@theyoutrust: Last Friday one of our homelessness services recieved some vi… 2 days ago

A strange day of fruit, nuts, martial arts and bonfires!

Posted by Nick on June 24, 2011

Day Four was a very emotional, sad day as it was our last although it was a lovely morning as we walked up to the Kaospilots.  We were greeted with drinks and fruit and nuts when we arrived. 

We checked in with what we were looking for that day and the focus was ‘releasing creativity’.   We started, sat out in the sun, practising our global and focused listening skills.  After a lunch of stew and potatoes, we moved on to building creative conversations and learning creative Aikido.  After a few bouts of Aikido in pairs, we moved into groups and walked round the City practising our new found martial arts.   We then did a whole group session which resulted in us forming a new movement for Portsmouth called ‘The Yes People’.  The saddest part of the day, however, was checking out which, admittedly, was made slightly better by gifts of books and a glass of champagne!  

Day 4 also happened to be a big festival day in Denmark in which bonfires were built along the beaches.  So we all met up in the evening and walked to the beach to see the bonfires and have a picnic.   It was a …

read more >


Business in the Community: Hampshire Charity YOU Trust invited to be a Business Champion by the IIP

Posted by Nick on June 23, 2011

After recently achieving IIP Gold level Investors in People recognition, Hampshire charity YOU Trust, has been invited to be a business champion by the IIP. The Charity is the only charity in England and Wales to have received this invitation.

Achieving IIP gold status seemed to be the jewel in the crown for this Fareham-based Charity, but the invitation to be an IIP Champion has surpassed even the YOU Trust‟s expectations. “This is a really great honour,” said a jubilant Steven Embleton, Learning and Leadership Manager at YOU, “To be invited to showcase our operations and principles to other organisations is further reinforcement that we are doing things right!”

The YOU Trust has already received a number of accolades this year. It was voted the twelfth best company to work for in the country and was also awarded two-star accreditation by Best Companies – one of only 158 organisations in the UK to receive this recognition.

As a business champion, the YOU Trust will be mentoring businesses, holding open days and speaking on behalf of the IIP at public ceremonies. “Being a Business Champion is such an exciting prospect for our organisation,” said a delighted Nicola Youern, Chief Executive Officer …

read more >


Out and About …

Posted by Nick on June 23, 2011

Its very hot today in Aarhus.

Today we each checked in with a statement about what we need to do to turn up our own volumes.

This morning we talked about change and resilience and looked at resilience from a systems perspective.   We looked at ecosystems, the human being as a system and businesses as systems.  We talked about basins but didn’t get onto loops.  We focused on how “redundancy” is key to making systems resilient.  

We looked at how we can create a movement in Portsmouth with a vision to create a system to help people help themselves.  The concept of resilience was so interesting.  I could have done with another day on it to look at YOU and me as a human being.

After a quick salad lunch, we split into groups and went out on visits.

I was the host for our group and we had the enormous privilege to meet Fanny Posselt who has the worlds most travelled hot dog stand.  It’s a whole blog in itself and too long to write about but it was truly inspirational. 

Our second visit was to Frontrunners which is where the Kaospilots began.   They work with young people, mainly …

read more >