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Daring Forever (Find your Extraordinary)
"Māori values are just human values" (Laura Cibilich bonus episode)
00:09:21
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Transcript9 lines
- [00:00]
A
Hey, welcome to another bonus episode of the Daring Creativity Podcast. I'm back to unpack some of the gems from this week's conversation. Polina those moments that deserve a second look and digging deeper into what makes them special. It's about the ideas that hit differently this week. I sat down with Laura Sibelage and I got to find out how she runs a creative studio titled Run out of New Zealand. The episode published a few days ago was titled Dare to Lean into Indigenous Values. And I got to learn about Maori values and principles that guide their work day to day. If you haven't checked out a full interview yet, let me start with these four moments that stood out from our.
- [00:42]
B
Conversation like it really does ground us. And we've got a full time Po Ahereo Mori cultural director as her role and she likes to say Mori values or indigenous values are just human values. When you take it back to just people, to people, it's those human values and the way people are just being real. That's what it comes down to. Yeah, strip away everything else. It's, yeah, just quite pure.
- [01:10]
A
Here Laura articulates something really profound. What we often categorize as indigenous values or cultural values are usually universal human principles that hyper capitalism has made us forget. Kinship, environmental stewardship, genuine relationships, accountability to community. And this matters because businesses worldwide struggle with defining authentic values that aren't just a marketing speak. Companies blast the walls with value statements about innovation and excellence, while indigenous frameworks offer something more fundamental. How do we treat each other? How do we care for environment? And what responsibility do we have to future generations? For any leader trying to build authentic company culture, this is a revelation. Stop inventing corporate values from scratch and instead look at time tested human principles. Strip away the complexity. The consultant speak the buzzwords. When Laura says just being real, she's identifying the antidote to corporate artifice. Genuine human connection, honest relationships and values you can actually live by rather than just display on your website. This approach to values isn't about being trendy or checking diversity boxes. It's about returning to what actually matters when humans work together. In the second standout moment, Laura talked about the size of her business and how it actually is a benefit.
- [02:43]
B
Yeah, and I mean, I guess we're small enough that we can be so strongly aligned to our values and say no and things like that. With those kind of things, it's like, where is the line? And then ultimately, if you think bigger picture, does it really matter in terms of big thinking? Is a few job losses or not worth it? Either way, so would the planet thank you for it. It's just about the money, that kind of thing. So we really lean into trying to be responsible and looking after planet and all those things.
- [03:15]
A
This moment exposes the uncomfortable truth that many agencies and studios avoid size often come at the cost of integrity. Laura frames their smaller scale not as limitations, but as their competitive advantage. They can afford to be choosy about clients because they haven't locked themselves into growth at all. Cost mentality that forces larger agencies to compromise. The second part, does the planet thank you or is about money? Is a kind of gut wrenching question that every creative should really ask themselves. It matters because it reframes business success in our industry. Obsessed with winning big clients, expanding headcount and maximizing revenue, Laura proposes a different metric. Are we making decisions that benefit the world beyond our bank account? And this is particularly relevant now as greenwashing and performative corporate responsibility become easier to spot. Agencies tout B Corp status while servicing fossil fuel clients. Studio post about sustainability whilst producing wasteful campaigns. Laura's willingness to turn down lucrative work that doesn't align shows that values based business isn't just idealistic posturing, but it's a viable strategy when you control your scale and expenses. In the next standout moment, we talked about creativity, education and childhood.
- [04:47]
B
I believe that, you know, everyone is creative and some people just get it almost taught out of them. Sometimes kids get it taught out of them, which is really sad. But I kept that and just have always been passionate about art and creativity and loved it. Did like lots of coloring competitions when I was little and things like that. Lots of drawing. All that was. I was that kid and yeah, and then just through school, did art through school.
- [05:13]
A
In my conversation with Laura, I tried to pose a question about how Discworld challenges the fundamental myth that creativity is a rare gift possessed by a selected few. Laura's observation speaks to system issues. In education and society, we often prioritize conformity and standardization over creative exploration. When children are repeatedly taught to color inside the lines, follow the rigid templates, or that there's only one correct answer, we gradually erode their natural curiosity and willingness to experiment. The real insight here is that creativity isn't lost, it's actually suppressed. This matters to anyone building creative teams or raising children because it shifts the question from how do we find creative people? To how do we create environments where people feel safe to be creative again? And Laura's own journey proves that. Maintaining that creative spark through childhood into adulthood is possible, but it requires conscious resistance against systems that value compliance over curiosity. For business leader, this is a call to examine whether your workplace cultures encourage experimentation or inadvertently punishes it. In the last standout moment, we talk about challenges when it comes to running your own business.
- [06:38]
B
I think it's just part of your journey really. There are ups and downs through life and it's just one of those things. And I think, I think very long term in general. And so it was just one of those bumps in the road. I always knew I would get to running a studio, but it just took longer than I thought maybe and needed a few more steps along the way.
- [07:01]
A
This quote is a masterclass in reframing setbacks that could derail most people's creatives careers. When Laura had to return to employment after starting an agency, a moment that many would interpret as failure, she saw it as a temporary detour on a longer journey. This isn't a toxic positivity or delusional optimism, it's a strategic patience grounded in self knowledge. This matters profoundly in our instant gratification culture, where three months before attraction feels like a failure, where we compare our day to day to someone else's. Year 10 the creative industry especially suffers from highlight reel syndrome. We see that award winning work and the big client announcements, the studio expansions, but we rarely get to see the years of unglumberous groundwork, the contract jobs taken to pay bills, or the pivots and restarts. So Laura's long term thinking gives her permission to experiment, fail, recalibrate and try again without the crashing weight of I should be further along now. When she says I always knew, she's not being arrogant, she's demonstrating the power of internal conviction that doesn't require external validation at every step. This is just the antidote to anxiety spiral so many creative people face. If this project doesn't work, if this client says no, if this launch flops, then I'm not meant to be doing this. So for anyone navigating a nonlinear career path, and whose creative path is actually linear these days, this quote is a permission to zoom out. The detours aren't derailments. The extra steps aren't wasted time. They're part of a longer arc that only makes sense in retrospect. This perspective is especially crucial for mid career professionals who feel behind or feel like they've made wrong turns. Laura suggests there are no wrong turns when you maintain conviction about your eventual destination while staying flexible about the route. If you haven't checked out a full episode with Laura Civilic, I really encourage you to do. So there's a lot in there which is full of humility as great encouragement. There's a great view into indigenous values and how they get applied. Yeah. Check it out. And thank you for being here. I'll see you on the next one.