The post I wrote and published yesterday was inspired by something I read on LinkedIN.

Turns out that Auckland’s Mayor - Wayne (why do I keep calling him ‘Willy') Brown ran a ‘Technology and Innovation tea’ - bringing together Auckland’s diplomatic, business and tech communities.

Why Willy? Because he was my mayor in San Francisco for the 4 years before and after the Y2K bomb damp squid.(Remember that one kids?)

Anyway - back to Auckland …

Unclear who was actually in attendance I recognised only a few of the attendees (but in fairness it was a low pixel shot) … or what happens next - 🔗 here’s the link if you want to read all about it

I 🔗 I commented - because really you can never say this enough …

Reproduce here for posterity - you know - ‘because’ ‘LinkedIN and ‘Private Platforms’

“Lasting innovation is built on connections."

So true …

across industries ➕ sectors ➕ geographies ➕ disciplines …

➕

across time … continuously ➕ continually.

TIME .. so we always keep in mind that we are in a marathon - not a sprint.

➕

CONTINUAL creates the nodes of our community
CONTINUOUS forms the fabric that will sustain our community

TOGETHER … in other words ‘➕’ … not ‘and’

Time, Continual and Continuous are topics close to my heart and not talked about enough as organisations build out communities - even the communities that are communities.

Community: Merriam-Webster definition - which specifically is NOT a group of people who happen to be young, or women in tech, or Native Americans

Oh and the ‘and’ / ➕ distinction - I thank Roger Waters for the thinking behind that distinction … talked about here - but to save you the click through …

You might notice that the original song was called ‘Us and Them’, while the tour and film is called ‘Us + Them’.

It’s not a mistake. It’s a subtle modification. The original ‘and’ was not necessarily inclusive. It was highlighting one or the other. The power of ‘+’ sign is additive. It drives home the idea of being united. Together.

It’s a small and very important detail. It’s language.

.. which we all know ‘leaks’.

Oh. and finally - in the orginal post

Auckland’s diplomatic, business and tech communities.

.. that was the trigger.