voice issue11

		issue 11	April 2005

in this issue
warm-up
values in action
from the hand
beneath my feet
speak up about
don't miss
good measure
sign off

warm-up

Wow. A lot has happened since issue 10. Active Voice is on growth hormones. This month we welcomed Carly Hood to the design team. A graduate of COFA (College of Fine Arts), Carly is a creative with many talents. As well as graphic design, she is passionate about textiles - a gift we'll certainly be supporting her to share. Carly's key role is to support Elaena with publication design. Her experience in sustainable design is a great asset and we're very pleased to have her on board.

Resident vision and values guru, Petrina Buckley, took us on a guided exploration of our own values to help define this offering for our clients. See Values in Action for the inside story. We learnt a lot about ourselves and each other.

This issue introduces our latest exhibition, Beneath My Feet, and Angela has created a gift for all our readers. Download Ange's Beneath My Feet wallpaper from the exhibition logo.

We also tell you about the shift away from stock imagery to "original artwork" - applicable to all kinds of design work.

But first, we thought you'd enjoy this little snippet about leadership.

Carly Hood

Leading with an open heart

After years of accumulating scars, most of us develop a set of defences to protect ourselves. We start to accept the myth that you can't survive a demanding leadership role without a thick skin. But according to Heifetz and Linsky of the Leader to Leader Institute, that diminishes us. They say we lose our capacity for innocence, curiosity and compassion. Our innocence turns into cynicism, our curiosity turns into arrogance and our compassion turns into callousness.

We dress these up, of course, because we don't want to see ourselves - nor have others see us - this way. We dress cynicism up as realism. So now we are not cynical; we're realistic. Arrogance becomes authoritative knowledge; and callousness, "the thick skin of wisdom".

But to stay alive in our spirit, Heifetz and Linsky say, requires the courage to keep our heart open. There are many practical reasons for keeping an open heart but chiefly it is important for your own spirit and identity.

We think they have a point.

Source: Leading with an Open Heart by Ronald A. Heifetz and Marty Linsky

We learnt a lot about each other though sharing stories about treasured objects.

Lolling on the floor usually helps get the creative juices flowing!

Tasty treats prepared with love - the essential ingredient.

Values in action

Making ourselves the subject of our "Recognise Yourself" workshop was an eye opening experience. Among the many things we learnt was an inspiring truth about values in business. Here's the thing: Your values are your commodities. This is what clients buy when they invest in your services. They're buying your commitment to relationships or your integrity; your eye-popping courage or relentless honesty. That's who you are and that's what you're selling.

Through a series of exercises, we found out what really matters to each of us; took the opportunity to celebrate our differences, accept and admire each other; explored how we translate what matters to us to benefit our clients; and found some language to describe the railings that guide our business...words that capture who we are.

Intrigued? Demand to know more? Drop us a line.

We also captured our first hand experience of why values are important to business. Here's what we came up with:

Efficiency: Your values help to clarify your priorities. Knowing your priorities ensures you spend your time and energy in the right direction. It also helps you build efficient systems to deliver on the promises of your values.

Attract more of the clients you want: When you know who you are and what you offer to help others, it is easy for potential clients to decide if they are attracted to your service or not. The result is you attract more of the type of people with whom you want to work.

Growth: Having the self-respect to be true to your values and bravely live them inevitably leads to growth and emotional maturity - both for the business and for the individuals [team and clients].

Expression: Living true to your values requires the business and its people to engage in effective communication, regularly.

Effective decision-making: Your values act as a road map for action. Once they are clear they can give the business a blueprint for effective decision-making. It will be easier to see which opportunities are a "good fit", which ones require careful negotiation and which ones you will choose to "let go".

Breeds confidence: Living true to your values breeds healthy self-esteem and assuredness within the business and its people. This confidence can really help during challenging times and especially when required to "step up" to new levels.

Fun and enjoyment: Loving what you do comes [in part] from loving who you are as a business and as individuals. It's hard not to have fun, be proud and enjoy yourself when you love what you do and do it with love.




Illustrations can turn corporate collateral into original artwork.


		from the hand
		Computers are not the only useful tools in the graphic design business. Using original artwork adds extra layers of beauty, originality and creativity to all kinds of design projects. Our design team is committed to exploring a hands-on approach to the creative process and engaging in the real world. We've used hand generated artwork - illustrations, painted textures - to great effect in several visual identities and campaigns for clients. We've also commissioned or shot original photography rather than use stock images. The results have been profound. What clients end up with is true differentiation through originality, and something in which they can recognise themselves. Photographs of your actual team are much easier to connect with that photographs of shiny models in an imaginary office somewhere.		For us it's about the action. Creating original work means we're doing creative stuff rather than sitting behind a computer interacting in two dimensions. It engages more creative energy. It keeps us in touch with our own creativity and with the external world. Really, it's a more exciting way to work…and it says a lot about who we are. Creating original artwork acknowledges the fundamental uniqueness of each of us; and that of each client. We want to keep in touch with that, and with the experience of the creative act itself. Need graphic design work with an original twist? You know where to find us.




beneath my feet A gift for you: download our Beneath My Feet wallpaper


		beneath my feet
		Tiptoe through our latest online exhibition [link]. In Beneath My Feet, artists explore their personal footprint. What did it take to get where you are? What holds you up? What's on the ground when you take a closer look? What do you leave behind? Thanks to all those who contributed. Please spread the word about the next exhibition Body as Canvass which will accompany the June issue of voice. Investigate how the body physically reflects what we feed it. What we consume, the way we behave, our thoughts, patterns, obsessions and reactions all impact on our physical and emotional health and this is often expressed in the body. The body is also the site of cultural expression, repression and liberation. This theme can go as far as you're willing to take it. Get corporeal!		To submit work, or for more information, please contact Angela. We can support sound files as well as images.

speak up about

Gross Domestic Happiness

Bhutan, the dragon kingdom, is set in the formidable mountains between India and Tibet. It is remote, relatively inaccessible and renowned for its natural beauty.

Bhutan's government has four objectives: sustainable socio-economic development; conservation of the fragile Himalayan ecology; promotion of basic human values and culture; and the strengthening of good governance.

The government's development goals are based on a Gross Domestic Happiness.

Bhutan's Prime Minister Yeshi Zimba, said on Radio National: "It is a development philosophy which places people at the centre of development, a very holistic approach where we look at not just the material needs but also the spiritual needs of people and I think we are quite well on our way to achieving this."

www.asthmansw.org.au

don't miss

Wheeze and sneeze-free garden

The Asthma Foundation of NSW will be showcasing an asthma and allergy friendly garden at the Sydney Garden Show this year. The show runs from Thursday 28 April to Sunday 1 May at the Darling Harbour Convention Centre and forecourts.

Take a breather with the Foundation and check out how you can improve your health and well being by planting a wheeze and sneeze free garden.

We've had a ball creating the signage for the garden which incorporates detailed pencil floral illustrations. We have donated Angela's time to install metre high wall stencils and if you drop by on Saturday afternoon you'll catch Elaena volunteering at the garden.

http://www.sos2005.org

good measure

Students of sustainability

For the past 13 years, SoS has inspired has been bringing together hundreds of students, activists, academics and community groups to organise and create a world where our old growth forests are protected, uranium is left in the ground, trade is fair, our food is not transgenic and Indigenous people are sovereign.

People from around Australia and the Asia- Pacific are invited to come together from July 9-15, to help create a more socially and ecologically just world. More information is available at http://www.sos2005.org


		sign off
		We'd like to leave you with a little piece of inspiration. This is a wonderful reminder of why we do what we do. Judy Wicks who runs an organic business, the White Dog café, says about her business: "I didn't create a business to sell for profit. I created a business to be my life; to be the environment in which I wanted to live... I think socially responsible business was that way by nature in the old days, simply because people were part of the community. They naturally wanted to do well within it. As corporations have gotten larger, their leaders and owners are no longer living in the same community as their customers, so there's more opportunity to compartmentalise values." Couldn't have said it better ourselves. If this ezine has been of value to you, perhaps you would consider forwarding it to others. If you would prefer not to receive future issues of voice, please unsubscribe here. Type "unsubscribe" in the comments section.
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Suite 6 Level 6 46 – 58 Holt St Surry Hills NSW 2010	Tel: +61 2 9699 6505 Fax: +61 2 9699 5218	kath@activevoice.net.au elaena@activevoice.net.au
Active Voice. We help companies be recognised for who they are. To find out more, take a peek at our web site www.activevoice.net.au.