A tasty opportunity

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New Zealand exports over 25 billion dollars worth of food produce a year and is one of only two countries in the world to export over half of its total food production. We are the bread basket of the South Pacific, blessed with a friendly climate, rich soil, a pristine environment and a good international reputation. In fact it’s New Zealand’s reputation that’s one of our key selling points in the international market. “Brand New Zealand” and the 100% Pure campaign are the cornerstones Read more [...]

Enemies of Greatness

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As New Zealanders we don't tend to talk about achieving greatness a whole lot, although we do have some amazing kiwis that have done just that. I was recently reading about Sir James Allen who was a prominent New Zealand politician and diplomat, and he said, “For true success ask yourself these four questions: Why? Why not? Why not me? Why not now? ” I know everyone wants to be successful, however you might define success. I do wonder how many of us think about taking that next step Read more [...]

Till death us do part: What’s your one piece of social media advice?

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Everybody's full of social media advice and best practices these days. So a few weeks ago I asked my peers in the Social Media Marketing group in LinkedIn to share their one piece of advice about social media based on their global experience. In this blog post I want to share some of those insights with you. When I started to reflect on some of their advice I was reminded of the vows I made on my wedding day. I do wonder how much we acknowledge the vows we make in the context of our business/customer Read more [...]

Data proliferation: Do you control your own data online?

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Have people just accepted a personal data trade off as part of the cost of being online, where they give up just a little bit of themselves to each site they log into, each time adding just a little more, until they reach the point where they figure why bother hiding anything. grid seem a thing of the distant past. More and more we are giving up our information for a seat at a social network table or to buy something on TradeMe. What do you give out for information, do you make any attempts to Read more [...]

The innovation equation

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One of the great benefits of working in a conference company is that I get to hear a number of fantastic, thought-provoking speakers each year. A word I hear constantly in conference presentations is innovation; the importance of it, how to create an organisational culture around it,  and so on. But the more I hear talk of innovation, the more I wonder if people have a real grasp of what it actually means. In our obsession with innovation, has the word become hollow and lost its meaning? I overheard Read more [...]

Building a Super City

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In an earlier blog we explored the concept of Housing Affordability in New Zealand. We pointed to a Massey University report which ranked Auckland as the least affordable place in New Zealand to own a house.   However, a city is not just rated on the quality and availability of affordable housing. In order for Auckland to become a world-class city, we need to have world-class infrastructure to support its economic and social growth. It needs to be paid for now, but sophisticated and complex Read more [...]

Who are your key staff?

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Recent disruptions at the Port of Auckland and the on-going negotiations at AFFCO has forced me to really consider the question of which group of workers my business couldn't do without. As managers, we often need to consider who within the team is the most valuable and what impact it might have if they suddenly left. The reality in our market is that often we do find some of our team getting better offers of work elsewhere or demanding pay hikes to stay. Other organisations, especially in Read more [...]

Sorry is the hardest thing to say

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None of us are perfect, in life or in business, and there are occasions where our experiences with a business do not meet our expectations. Yet for many organisations, “Sorry” seems to be the hardest thing to say when something goes wrong. Apologies range in their effectiveness and sincerity – from the genuine to the vaguely insulting. A quick, genuine apology for the incident that caused offence or did not meet expectations can often turn around a dissatisfied customer. The more genuine Read more [...]

Conferenz wins at Asian Conference Awards

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  The inaugural Asian Conference Awards ceremony took place last night at the Raffles City Convention Centre in Singapore. Around 200 people gathered from across the conference industry in the Asia-Pacific region. Representatives from New Zealand, Australia, China, Singapore, Japan, India and Malaysia were in line as finalists across the awards categories.     Conferenz was shortlisted as finalists for two awards - Best New Product Launch and Triumph in the Face of Adversity. Read more [...]

Paradise remortgaged: Examining housing affordability in Auckland

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80’s rock band Starship would have you believe that great cities are built on rock and roll. While that may be true of Los Angeles, Detroit, London or Seattle, in New Zealand great cities are built on effective transport linkages, quality of life, well planned urban spaces and a thriving local economy. But all of this comes at a cost. Upon the formation of the Auckland Council in 2010, Mayor Len Brown announced his vision to make Auckland “the most liveable city in the world.” It is an admirable Read more [...]