A few reactions to the Simon Sinek video I shared with you in the last blog:

Siwan – thanks for sharing Simon Sinek’s TED talk.  Apart from the fact that someone finally explained to me why most of the earth’s population loves Apple products (I’m possibly in the category of those people who would still be using a rotary phone if they were available) Simon’s talk made me reasses why I do what I do – essentially it still the same reason as the one that drove me to become an Environmental Scientist in the first place, but I realised that with the passing of time and the gaining of new experiences (lots of them harsh and hardening), it is important for me to stop every once in awhile to reassess – taking this time has refreshed and invigorated my spirit !  Whilst pondering Simon’s talk I became conscious again of the fact that every single person I communicate with on a daily basis has a reason for doing what they do – and it is not necessarily the same as mine.  This fact poses a significant challenge because if we don’t share WHY we do what we do, we cannot learn how to build sustaining relationships.  This is probably part of the reason it’s difficult to find collaborative funding to rehabilitate the streams of South East Queensland, or continue research into catchment processes and the effectiveness of management interventions – just a couple of things that I’m passionate about.  I’m hoping though that adopting Simon’s techniques might assist myself and my collegues in our quest – it’s worth a shot!

Joanne Burton, Dept of Environment and Natural Resources, Qld

Hi Siwan,  Simon Sinek’s TED talk is one of my favourites too! I recently came across this recent post  from Amber Rae which provides some useful suggestions/prompters on how to translate the ‘Golden Circle’ from the organisational to the personal level.

Clare Webb