Indholdsfortegnelse for May 2018 i NZBusiness+Management

PART 4. RAISING CAPITAL Starting a business and growing it requires money – which is referred to as ‘capital’. Different types of businesses and different approaches to growing the business require different amounts of capital. The more capital you have at your disposal, the more ability you have to hire people, buy equipment, buy stock, advertise, rent offices, develop your product or service and pay for any other services or resources you may require. Generally speaking, you can grow your business faster if you have more capital. In some business categories, particularly those involving technology, speed to market is important. In other categories, speed to market can be less important. Having more capital invested in your business can have downsides too. More capital means more risk of losing that capital,…

Founded in 1974, EPL (Elastomer Products Limited) is a leading polymer and rubber extrusion company, headed by majority shareholder and managing director Tom Thomson. Aged 60, Thomson embarked on a succession plan aimed at providing a gentle exit from the business, while securing the future of his people – many of whom he’s worked with for 40-plus years. It would be a long-term plan – including a documented ten-year strategic plan for the company that captured Thomson’s vision and values; an exit strategy timeline; the appointment of CEO and successor Mark Field; and thorough communication with all stakeholders to maintain company-wide confidence going forward. The succession plan is a work in progress – with Thomson no longer involved in day-to-day business activities, but still active in new projects. “These projects…

You have to admire Charlie Zheng. Over the past seven years the Wellington-based investor and wine enthusiast has backed himself and his team to totally reinvent two formerly Sauvignon-Blanc dominated Martinborough wineries and convert 85 percent of them to Pinot Noir (with Chardonnay, Syrah, Pinot Meunier, Riesling and Pinot Gris completing the portfolio). It was a decision based purely on Martinborough’s reputation as one of the world’s premier Pinot Noir regions. The secret is out – the lower Wairarapa is only one of a few areas in the world with the right mix of conditions to grow quality Pinot. Why would you take on Marlborough’s Sauvignon juggernaut in a region less suited to the varietal? Why wouldn’t you play to your strengths and consolidate your offering? Sales and marketing manager…

In some jobs it’s common to see people working on two or more large computer screens. Financial traders are an obvious example. They often have a few help screens on their desk in order to make split-second decisions. The extra screens let them to see large amounts of information at a glance and they don’t need to switch between windows or applications. That’s something that no amount of innovation has made easier. Likewise, designers, engineers, doctors and nurses often have more than one desktop display. They seem to be essential for video production folk and software developers. You’ll see many displays in front of seats on a ship’s bridge or in a network control centre. It’s also not unusual to see desk workers in large corporations with more than one…

We all complain about being busy. Too much to do, too many emails, too many meetings. Our modern workplace demands so much from us. Technology promised us an increase in productivity that never really eventuated. You may have all of the hi-tech productivity tools at your disposal to help you plan your time and manage your priorities, but are you really leveraging this technology to meet the challenges of the 21st century workplace? Are you working smart? To truly work effectively today it is critical to harness the power of your technology, and to use it in a co-ordinated way to manage three core aspects of your work – your actions, your inputs and your outcomes. Step 1: Centralise your actions. Most of us made the transition from paper diaries…

Francois Barton, the executive director of The Business Leaders’ Health and Safety Forum, is warning CEOs and directors that by concentrating on a myriad of health and safety data, they may be missing something that points to major life-changing harm for their employees. Barton told Management that while the forum’s Health & Safety Leadership Survey (which was undertaken with Deloitte and released last year) found CEOs and directors have very good intentions around health and safety and are tracking a lot of data for their individual businesses, the evidence is increasingly pointing to the fact that some of the data is not giving them a useful and predictive picture of the real major risks. As a consequence, the board and CEO may be putting their efforts into things that are…

Let’s start with the C-word; collaboration. Or should I say c-words; connectors, communicators and coaches are what is needed to lead us through the increasingly diverse organisations and dynamic times which lie ahead. At this stage we can expect to spend at least some of our working lives doing jobs we have never done before. Some of these jobs do not exist yet. The rise of digital is transforming our workplace and there is no going back. So, what is involved in being agile, softening the impact of automation, and building capabilities to thrive in the future of work? People skills. Big time. The number one priority for talent development in 2018 is training for soft skills. Command and control manager-led teams are out, and collaborative, self-organised teams are in.…

THE rate of technological advancement in today’s age is dizzying. It seems like by the time we learn to properly use a new technology, it’s already outdated. But more important than the technology itself, is the impact it’s having on the skill profile of jobs. As more and more menial tasks become automated, desirable job candidates will need to have a different skill set than was necessary in the past. One of the most desirable traits in an increasingly digital economy is the ability to effectively solve problems. Potential workers will need to gain this skill, and competent leaders will never stop developing in this area. Unfortunately, it has been shown that on a global scale, only about a third of workers have more advanced cognitive skills that are necessary…

For a young girl growing up, having a father working as a diplomat for the government came with unique benefits – not least of which, the chance to see the world from an early age. Four years spent in Russia before returning to Wellington, then finishing high school in Indonesia, opened Samantha Jones eyes to the real world and deeply influenced the start of her business journey some years later. But owning a business wasn’t her original dream. An online advert for New Zealand Air Force university scholarships had caught her eye. She was encouraged to study commerce, which led to a logistics officer’s supply chain role – helping secure aircraft parts to keep the Orions and Seasprite helicopters operational and assisting on international exercises. With the prospect of job…

Exit strategy planning applies across all size businesses in New Zealand. However, the larger the company, the more options there are available. Simon Mundell, CEO and founding director of Advisory Works, a strategic execution consultancy based in Auckland and Christchurch, lists four of the more common options. First, you can sell the business as a going concern, “typically between two to four times the EBIT valuation”. Easy, clean, simple, if the owner is prepared. Second, there is the strategic trade sale – whereby the purchaser buys the business to leverage some of its existing assets. This could be IP, customer base, brand, people, or perhaps product range. Third. Management buyouts, which are becoming increasingly common. The fourth option is a management buy-in where, as Mundell explains, the external party purchases…

For Auckland-born Adam Zelcer life has always revolved around the next big opportunity. Even as a schoolboy he was buying favourite lollies from the dairy on the way to school and reselling them to his classmates at lunchtime for a profit. His teenage years were peppered with various business projects including washing cars, reselling vehicles purchased at auction, and importing handbags from China. Adam studied graphic design at University and completed work experience at a traditional advertising agency. As a high-school student he admits he wasn’t engaged in his studies – therefore he struggled in the workplace, having to buy books to get up to speed on grammar, spelling, maths and computing as an adult. “I dropped out after two years of international business studies because I had learnt more…

Business continuity covers a range of aspects relating to a business being able to perform in the event of a disaster – building access, IT requirements, data records, the list goes on. However, there are other things to consider, and perhaps it’s not always the obvious choices that should take priority. Legislation is constantly changing – to keep up with the fast paced and ever evolving business world and latest technology advances. You can’t plan for every eventuality, but there are some things you can plan for. In July 2018, the Anti-Money Laundering (AML) and Countering Financing of Terrorism (CFT) Act 2009 is changing. The Act, introduced in June 2013, imposed a series of obligations on banks, fund managers, financial advisers, debt collectors, safe deposit box vaults and numerous other…

South Korea (Korea) is home of the world’s fastest Internet. The average speed in Korea at the time of writing this article is 26.7 mbps. New Zealand is a distant 9.3 mbps (source: Fastmeterics www.fastmetrics.com). The South Korean peninsula is also one of the most densely populated places on earth with 211 people per square kilometre, according to the World Bank 2016 study. By comparison, New Zealand’s population density was a roomy 18 people per square kilometres. With a total population of 51.25 million people, Korea is one of the Four Asian Tigers (South Korea, Taiwan, Singapore and Hong Kong) and the fifth largest economy in Asia. It is New Zealand’s sixth largest export market and, fortunately for exporters, the New Zealand – Korea Free Trade Agreement entered into force…

Like us, you may have been thinking a lot about recent events reported in the paper and social media around sexual harassment and bullying. Are you wondering how this happened in organisations that should have known better, and are you concerned about your workplace and/ or other workplaces? To us this was both sad and shocking that these things still happen; we actually thought that here, in ‘Godzone’, we had evolved beyond such obviously awful behaviour. So, why is it still happening? You may be wondering – how is it that with everything we read and hear in conventional and social media, and with all the courses being run by big and small companies, why does such behavior still happen? You would think that highly educated, professional and respected members…

IF A STRANGER was to walk into your workplace, what would they observe? What would they tell others about the culture of the organisation? Would you be happy with what they were saying? As an organisation, AUT has been sitting down to talk about what makes us tick – specifically the values we stand for and the behaviours that support – or undermine – those core values. Values in this sense are an attempt to say something about an organisation’s culture, and behaviours are how we observe that culture in action. Everyone across AUT has been involved in workshops aimed at putting our values into action. Walking out of those sessions, many of my colleagues were manifestly impressed. What they were impressed with was the focus on real behaviours –…

When you’re in charge of an emerging beverage brand looking to engage a social media agency capable of producing insightful, high impact content – but you’re unable to find one – what do you do? In 2015, with their legendary products about to seriously disrupt the local market, Lewis Road Creamery’s Angela Weeks and Peter Cullinane decided to stop looking for an agency and create their own. Both had advertising backgrounds, so they had a natural head start. Content&Co was born. Angela and Peter quickly realised they couldn’t be both client and agency so they engaged a team to look after their baby. Twelve months after launching Content&Co Maya Brown came on board as GM to spearhead the management of the business and morph it from content production agency to…

The definition of risk management, according to the International Risk Management Institute website, is: “The practice of identifying and analysing loss exposure and taking steps to minimise the financial impact of the risks they impose.” Perhaps a layman’s definition could simply be – staying on top of the challenges that keep business owners awake at night! There is so much that can be lumped under the heading of risk management – from those increasingly frequent natural disasters to technology risks such as cyber-threats, risks associated around worker safety, late payments, volatile markets, new regulations, the economy – we could go on. Instead, we’ve selected some key risk exposures and gone to the experts for some strategies and advice. It’s far from comprehensive, and the risks are in no particular order…

“These investments help us remain competitive in the international playing field. As a small company from a small country, we have to innovate and think differently.” After 14 years at Heinz Wattie’s, Shane Don was brought into GreenMount Foods just under a year ago as GM of sales and marketing – to take the growing family SME to the next level. With production facilities in Hawke’s Bay (vegetables) and Tauranga (stocks and meals), GreenMount Foods provides high quality meal components for food service, retail and manufacturing customers in Asia, the US, Middle East, Australia and New Zealand. “As I’ve travelled the world I’ve found that it pays to have someone on the ground in-market working for you,” says Shane. “For example, I may get to Dubai two or three times…

In 2014 I wrote an article about stepping back from running the day-to-day aspects of my business. What I did not realise when I wrote the article was the reaction it would get. The article clearly resonated with a lot of business owners as the debate and feedback I received was unprecedented. This month I thought I would look back and reflect on both the good and the bad that have resulted from this difficult decision. Although it was one of the hardest decisions of my life, it’s also been incredibly liberating and rewarding. Stepping out of general operations has given me the space and the time to focus on what I enjoy the most: strategy, growth and ideas. WHAT’S WORKED? If I could go back and do everything again,…

More and more organisations are adopting flexible modes of global mobility to meet their international obligations. These include frequent international business travel, commuting (where the employee has a roster of away and at-home time), and undertaking short-term assignments of between three and six months. There are a number of factors driving this change. First and foremost, it is becoming increasingly difficult to attract candidates willing to relocate. Family issues, such as the impact on their children’s education and their partner’s career, are often cited as major deterrents. This is often compounded by the fact that many long-term placements are now to emerging market economies (including the BRIC economies of Brazil, Russia, India and China), where there are ongoing challenges around security, housing, and cultural divides that families have to transverse…

The Institute of Directors' company directors course, which is pretty much a prerequisite for anyone seeking to become a director, is for a full five days and can be done in a variety of centres on either a residential or non-residential basis. People who had done the course, uniformly recommended the residential version as there is quite a bit of evening activity and it helps reduce distractions. Some may plump for the more exotic locations – Waiheke Island or Queenstown, but I chose Auckland city for convenience. The course I did was based at the Pullman Hotel and we were pleasantly surprised that we were located in the old Top of the Town so had some scenic views during the breaks. You arrive Sunday night and there is a welcome…

Sensitivity around our personal data is growing as companies which have had data breaches are increasingly being held to account. These breaches happen daily around the world, whether it is credit card information; names; email addresses; phone numbers; dates of birth or passwords. Increasingly customers and clients want to know whether the data your business holds on them has been breached. And now New Zealand businesses could be impacted by Australian legislation which makes notification mandatory for certain data breaches. John Martin explains. CAN YOU EXPLAIN WHAT THE CHANGES TO THE AUSTRALIAN PRIVACY ACT FOR NOTIFIABLE DATA BREACH LEGISLATION ARE AND WHAT IT MEANS? The Australian Notifiable Data Breach (NDB) scheme is an amendment to the Australian Privacy Act 1988 (Cth) that establishes requirements for organisations in responding to certain…

In today's dynamic marketplace, it's imperative that leaders quickly adapt to changing market conditions, competitor activity and, most importantly, customer needs. It is only through welcoming, and encouraging, change that you will remain relevant in this environment of constant disruption and transformation. Agile is a proven approach to help accelerate your time to market and improve customer satisfaction. Together these benefits reduce financial risk and provide a faster return on investment – both key organisational drivers when resources are tight and competition is strong. As well as implementing and embedding Agile practices, building mutual trust and respect is integral to success. Traditional management hierarchies and techniques are no longer valued in many organisations. Instead, leaders must empower individuals, encourage collaboration, and serve their teams. For some this is a complete…