Tags

  • Published on

    The humble apostrophe and pluralism

    Phd Research Societal Wellbeing
    I am no English scholar, but I am a bit of a stickler when it comes to grammar and punctuation. Take for instance the humble apostrophe. How often have you seen an apostrophe inserted in the word "it's" to imply ownership when "its" is correct? Another rather common mistake in business writing is the incorrect usage of the plural "are" following a company name. When a company (singular) takes an action, the company "is" acting.
    The incorrect usage of words, punctuation and grammatical constructs is a sign of sloppiness. It also creates an opportunity for miscommunication to occur. In today's technologically-equipped world, real-time grammar checkers should have all but eradicated poor grammar. Yet the evidence seems to show the opposite. The widespread influence of instant communication via email, text messaging and Twitter seems to have elevated speed (of response) over precision (of message). Think about the messages you have received in the last seven days. How many contained ambiguities or grammatical errors? Perhaps more importantly, how many messages did you misinterpret or misunderstand—to the extent that you needed to ask a question or double-back to check on a relationship? This might sound a little picky, but each poorly constructed message has the potential to reduce our productivity. And that brings me to the point. Isn't technology supposed to enhance our productivity? I'm sure it can, but only if we get the basics correct first.
  • Published on

    What's your risk attitude?

    Governance Management Societal Wellbeing

    What's your attitude towards risk? Are you a pragmatist, a conservator, a maximiser or, are you a manager?

    When I was young I used to ride motorbikes on the farm—fast, sans helmet and often in light clothing. It was the normal thing to do in the seventies. I also did many other things that, looking back, could easily be described as "risky" in today's terms. My risk appetite was high (and to be truthful, I probably didn't even think about it at the time). Now, forty years on, our children have grown and all but left home. I've gathered a wealth of life experiences. Unsurprisingly, my appetite for risk—as a father, husband and as a business professional—has changed. In some areas, I take fewer risks than before. In others, more.

    Understanding our attitude towards risk in the business world is as crucial as it is in our personal lives. There's a great article over at the HBR Blog Network that puts it all in perspective—particularly our response in different market conditions and the downstream consequences that follow. I commend it to you over coffee today!
  • Published on

    Best foot forward: "Shoes" update

    Societal Wellbeing
    Eight weeks ago, I mentioned a great project to improve the health and wellbeing of  disadvantaged kids. Since then, the Shoes-for-Schools project has really taken off. Children from four schools now have new shoes. And today, the Dominion Post picked up on the project with this article. This project is a great example of a community rallying around to support others who are less well off.

    PS: About $28,000 is still needed (not $2800 as reported in the article) to put shoes on every child in the area. If you can help, please contact the NPBC office.
  • Published on

    A balanced lifestyle

    Societal Wellbeing Time Management
    The latest Regus work-life balance report has just been published. Generally, people are working harder than they were two years ago. However they say they are able to manage their work and home lives adequately.

    Interestingly, workers and owners in smaller businesses are better off than in larger businesses. This surprised me, because I often hear anecdotal comments from small business owners and workers who say they work harder and longer than workers in big businesses.

    I struggle with the concept of a work-life balance. A work-life balance implies a separation between our work-life and our personal-life. Yet with the ubiquity of mobile technology, smartphones, working-from-home arrangements and an "always on" mentality, the supposed separation has become very blurred. For me, the notion of a "lifestyle balance" has much more meaning. What do you think?

    For the record, the average work-life balance across Regus' global survey of 16,000 workers in 80 countries is 124. New Zealanders punched above average with a score of 126, but near neighbours Australia returned an even higher score of 129. Maybe that's why the current net migration figures are favouring the lucky country.
  • Published on

    Re-inventing New Zealand

    Governance Societal Wellbeing
    New Zealand has a proud heritage of export-led growth. For over 100 years, the world has beaten a path to our door to buy our protein and fibre. Superficially, this has been great for the nation. Export sales from our large companies grew by 40% in the four years to 2011. Yet in the last 50 years, New Zealand's OECD ranking has plummeted—from the top-5 to well into the bottom third of the list. The trouble is that our large exporters sell low margin commodities. They contribute little to the economy in real terms. And export growth in the rest of the market is languishing at less than 2%. Clearly, our smaller, aspirational companies aren’t getting the traction they need to grow.

    How should we respond to this? Do we accept our place in the world? Or should we make the changes necessary to punch above our weight as we have done so well in the past? The late Sir Paul Callaghan was right when he argued that diversification into high-value, high-margin businesses is crucial to our economic future.

    The question in my mind, having read the 2012 Budget summary and subsequent comments from MEA, interest.co.nz and others is this: “What role should the government play (if any), to kick start this reinvention of New Zealand’s economy?”