Phaedon’s Monthly Review – August

Collective Wisdom and Drowning Puppies. (did that get your attention) 

We’re three weeks out from our Darwin adventure.  A chance for us to unplug from this crazy world in which we live for three magical days.  A time for us to be with our people, to learn, to share, to give, to participate and to recharge and reinvent ourselves.   This is our most special time of year, because of the group that is coming to Darwin.  The group that it has taken 20 + years to curate.   It’s hard to explain to people who see it as a “conference” when it’s nothing like a conference.  It’s the closest we can come to conjuring magic.  Because that is what happens when you bring together a group of people who are living their dreams.  They’re not working in a bank, turning up to work for 8.5 hours a day.  They are risking everything and daring to be exceptional.  We sometimes forget that our community is so unique and different from everything else out there.  But having lived my life in this community, we can sometimes take it for granted, except at events like this, when we bring everyone together and just talk.  Sometimes the simplest things (like turning up to this event) can have the most significant impact on your life.   Our Explore24 event is bringing together a unique set of founders, angel investors, venture capitalists and critical ecosystems platforms to share what I call, “collective wisdom”. ChatGTP defines Collective Wisdom as, 

“the enhanced knowledge and understanding that emerges from the aggregation of information, insights, or knowledge from a group of individuals. This concept is based on the idea that groups can collectively make better decisions, solve problems more effectively, or achieve greater insights than individuals acting alone. Collective wisdom leverages diversity in viewpoints, experiences, and skills among group members, allowing for a richer and more comprehensive understanding of complex issues. It’s often discussed in contexts like decision-making processes, problem-solving tasks, and innovation strategies within organizations or communities.

Really that is what we’re doing, learning from each other, leveraging different viewpoints and working towards a future of success.  I was just speaking to someone in the team about the differences in culture between Australia and places like Silicon Valley and Tel Aviv.  Their notion was that the key difference is that Australians tear down successful founders, where they see them as shining lights. At IB, we are bucking that crap Aussie trend; we put our community on stage and they share their wisdom with us.  This amplifies our knowledge and scar tissue.  We currently have just under 300 members of our community…that is a lot of shared knowledge and scar tissue. 

What that also helps us do is make hard decisions.  One of our amazing members talked to us last year about making hard decisions and brought in a US term, We Drown Puppies.  Basically, we make hard decisions or as ChatGTP says, 

“In business, the phrase has been adapted metaphorically to describe the need to cut off underperforming projects, ideas, or even employees who aren’t contributing effectively to the success of an organization. It’s a stark way of expressing the necessity of making difficult decisions for the overall health and sustainability of a business.”

Unfortunately we continue to be in a market where we are all making hard decisions.  What enables me to perform is being part of a community that I can share these difficult decisions with and whom I can leverage their collective wisdom in order to make the right ones. I don’t make the same mistakes twice.  But within Innovation Bay, I’m striving to not make the same mistakes as our collective community. There has never been a time when community means more, than in tough times like these. 

I hope everyone out there is well and strong for success. Remember before you give up, take the time to rest.   And when you have to drown a puppy for two, look for a community who can help you navigate the path….you’re not alone. 

Cheers,
Phaedon

– Phaedon Stough is the CEO and co-founder of Innovation Bay.

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