here! 

An interesting stat is that the average millennial will have at least 17 careers over the course of their life - they need to treat these moves as an opportunity to learn and grow 

A fallout from the pandemic is that the economy and the future of work is changing and will eithereithereither

1. Lose their job - get retrenched - (maybe to a robot) 
2. Look for a change 
3. Lose their business 

It has given the employer, employee - and the business owner and leader an opportunity to make a change.! 

You may be retrenched tomorrow and your lump sum retrenchment looks amazing, or your Jobkeeper subsidy or grant may feel like a windfall - but let me tell you - it goes quickly !!!

It is super scary 

You are doing fine and boom - the next thing - - - - you do not know where to go tomorrow you are lost, confused and stressed about the future - your livelihood and way of life is in jeapardy!

Below are some 5 that you can help go forward

1. Get into the right mindset 

 Treat this time as an opportunity

 You will be hit with a flood of thoughts and emotions – anger, anxiety, sadness, hopelessness – these negative feelings can affect you and prevent you from pushing forward.

Do not veg in front of the TV or binge on Netflix or computer games and go down that rabbit hole 

By doing - by taking positive action  - will lead to more opportunities - Join a network group - with a view to connect, collaborate and grow  - work for a not for profit  - in an area you want to focus in - target your customers - and connect with them  - remember the motto (Gpwtwaygwyw) give people what they want and you will get what you want! Plan to get in front of your boss or ideal client base 

2. Treat finding a new job or business like a job  

• Look in newspapers,
•  online job boards , seek.
• Speak to friends and family
• Look to the  new- economy - Uber, Airbnb 
• Commercialise your hobby 
• What else? Share in comments below 👇🏻👇🏾👇🏿

3.  Don’t feel ashamed about applying for Centrelink or government support 

That’s why you pay your taxes. The cool thing in Australia is that no-one needs to starve! 

3. Analyse your financial situation and budget like your life depended on it! 

List your assets, liabilities - your income and expenses for the last 12 months 

 Only keep the bare essentials (food and shelter - and cut out the rest . 

Ask for a reduction in rent and potentially pause your mortgage payments. 

Avoid touching your super - and maybe look to have your insurances for need by super 

4. Re skill become a lifelong learner 

Take the opportunity to learn a new trade, profession  or business. Speak to Nexttech (www.Nexttech.edu.Au  or www.BSILearning.edu.au) (Message me and I will refer you)

Treat yourself as a lifelong learner . 

Did you know that every Australian has the ability to get up to $100k government loan - worth of accredited education - that only needs to be paid back when you earn more than $50k per annum. 

Make sure you do it with others - ideally in an area that you feel you can carve out your next career. Make sure you max out this opportunity!!!  

5. Get yourself a mentor and a coach or be part of a #bbgforum

Get them to hold you accountable - this will probably be your best investment (and in my view an essential payment) 

As my mother in law says - you’ve got to speculate to accumulate 

Remember - any change evokes the same feelings - by most people - and the one thing you can be certain about in life - is change 

Don’t just choose action - choose “the right action” 

Look at every cent you spend as a cent towards your survival, and every minute  you spend as a gold coin - toward getting back on your growth path 

Inspired by Smart Ways to Manage Money After a Job Loss

By Tracey Edmonds

Emma Sydney and the Transformation Forum

How do you prevent burnout at Crunchtime?

Thanks Nexttech Learning for pointing me to this great study of how great Army leaders prevent burnout during Crunchtime !

And we all know how “Crunch Episodes” often shapes your organisations culture -  results and behaviours during these times dwarfs the effects of other, “steady” times .

It’s well known that “cadets” and “professionals” of Firms, Consultancies and Armies work gruelling hours required in the final weeks before deadlines.

 “we call this Crunch Time”

If the success of the project comes at the cost of your teams mental or physical health and burn out -  is it worth it?

What is burnout?

Burnout is a bone tired , soul tired, heart tired kind of exhaustion 

Flavio Serapiao Andrew Hill and Boris Groysberg write a great article in the HBR about a research study identifying three interconnected behaviours that characterise effective leaders in the Army (link below) .

1. Be approachable and open,
2. Know the system and mission. 
3. Managing the risk between 1 and 2 - is the X factor that makes a good leader a great leader!!

1. What is Approachable and Open?

• Showing that you care - being empathetic
• Minimizing barriers between the leader and the team.
• Let the team know (through words and actions) that their voices matter.
• Effective listening 
• Be open to new ideas

2. Knowing the system and mission

• Be Crystal clear of the Mission, Vision, Values and Goals
• Understand the operations and tasks that are essential to mission success.
• Be technically competent to a high standard. 
• Know what they don’t know - and be able to fill the gaps 
• Get out to see what’s happening on the “factory floor”
• Understand the costs and consequences of operational decisions.
• Being able to see the big picture 

3. Balancing the risks between the mission and the people. 

A leader who never takes risks will never achieve victory - however if he is reckless with the lives under his or her command it will diminished effectiveness, decreased morale and discipline, and a higher risk of outright disobedience…… and potentially create “burnout”

How do you manage this risk and get your team to outperform at Crunch Time and more importantly prevent “Burnout”?

This is where the rubber hits the road, and what makes a good leader a great leader!!

Here are some cool tips

Before Crunchtime

1. Build loyalty and trust - invest in your people , building  commitment, loyalty, and ownership 
2. Align the team with the mission, vision and values . Look after the people - they will look after the mission 
3. Have activities to maintain morale and confidence during crunch. 
4. Have open lines of communication so that team members could signal problems.
5. Set clear goals, so teams can understand the bigger picture when a mission involves a significant potential sacrifice, creating shared understanding. 
6. Be prepared to put the team before their personal interest
7. Be obsessed with your team’s professional development. Continually upskill and reskill your team
8. Make mental health a priority. Make it clear that seeking mental health support is not a sign of weakness.

During Crunchtime

1. Set aggressive but achievable goals. Learn from your team’s failures, and provide feedback to address their development gaps.
2. Share the burden and be a part in the team’s sacrifice.
3. Keep open lines of communication. Be transparent and keep them updated 
4. Don’t put your personal interests over the team’s.

A leader’s ability to balance the risks of mission and to people is key to success

Here is the link to the article 

https://hbr-org.cdn.ampproject.org/c/s/hbr.org/amp/2021/09/managing-through-crunch-time-without-burning-out-your-team

AIIA shares the opportunity for Australia to be a Major Player on the World Stage - through Technology

It’s an exciting time to be on the technology and innovation space in Australia and the AIIA have prepared an 83 page report suggesting a roadmap of how Government can support the #nexttechrevolution.

The importance of Learning, Reskilling and Upskilling is weaved throughout this whitepaper 

The Opportunity 

Investment in innovation and technology  is giving us - as a nation -  a transformative opportunity that is a game changer - and for us to take advantage of this - we need to change our mindset and change the way we and others view us - With  our size location a strategic advantage! 

We need to not only focus on the research and R&D - but also on the commercialisation of the technologies and research that we undertake! 

Those that drive technology innovation and commercialisation at the core of their strategies will win and it is key for Australian Government to continue backing tech innovation to stay ahead of the curve

We are at the start of a great trajectory 

 It is pleasing to have ScoMo (our Prime Minister) stating as a major economic and policy goal for Australia to be a leading digital economy by 2030 - with a $1.2 billion Digital Economy Strategy. 

And the NSW Government investing $2 billion in its Digital Restart Fund with Victor Dominello leading the charge !

Venture Capital investing has shown some significant returns with over 20 unicorns being created over the past few years!

It is a start - And I am sure there is a lot more to come! 

Government Support 

Government  have acknowledged that 

• Recognising that digitising the economy is critical to our national success;

• Increasing the R&D tax incentive and introducing a patent box;

• Appointing a Minister for the Digital Economy;

• Funding a National Freight Hub;

• Investment in digital skills; and

• Investing in cyber security resilience

The  AIIA suggested the areas of focusing the following areas - and this whitepaper  recommendations of what the government can do in each of these areas

• health, 
• manufacturing, 
• agriculture, and 
• digital government ; 
• AI, Quantum, digital engineering, 
• industry incentives and 
• cyber security.

(mining and oil and gas and renewables not mentioned - not technologies as it relates to renewables )

How government is and can continue supporting the digitisation of the country

• Being intentional in supporting technology in growth areas
• Supporting  the creation of industry hubs
• incentives such as commercialisation australia and entrepreneurs programme, RDTI and export grants - supporting Australian technology innovators are supported to thrive, not just survive, through a strong shift from a research driven agenda to one of commercialisation.
• Supporting the building of skills - specifically a focus of microcredential skills and accreditation

Some of the players in the AIIA

 • Bridget Tracy, AIIA NSW Council

 • Ron Gauci, AIIA

• Ramah Sakul, SAP

• Peter Anstee, CyberCX

• Ashok Mysore, Infosys

• Kristina Kipper, KPMG

• Anna Phan, IBM

• John Mackenney, Adobe 

• Ben Peterson, IBM

• Michelle Frazer, DB Results 

• James Jackson, Accenture 

• Simon Bush, AIIA - simon@aiia.com.au.

• Dr Tim Mumford - Infrastructure Australia

• Marie Truelove - CSIRO Data-61

• Dr. Ian Oppermann - Chief Data Scientist, NSW

• Adam Beck - Smart Cities Council, Australia & New Zealand

• Dr Graeme Kernich - Frontier SI

• Teresa Scott - Australasian Procurement and

Construction Council

• Dr Tim Smyth - Adjunct Professor, University of Technology Sydney

• Jordan Griffiths, Accenture

Here is a copy of the report 

 https://aiia.com.au/wp-content/uploads/2021/08/AIIA-Growing-Globally-Competitive-Industries.pdf

Aug 21 Transformation Forum with Emma Sidney

https://www.linkedin.com/posts/ivankayebsi_nexttech-bbgforum-leadership-activity-6833884824948891649-a765

Great chat file from today 00:25:54 Alister McDonald: https://www.linkedin.com/in/emmasidney/

00:26:48 Alister McDonald: https://www.linkedin.com/in/adam-hillary/

00:28:03 Alister McDonald: https://www.linkedin.com/in/alistermcdonald/

00:34:13 Craig Saphin: Its the political uncertainty - and the start stop for businesses

00:34:33 Ivan Kaye: be sure to comment on this link  https://www.linkedin.com/posts/ivankayebsi_nexttech-bbgforum-leadership-activity-6833884824948891649-a765

00:34:36 Craig Saphin: The rapid changing needs of clients

00:35:22 Rob Nankervis: The economy in stop/start mode where businesses can't get momentum.

00:35:50 Michael Bartura: Somewhat similarly to Alister, I often reflect that the leadership that has got us here, is not the leadership that will get us though the challenges are facing nw, and even more worryingly the ones are coming up the curb…

00:36:04 Ivan Kaye: Climate Change

00:36:08 Alister McDonald: Very well put Michael

00:36:22 Alister McDonald: Thanks Craig, Rob and Ivan

00:37:27 Ivan Kaye: What are your fears? The only thing you can change is your attitude - shit i going to happen… its your choice of how you are going to handle the situation

00:37:32 Rob Nankervis: Agree with Adam about personal agency - I've been working with some clients who are flying at the moment. We have big visions and they're working towards them however they can. Making their own momentum.

00:37:46 Bill McLellan: What got us here, wont get us there - Marshall Goldsmith.  Question is what does 'there' look like.  Solving this challenge, keeps me awake at times, conjuring up a future that is purposefully agile.

00:37:51 Ivan Kaye: How to handle the client - help them change their attitude - the choice of

00:38:11 Alister McDonald: Thanks Bill

00:38:12 Ivan Kaye: Market in flux and problems - that’s where the opportunities are

00:38:31 Alister McDonald: So a New Vision and New Leadership

00:39:22 Rob Nankervis: ... and to Emma's point its been a great reminder that we never were in control of everything. Some folks were just floating along on the rising tide rather than really driving their business

00:40:33 Ivan Kaye: am putting gems on linkedin https://www.linkedin.com/posts/ivankayebsi_nexttech-bbgforum-leadership-activity-6833884824948891649-a765

00:43:14 Rob Nankervis: Classic Covey challenge - 'I haven't got time to sharpen the saw, I'm too busy sawing'.

00:43:42 Adam Hillary: Absolutely Rob

00:44:29 Ivan Kaye: 💥 Alister McDonald 💥 how important are processes - if you can systemise you can scale.... some business owners dont want to be business leaders - they just want to focus on what they do well .....  if you can tke the shit away from the entrepreneur and let them focus on what they do well.... magic will happen

00:44:50 Rob Nankervis: I also get business leaders to first focus on what to detonate before they automate. Pointless to do some something better/faster that shouldn't be done at all.

00:45:47 Ivan Kaye: Its not easy to find a partner that you can grow a business with

00:45:54 Ivan Kaye: the art of delegation

00:46:15 Ivan Kaye: welcome @ben

00:46:51 Bill McLellan: Could being kept awake at night be 'an owners attempt to view the business from the balcony'?

00:47:24 Alister McDonald: A great perspective Bill. Not conscious, however intuition’s attempt to wake us up

00:48:19 Emma Sidney - Sales and Marketing Integration: I love that idea Bill

00:49:14 Ivan Kaye: HOw invested in you in empowering your people - a key to success is to empower your team .... delegate and then jumping in to try and solve the problem - is disempowering?

00:49:33 Adam Hillary: Yes - that makes sense. That drowsy half sleep can provide insights.

00:49:42 Ivan Kaye: Who is SG?

00:49:45 Rob Nankervis: If leaders won't delegate I ask if thats because of the other person (not capable/trusted), or because of them (ie: can't let go).

00:50:02 Cassandra Parton: Growing people and providing them a career path, empowering them is more important now than ever. Hiring people is hard, but retaining people is an art. Without opportunity, growth and a culture of support and empathy, good people will leave.

00:50:44 Rob Nankervis: Great point Al - they become the bottleneck in their own bottle!

00:51:32 Alister McDonald: Absolutely Cassandra!

00:51:53 Bill McLellan: The perfect vision in  the owners head becoming the 'perfectionist' - the roadblock of so much.

00:51:56 Michael Bartura: Bottleneck…. Love that Rob.

00:51:57 Alister McDonald: Bottleneck in their own bottle … I hope you capture all the comments Ivan. There is a book in it 😊

00:53:25 Emma Sidney - Sales and Marketing Integration: Are you the bottleneck in your own bottle?

00:53:29 Emma Sidney - Sales and Marketing Integration: Perfect

00:54:07 Michael Bartura: Peter Drucker - can’t manage what you don’t measure…

00:58:38 Michael Bartura: 80/20 and so on...

00:59:03 Alister McDonald: Thanks Michael. We removed our Pareto Principle slide ;)

01:00:23 Rob Nankervis: Remarkable how few leaders actually understand profit (what they even call it) and certainly there is little insight on profit by product or customer. So often they don't really know how/where they make money.

01:02:37 Rob Nankervis: Revenue is vanity, profit is sanity, cash flow is king (Alan Miltz)

01:04:34 Adam Hillary: Thanks Rob :-)

01:05:44 Rob Nankervis: Had a client with 200 SKUs - they found that 75% of profit was from 8 of them ... and they were on the cusp of building a new factory (to make yet more unprofitable products - ouch).

01:06:36 Emma Sidney - Sales and Marketing Integration: @rob so great that you caught that!

01:11:31 Bill McLellan: Any thoughts on a definition of Innovation?

01:12:19 Michael Bartura: Proust- "The real voyage of discovery consists, not in seeking new landscapes, but in having new eyes."

01:14:26 Bill McLellan: I like that Michael,  I use  "Change that adds value"  which could mean news eyes (mindset) for the whole business.

01:14:38 Rob Nankervis: A useful driver of innovation is to have a big stretch goal that can't be achieved with current processes, people, systems. If forces new thinking, especially when constrained with metrics such as GM/Profit to be achieved.

01:17:13 Michael Bartura: Yes Rob - Michael Neill talks about ‘thinking the impossible’ as a starting point.

01:21:02 Brian Fine: in current climate, should businesses focus on reduction of overheads[strategic withdrawal] or increasing overheads to drive revenues, for ultimate increase in profits?

01:21:22 Alister McDonald: Great question Brian.

01:22:50 Ivan Kaye: https://bsi.skillsoptimiser.com/BusinessHealth/

01:22:51 Rob Nankervis: Need to understand necessary v unnecessary costs. Are the expenses 'making our boat go faster' or are they actually a waste (on product, process, people that make no difference)

01:23:28 Alister McDonald: Yes Rob!

01:23:41 Alister McDonald: And the massive shifts right now are impacting what is necessary.

01:23:53 Adam Hillary: Nice one Rob

01:23:56 Alister McDonald: How many businesses do not need to pay commercial rent right now?

01:25:09 Bill McLellan: What profit margin makes sense for businesses taking on current risks in a 'volatile environment?

01:26:23 Alister McDonald: An intricate question Bill.

01:26:58 Alister McDonald: We’re seeing an opportunity to leverage support and the derisking options available right now.

01:27:29 Alister McDonald: We have options to suspend payment of overheads, leases, mortgages, etc, while also gaining grant money.

01:27:38 Alister McDonald: With little to no recourse.

01:28:57 Rob Nankervis: To Ivan's comment: If your outgoings exceed your incomings, your upkeep is your downfall.

01:30:01 Ben Howell: Also innovating to meet changing customer needs and removing roadblocks to more sales

01:31:41 Brian Fine: why is it the people who need the most help, do not know where to find it? How does a consulting business reach out to them?

01:33:34 Alister McDonald: That’s great Ben. Many of our customers are business owners too.

01:34:49 Alister McDonald: Brian, that is a great point and so many coaches/mentors/consultants maintain themselves and their skills as a ‘best kept secret’.

01:35:46 Alister McDonald: Perhaps this group could present as a community to the business world?

01:36:44 Rob Nankervis: At the smaller end they may traditionally rely on their accountant for 'advice' Brian. In my practice I don't even try to convert people who don't realise that they need help. Hopefully they get referred to a book or talk with a friend who's taken action. Often, though, it will be action driven by crisis.

01:36:51 Michael Bartura: Alister - we have been playing with the idea of a ‘virtual firm’…

01:37:39 Alister McDonald: I suspect you are spot on Rob. When business owners are kept awake every night it becomes painful enough to do something new.

01:39:22 Rob Nankervis: Reckon we've been think tanking already!

01:39:52 Alister McDonald: Yes! Capture the chat!

01:51:48 Rob Nankervis: Competency is around 'critical asset protection' rather than just the underground assets where the idea started. Great innovation.

01:52:55 Emma Sidney - Sales and Marketing Integration: Al has his hand up

01:59:44 Brian Fine: the opportunities now are to "partner" to speed up success!

02:01:36 Emma Sidney - Sales and Marketing Integration: Yes Brian, I think one of the most key activities for growth is to see what you can fulfil without adding infrastructure, then finding a company that adds value to your offering by fulfilling on that need.

02:03:02 Alister McDonald: Social Enterprise?

02:03:16 Alister McDonald: Community Enterprise?

02:03:16 Emma Sidney - Sales and Marketing Integration: Yes Al great term

02:03:43 Rob Nankervis: Only diff with NFP/social enterprise is that the profit is not distributed - it is re-invested

02:04:13 Alister McDonald: Enterprise suggests expansion

02:06:19 Rob Nankervis: Interesting moment in time when 'for profit' enterprises are trying to be more community focused, whilst NFPs are trying to get more commercial

02:13:32 Alister McDonald: Thanks for returning :)

02:19:37 Michael Bartura: Eisenhower — “Plans are worthless, but planning is everything.”

02:19:49 Adam Hillary: Fantastic