Kia ora,
At the end of each year we always feel tired, ready for a break. December 2023 felt different. There was a real sense of exhaustion across the board. We felt the relentless acceleration of change and the pressure to keep assimilating to it. We felt economic pressures – on us personally and on our organisations – ever present concern about the state of our planet, and the simmering discontent about our journey as a country. These things all layered on top of the normal work pressures that characterise the end of the year.
Since I’ve been back, the mood is positive, driven, aspirational. There is a sense of urgency already. Not unusual as we come back after time out, but again, it seems heightened. So how do we sustain our energy? How do we avoid a gradual decline of momentum? What is Synapsys’ role with our clients, with our team, with Aotearoa?
For us, it’s about recognising that energy and time are precious – both ours and our clients. What we do must always be directly focused on the outcomes our clients are looking for. Not just the programmes and platforms themselves, but real change in the business: people thinking and acting differently. Our work spans change and transformation projects, organisational development initiatives and learning and development programmes.
The focus is the same. It’s about targeted innovation. As much as the tech explosion is bewildering, it’s a massive opportunity. Be it AI, linking learning technology to change, or incorporating te ao Māori principles into learning design, we need to be brave, take risks and stay focused on the end game – living and working differently.
Finally, it’s about those wider challenges we face as a country. We welcome the kōrero, and we will play our part in framing a constructive future. My personal hope is that whatever our perspective we will be open to honestly seeing value and truth. We’ll put aside personal opinion in favour of fact. We will see opportunity wherever it lies. Over the last year I’ve seen how aspects of te Ao Māori can be woven into learning experiences to the benefit of all learners. We will build on this in 2024.
Phil Garing
Managing Director – Synapsys NZ