
Despite what is happening in the world now, both locally and internationally, my hope is that we can come up with new ways to develop solutions that incorporate different approaches and ways of thinking.
Most of us know someone, either in our families or amongst friends, whose ideas make us a little uncomfortable. They seem bright and energetic but tend to lack the confidence to move ideas forward. They are often starters but not finishers, because they lack some of what we think are basic business skills – essential skills that can be found amongst our left-brain businesspeople.
And have we not got amazing brains? If only we knew how to identify them. Statistics tell us that one in five New Zealanders is blessed with dyslexia.
According to the World Economic Forum, the skills of the 21st century are complex problem solving, critical thinking, creativity, emotional intelligence, negotiation, and service orientation, to name a few. These are the very skills that dyslexic people display, if given the opportunity.
I’m not suggesting that these skills alone will build the future, only that we need more diversity of mind to create the future we want. That diversity includes those who will follow a logical time-tested process and those who invite big picture thinking.
Nowhere in our recent political manifestos was there any discussion about New Zealand’s future and the innovation that is needed to ensure it. A new recipe is required, one that focuses on our whole country and does not encourage regional competition to the detriment of us all.
So, what are we doing about it?
The reThink Tech Talent team, based in Christchurch, and with fantastic support from Canterbury Tech, are developing a programme with the intention of building national innovation capability.
Because we are big picture thinkers, it has been important to us to have considered social, as well as business implications from the outset. Our focus is on addressing the challenges dyslexic people face when either working in, or applying for work in, the Technology Sector. We can raise incomes and social participation together.
The reThink Tech Talent team are thrilled to announce that we have secured an Arohia Seed Grant from Callaghan with the potential to access the Innovation Trailblazer Grant. Having completed the research, we are finally able to move to stage two, which is building and testing the Minimum Viable Product.
We are on our journey at last to become a nationwide programme that has the ability to lift the staggering number of dyslexic thinkers into roles that compliment their skills, rather than focusing on deficits.
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