Purpose 2016
We kicked off December with a bang by attending the Purpose conference at the gorgeous Paddington Town Hall. I first heard of the Purpose conference when it started last year and was so disappointed I couldn’t attend. I knew it wouldn’t be just another conference. When I heard it propels purpose-driven businesses, that it’s the place for meeting like-minded individuals, for forming lasting connections and learning not just from business success stories, but from the failures that shape us all. I knew it was the place for me.
So when the UTS Innovation and Creative Intelligence Unit, in Building 15, gave Tida Tippapart (Hatchery Program Manager) and I the opportunity to attend, we jumped at the opportunity.
I have a deep-seated passion for purpose-driven businesses and social impact, and it’s also something that resonates quite strongly in the Hatchery/+ community. In fact, as a reminder to all the startup ventures that come through the Hatchery+ accelerator program, we have a mural painted on the Hatchery+ wall that states, “Passion is nothing without purpose” — a timeless piece of advice that one of the entrepreneurs from the pilot cohort has left for future Hatchery+ cohorts. I thought that attending the conference on my birthday was the perfect time for me to be reflecting and taking stock of the purpose behind the work we do in Hatchery/+ and to also expand our networks with other like minded, purposeful people.
This year’s Purpose conference explored the next wave of corporate culture — one that is driven by values. I also got to hear people’s experiences of conscious leadership, and learned a bit about cathedral thinking — Chris Halburd’s provocation really made me question where business is headed — “are we building cathedrals or are we just cutting stone?”. I also got out of my comfort zone in a social procurement workshop, and then returned to some of my areas of expertise with the sessions related to purpose-driven design (once a creative, always a creative). My first foray with the Purpose conference was actually the “New Kids on the Block” panel session which explored emerging social enterprise and purpose-driven businesses. Through my work as the Program Manager of Hatchery+, I’ve been fortunate to cross paths with a myriad of amazing individuals who are passionate about social enterprise, and it gave me a great deal of hope to hear of this new wave of social enterprise founders who are trying to make a positive impact on our society.
Of all the workshops, talks and panel sessions I attended at Purpose, the one that had the most impact on me was the closing plenary on the topic of “Better By Design”. I was particularly inspired by the amazing Rohan Gunatillake who ended the plenary with his talk (which was really a manifesto) on designing mindfulness. It was an important reminder of how mindful we need to be of the affect that technology has on our wellbeing and he enlightened us with the power of design principles as a means to create a more positive impact with our everyday interactions with technology.
To close out the conference, our dynamic host Matt Wicking, asked a few of the participants to share some of their insights, experiences and takeaways — I felt like we were all bonded by this special, shared experience. We were then asked to write to our future selves on the back of the Purpose postcards and give it to the person next to us to be the custodians of the message and send it back to us at a time of our choosing. James, my friend and Hatchery/+ colleague, is the custodian of my message. I’ve asked him to return it to me when work begins again in 2017. I will need the reminder that whatever challenges may arise, “this too shall pass”. I just have to stay focussed on my bigger vision and purpose in life. That’s what makes it all worthwhile.
