We recently ran a TalentNZ session at the New Zealand Community Boards Conference in the Bay of Islands (15 and 16 May 2015). The theme of the Conference was ‘Influencing Change’, and it brought together local community board members, mayors, councillors, council staff and other persons who are interested in making a difference in their communities from throughout the country. Our session discussed the role of strategy and why a focus on creating a place where talent wants to live will deliver optimal outcomes for New Zealand. During the session we gave participants five worksheets to further develop their thinking around creating a talent-based economy in their communities. These worksheets are available on our website www.mcguinnessinstitute.org For more on TalentNZ please see: www.talentnz.org For more on the McGuinness Institute see: www.mcguinnessinstitute.org