Why Am I Running "It's Not About You"?

It's part of Hack Miramar to be open source, transparent and inclusive - that comes from who it is and the people that make up the community*. To that end I have always thought that we should share the "how" we do things - not thinking for one moment it is better than others, THE way or even the best way, but most certainly "a" way.

I also have an experience in being parts of a few tech communities over the years, from agile, e-government, barcamps, open data, tech meetups and even the odd hackfest now-and-again. I've seen a trend in all of them.

So how to share my thoughts alongside Hack Miramar's experience?
Five ways:
  1. An open manual (most definitely a WIP)
  2. A series of workshops
  3. A video
  4. An online course
  5. A book
BUT why, what is the desired outcome from all of these things?

Some background ...

An attribute of all "movements" is that they are, initially, personality driven - there is a leader that stands up and proclaims a better world ahead, "Follow me!" And I love these people (might even be one). They show no fear, see no barriers and certainly know the right rules to break as they herd us all across the bridge to the greener grass on the other side.

BUT ... and there is a massive, huge, gigantic but. They are only people and they have lives to live, families to love, friends to hang out with and other passions to follow. When, for whatever reason, they move on from that particular calling more often than not the community stumbles and whilst the topic of succession planning is never uppermost in the thoughts of a loose collective it should be.


My "why to do this?": to arm community leaders (tech or not) with the tools to ensure their passions last more than they do. To enable people to take the "make a difference" spark and not just light a fire but grow a movement and make a difference outside their immediate circles, to give their community a chance of surviving them.

And that's why I call it, "It's not about you".


What will you get out of this programme, reading the manual or any of the follow-up malarkeys?
I trust you will get a solid understanding of why you want to do what you want to do, what that means to others, practical tips on running a lot of activities and how to ensure YOU can become an excited member (not leader) of your own sustainable community.

We all want to make communities we're proud to be a part of, it's just sometimes we have to be the spark go get it going first.


Join me in this adventure!

These initial sessions are priced $25/each and will all be held at The BizDojo, Wellington [map] as part of the ColliderWgtn programme

  • Monday 3rd April, 11.30am - 1.30pm
    Session 1 "The Why"
  • Wednesday 5th April, 11.30am - 1.30pm
    Session 2: "The Who, What & How"
  • Friday 7th April 11.30am - 1.30pm
    Session 3: "The Where and When"

*A light lunch will be provided midway through each session

Buy tickets


* It's not a company, enterprise or even a movement - it's a community of people**
** An anarcho syndicalist commune if you will

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