Jon Santee’s Post

 Where Can You Contribute? “It’s a big ass little industry." I heard this phrase recently at an industry event and the statement took a bit of time to marinade with me, and I couldn't agree more! As new people enter the industry and want to be involved, and do more, they don't really know where to start, or move out of their comfort zone. Here are my suggestions. You may even wonder where you could contribute or if your desires and skillsets can be leveraged for the greater good of the industry. As someone who is involved in the local, state, and national groups inside the industry, I encourage you to show up. And then show up again, and again, and again. Not much is going to happen at the first event that you attend. But it will, trust me, if you keep showing up, your involvement in committees and work groups will happen organically. Be patient and ask questions. These questions and curiosity will help to direct you into the areas where you have a passion or desire to do more. Whether it is government affairs, safety, code and compliance, education, communications, and so on. Now that you have been showing up and asking questions, and you have found your niche as to where you fit into the big little picture you will have a greater understanding of where the industry is heading. Then your continued involvement will allow you a platform from which you can help to create the vision and direction moving forward. Be involved, be patient, make new contacts, and form new relationships. It is a big little industry, and it needs you to help moving in the right direction long term. There are dozens of places where your specific skills and personality can make a difference. Start small but start. Reach out to your state association, or the NPGA, or PERC, there are lots of pathways to find a place to take that first step. Woody Allen has been quoted saying "99% of life is just showing up" and "90% of success is simply showing up." Be your own champion. Find some comfort in your own accomplishments whether they come with external accolades or not. Get involved for the satisfaction of making a difference, it will happen!! Again, the more you know.

“It’s okay to fail,” Simon told the class. “Before kasi I felt na dapat achievements lang ang i-sshare mo. But in CEO Insights Asia, it’s okay to talk about your failures,” he added. “That’ll be my opener,” I told everyone. In our Circle Multiplier Executive Education Program, we unpack the nuts and bolts of the CEO Meetup, how it works and how the Circle Multiplier contribute to the growth of the ecosystem. After we’re finished, I grabbed my notepad and furiously wrote the insights I gained before I forget them. Three key learnings stood out. 1. Vulnerability. “The atmosphere we established is that you’re among friends. And real friends don’t need to impress each other or prove anything,” I shared to the class. When we think about it, our friends listen to us without judgment. And because of that, we listen to their advise when we ask. 2. Value. “There’s always something new to learn every meetup,” Laurence told the class. “I actually feel like a student who is excited to go to school,” Simon added. Yes, the Executive Education programs we provide are all free, but you have to register for scheduling purposes. Yet my biggest take away is from Coach Ron’s concept about personal growth requires three people: Plus, Minus, and Equals. Pluses are people who are ahead of us in the journey we’re pursuing, which in our case is building business. Plusses are people we can learn from. Minuses are people whom we are ahead of, and they are someone we can serve as Plus for. Equals are people who are on the same status as we and motivate us, serving as our friendly competitor who constantly compels us to move. 3. Vision. “Despite our differences in age, industry, and experiences, our common ground is that we share the same DNA,” Pres told the class. “Yes, Circle Multipliers ‘lead’ the Hubs, but it’s simply a role. There’s no ‘Head’ just like a Starfish. Everyone has a voice because ulitmately, the DNA is our leader,” she added. I completely agree. And that’s the vision - an ecosystem composed of hundreds - thousands! - of individually different enterprises who share the same belief that building a business is not just simply about making money, but establishing a legacy that make this world a better place. We are CEOs who help fellow CEOs build companies that last. We are CEO Insights Asia. #GreatByDesign #AlwaysDayOne #CEO #Startup #Business #Leadership #ecosystem

And we do it all with a first-time suitable score that's consistently over 90% 😏 Here’s how we do it, summed up in 3 steps: 1️⃣ Our paraplanners are experts in their fields, with many holding Diploma qualifications to Platinum standard. It’s then about carefully matching the right expertise to every case. 2️⃣ Our Quality Assurance Managers have our Paraplanners' backs, ensuring every submission is just right. Giving them the continuous professional development they need to flourish in their roles is key in maintaining high QOD scores and keeping our staff happily progressing in their careers. 3️⃣ Something that you see talked about a lot on LinkedIn... Leadership. In our case, we're lucky to have our Paraplanning team guided by the wonderful Sue McFarlane who’s both respected and adored, helping us strive for excellence in everything we do. 😯 And our secret weapon? Fluid. Our all-in-one case management software streamlines the process, allowing real-time tracking and seamless collaboration in your team. It's so revolutionary to the industry that it's already been shortlisted for Technology Provider of the Year at 2023's Money Marketing Awards and 2024's Professional Adviser Awards. Curious about how this could transform your business? Let's chat (click the link the comments) #financialadvice #paraplanning #teamwork

EOI. Pro Bono TACO. (Technology Advisory Consulting Offer). Whilst I have some extra time on my hands, and since I've already used up my holiday voucher (see pic), I'm offering half to a full day a week of pro bono consulting for 6-8 weeks. Ideally looking for a small to medium not-for-profit Australian organisation that needs some help with one or more of the below challenges: - troubled major project in need of rescuing - establishing a new program from the ground up - filling the gap/keeping the ship afloat/keeping the plane flying (take your pick) whilst you're recruiting for a CIO or CTO - negotiation of large/complex technology services contract - strategic alignment review of (or definition of) your tech strategy or project portfolio - working out how to solve that "problem" that is blocking your transformation progress. Please send a brief submission to [email protected] and include the following information - organisation background & purpose, shareable data on financials, operations, technology environment and related entities. Finally, please include an overview of the challenge(s) you'd like help with and contact details, or just reach out if you want to have a chat and see if I can help. Submissions due by 5pm Sunday 14 July 2024. I'll review and make contact early next week. Please tag a friend/colleague that might find this useful. #ceo #cio #probono

We're Back!! ... Gold Coast Smart Start 2024 (Registration Link in Comments) Unlock the Power of Confidence and Communication to Transform Your Professional Journey! Join us for an exclusive workshop designed to address the nuanced challenges faced by accountants in today's dynamic business landscape. 27 February | 7.00am - 8.30am Carrara Sports & Leisure Centre , near Heritage Bank Stadium Presenter: Dale Carnegie Group Topic: How to Win Friends and Influence People Summary Join the Gold Coast CPA branch at the next "Smart Start" session on 'How to Win Friends and Influence People' presented by Dale Carnegie. Unlock the Power of Confidence and Communication to Transform Your Professional Journey! Join us for an exclusive workshop designed to address the nuanced challenges faced by accountants in today's dynamic business landscape. Why Attend? Elevate your professional capability and business success with time-tested strategies derived from Dale Carnegie's masterpiece, "How to Win Friends and Influence People." In the intricate world of successful business leaders, the ability to make a positive first impression and influence others is pivotal. In an environment where adaptability and communication skills are non-negotiable, this workshop serves as your compass, guiding you to stand out and make a lasting impact. What's in Store for You? Embark on a transformative journey during this highly interactive session that seamlessly blends Dale Carnegie's classic principles with cutting-edge modern practices. Gain practical insights designed for today's professionals navigating a rapidly changing landscape. As a trusted partner to 430 of the Fortune 500 companies, Dale Carnegie's approach is proven to translate into tangible bottom-line results. Tea and coffee will be provided. Dress code: Smart casual Learning outcomes: Evaluate information from a variety of sources and perspectives through research, analysis, and integration.  Apply reasoning, critical analysis, and innovative thinking to solve problems. #cpaaustralia #professionaldevelopment #dalecarnegietraining #smartstart Brad Andrews Sean Beasley FCPA Melissa Georgiou (MBA, FCPA) Jan Hollindale Alex Rummery Dr Robyn Cameron PhD GAICD CPA Nicole Walters CPA

REGISTER NOW ... Less than 2 weeks until kick off!! ... Gold Coast Smart Start 2024 (Registration Link in Comments) Unlock the Power of Confidence and Communication to Transform Your Professional Journey! Join us for an exclusive workshop designed to address the nuanced challenges faced by accountants in today's dynamic business landscape. 27 February | 7.00am - 8.30am Carrara Sports & Leisure Centre , near Heritage Bank Stadium Presenter: Dale Carnegie Group Topic: How to Win Friends and Influence People Summary Join the Gold Coast CPA branch at the next "Smart Start" session on 'How to Win Friends and Influence People' presented by Dale Carnegie. Unlock the Power of Confidence and Communication to Transform Your Professional Journey! Join us for an exclusive workshop designed to address the nuanced challenges faced by accountants in today's dynamic business landscape. Why Attend? Elevate your professional capability and business success with time-tested strategies derived from Dale Carnegie's masterpiece, "How to Win Friends and Influence People." In the intricate world of successful business leaders, the ability to make a positive first impression and influence others is pivotal. In an environment where adaptability and communication skills are non-negotiable, this workshop serves as your compass, guiding you to stand out and make a lasting impact. What's in Store for You? Embark on a transformative journey during this highly interactive session that seamlessly blends Dale Carnegie's classic principles with cutting-edge modern practices. Gain practical insights designed for today's professionals navigating a rapidly changing landscape. As a trusted partner to 430 of the Fortune 500 companies, Dale Carnegie's approach is proven to translate into tangible bottom-line results. Tea and coffee will be provided. Dress code: Smart casual Learning outcomes: Evaluate information from a variety of sources and perspectives through research, analysis, and integration. Apply reasoning, critical analysis, and innovative thinking to solve problems. hashtag #cpaaustralia hashtag #professionaldevelopment hashtag #dalecarnegietraining hashtag #smartstart Brad Andrews Sean Beasley FCPA Melissa Georgiou (MBA, FCPA) Jan Hollindale Alex Rummery Dr Robyn Cameron PhD GAICD CPA Nicole Walters CPA

I was once involved in a very high-profile project for the company for which I was working at the time. It was something completely new, the idea behind it being to offer a new product to the company’s cloud customers: a full support team, with processes already in place, that would provide 24/7 support for the customer’s cloud solution. Since nobody did that before, we had no idea how this should work. So we took a leap of faith, around 6-7 engineers from different teams, and we signed up for this project. It could have been a huge success or it could have been a failure, but we were willing to take the risk at the time. We spent a lot of energy into putting together all the details for this type of activity: we defined the processes, the rules, the templates and the best practices. We wrote some new tools to make the support activity easier. It seemed to be working, we were not about to fail. Then, when everyone became a little more relaxed about the chances of success for this endeavor, the upper management started to send congratulations e-mails and high-fives all around. Everybody seemed to have played some part in this, from HR to people who we had never met, to people whose only relationship to the project was that they were passing by one day, heard about it, and had said “sounds cool”. Guess who were the ones never even mentioned in the entire frenzy. Yes, you guessed right: the team of engineers that figured out how to make this project work, who defined all aspects of it and who took a risk by putting their careers on the line. This didn’t do much for our morale. We were all young at the time and we weren’t expecting a red carpet and standing ovations, but seeing everybody take the credit for our work left a bitter taste. So this is how I learned of my first lessons as a manager, that I used when I had my own team: when you are successful, make sure to bring your guys to the front and give them all the credit; only take the stage when there is a failure and then take the responsibility upon yourself.

This week draws a line under my first three months in the new role. I stepped away from LinkedIn, focused, learned and built relationships. It’s not my first rodeo, but no matter how many jobs you’ve changed, the first couple of months are always an exciting and awkward time in equal measure. The exciting things:  The learning: I appreciate the steep learning curve into the realm of data and GIS. Not that I didn’t know about them before, but it seemed like an isolated, highly specialised “nice to have” field, to a humanitarian generalist. I know better now. In hindsight, I wonder how much more impact some of my past projects would have had and which decisions would have been made differently had I let the power of data guide them.  The people: getting to know the people in the new organisation is always the most exciting part for me, finding allies, building a network, and hearing people’s stories. Everyone in the sector knows about our unique pool of rockstar expert volunteers. But I am also completely blown away by MapAction’s staff - a small group of the most dedicated and talented specialists in the field, humbly keeping out of the limelight. Their depth of knowledge, technical prowess, and passion for making a difference drive our efforts forward every day. Of course, I am bursting with pride to be a part of this group now.  The awkward things: The overwhelm: In any new job, this initial period is overwhelming as we navigate unfamiliar processes, procedures, job responsibilities, performance standards, and organisational culture. What complicates it even further is that MapAction is rapidly growing and changing, expanding its reach and ambitiously pressing into new areas beyond emergency response. It can feel exciting but unsettling at first, yet we share the same vision so there is little we cannot achieve when we work together as a team.   The expectations: Striking the right balance between setting ambitious goals and managing expectations is tricky. As a new starter, we want to hit the ground running. We feel that pressure, yet need to take time to learn. But as we learn, there is a limited number of times we’ll be praised for “asking the right questions”. Eventually, we need to start giving answers, even if we don’t have them yet. In my new role, I felt thoroughly supported by the team and the CEO as I was getting my bearings at the start. What am I looking forward to the most?  As I reflect on the past three months, I'm humbled by the global reach of MapAction. I have even made my first-ever map to celebrate this milestone accordingly. Here, I mapped out where the people I have spoken to over the past three months live. In six months, I want to make a similar map that shows how our links with Latin America, the second most disaster-prone region in the world, are strengthened, and how our volunteer pool expands into the majority world, making us a truly global organisation.  #dataforgood #dataforimpact #GIS4Good