I don’t usually go out of my way to hear politicians speak, but I attended a recent North Harbour Business Association luncheon to hear the Economic Development Minister, Steven Joyce, give an address on making NZ a Pacific Economic Tiger. With his successful background in business, I was interested to hear what he had to…
I read with alarm the headline in the NZ Herald business section on February 8: “Slump in orders hits building industry”. Surely not, I thought. We are supposed to be on the up, not the down! Reading a bit further I soon discovered that the article was referring to Australia, not NZ. Phew! But it…
A couple of months back I met with a prospective client (who have since hired me) to talk about their business and why it wasn’t going as well as it could. They sent me their business plan ahead of time so I could familiarise myself with their situation. Their plan was very comprehensive and while…
I never thought I would really get into the America’s Cup competition this time. I had consigned it in my mind to “mega rich egos playing with the rules to suit themselves” type of carry-on. Maybe it’s the fantastic TV coverage or the closer than expected racing at times on these ridiculous boats; but I…
It was sad to read in the NZ Herald today that a roading contractor wins an industry award one day and the next day is put into receivership. What’s up with that!? How could an obvious industry best practice operator get it so wrong? Also, how could the judges of the awards get it so…
I came away from a client meeting last week with a building company owner really pleased to hear that a new staff performance review system we had introduced had been a great success with the field staff. There is always a risk of these more “corporate-like” processes being resisted strongly by the guys on site…
Executive Summary Many business owners become trapped in day-to-day operations because critical knowledge exists only in their heads. Effective systems allow work to be completed consistently, reduce reliance on key individuals and improve productivity. Well-designed procedures, checklists and workflows create a more scalable business that delivers a consistent customer experience while allowing owners to focus…
This week I hosted a mini seminar for a software developer who has produced a simple, cost effective and smart costing and project management program for builders. I am always on the lookout for tools like this to help my clients make their business more efficient and this program was no exception. The developer was…
“According to a study by the Centre for Small Enterprises at Massey University, during the next 10 years 64% of business owners intend to exit their businesses. For the North Shore, where I live, that means about 16,000 businesses may come up for sale during the next 10 years. That’s 130 a month, every month,…
The kind of CULTURE you have in your business is a bit like air. Air is hard to describe and you don’t really notice it being around you. Culture is a bit the same. But like air, when it isn’t there, or is stale and bad, then you really notice it. Because it is by-and-large…