Auckland Today #99

Issue 99 | May/June 2013

www.aucklandtoday.net.nz

News | Initiatives | Interviews | Personalities | Success | Profiles | Finance | Property | Sustainability | Export | Transport | Retail | Solutions | ISSN 2230-6188

RRThousan

ds

of dollars worth

of Reader Reward

s

in this issue!

See page 4 fo

r details

Number sevens stellar opportunity Richie McCaw turns his attention to the commercial world

Inside innovation The Kiwi entrepreneur who revolutionised the way the world watches sport

Why sales training works The value of upskilling salespeople cant be overestimated

Cool advice Icehouse start-up director Ken Erskine talks SME success

Smart storage Is the cloud really right for you?

Chips off the

old blockThe Block New Zealand winners Ben and Libby Crawford build a new business from the ground up

4 May/June 2013 www.aucklandtoday.net.nz

6 Management Business consultant Kevin Vincent on the merits of running better meetings

6 PoliticsLabour Party leader David Shearer talks about the promise of prosperity

7 Human resources Colin Clapp from Accountable Business Progress discusses how organisations grow when people grow

7 Strategies Project Plus CEO Iain Fraser discusses the upside of organisational agility

8 Legal Malley & Co partner John Shingleton on how to manage a poor performing employee

8 Sales Author, speaker and sales specialist Richard Gee on running a great sales meeting

10 Working lifeWorkplace advisor Karen Degan discusses how involved employers should get in the personal lives of staff

10 Events diaryThis is where you find out whats going on near you

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Auckland Today Issue 99

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Issue 99 May/June 2013

Seth Riley Jane Watson Rob Cochrane Peter Black Daryl Noel Colin Evans Clive Greenwood

Issue 99 | May/June 2013


News | Initiatives | Interviews | Personalities | Success | Profiles | Finance | Property | Sustainability | Export | Transport | Retail | Solutions | ISSN 2230-6188

RRThousan

ds

of dollars worth

of Reader Reward

s

in this issue!

See page 4 fo

r details

Number sevens stellar opportunity Richie McCaw turns his attention to the commercial world

Inside innovation The Kiwi entrepreneur who revolutionised the way the world watches sport

Why sales training works The value of upskilling salespeople cant be overestimated

Cool advice Icehouse start-up director Ken Erskine talks SME success

Smart storage Is the cloud really right for you?

Chips off the

old blockThe Block New Zealand winners Ben and Libby Crawford build a new business from the ground up

Reader rewards in this issue

RR

Level 14 57 Fort Street Auckland 927 7632

ContentsIn BusinessViewpoints Features

9 Business tips Can virtual teams outperform traditional teams?

11 Smart storage Is the cloud really right for you?

12 Talking the talk The latest online trend that might be a keeper

13 Why sales training worksWhy the value of upskilling salespeople cant be overestimated

14 Inside innovation We run a couple of questions past Ian Taylor - the New Zealand entrepreneur who revolutionised the way the world watches sport

16 Cover story The Block New Zealand winners Ben and Libby Crawford build a new business from the ground up

18 Cool advice Icehouse start-up director Ken Erskine talks about the organisations motivation and SME success stories

20 Digital networking As the spotlight on social media starts to set, its time to take a tactical approach to online networking

22 PropertyOlly Newland says a capital gains tax simply isnt the magic bullet some people hope for

24 Number sevens stellar opportunityRichie McCaw turns his attention to a commercial opportunity

26 Lifestyles The perfect pinot, something scoopy, a little illumination, superb sounds, the coolest camera around and one completely excessive indulgence

28 Hot spotsThree destinations one close to home, another not too far away and the third well worth the trip

30 Focus

How the royally endorsed Campaign for Wool

benefits consumers and producers alike

34 Goods and Services

The ways printing and packaging can help your

business and the pressed metal specialists

Kimberley Tool and Design

40 Business Development

Deloittes top tips to keep on top of cash

flow, inside Eco Stocks mantra that a less

wasteful future is a better future, enlightening

experiences at Living Light Candles and the ins

and outs of, and top spots for your

next conference

50 Fishing Hunting and Boating

Geoff Thomas calls it like it is, Hunting and

Fishing New Zealand has all your outdoor kit,

Electrics Afloat diversifies and Formula Cruisers

can put you in the lap of luxury

62 Transport and Motoring

Giving your wheels the once over at Manukau

Auto and Tyre Centre

64 Hospitality

A selection of culinary treats from Pickles

Caf, Aubergine Takapuna, The Luscious Food

Store, The Viaduct Grill, the Molten Restaurant

and Wine Bar and getting in the swing at the

Howick Golf Club

72 Property and Construction

Distinctive designs with the Leuschke Group,

how Allan Wallace Builders make tough

jobs look simple and Watts and Hughes

Constructions high quality ethos

72

MEDIA CONSULTANTS

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Your chance to attend the Auckland Writers and Readers Festival for free is on page 10

You can get a bonus chair from Smooch Collection on page 19

Be in to win a 2013 Suzuki Swift from Catalyst2 Properties on page 21

Get free email alerts from myjobspace.co.nz on page 36

Grab a sample pack of Canidae all natural dog food on page 55

Have your needs assessed for free by Prepared Produce on page 64

FEATURING SPEAKERS

The Office of Ethnic Affairs invites you to sign up now for our EPIC NZ 2013 Conference

WWW.EPICNZ.CO.NZ/EVENTS

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ITS ALL ABOUT MAKING THE RIGHT CONNECTIONS

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Chief Executive Officer, Air New Zealand

72


Viewpoint | Management/Politics

Facilitation - what does it mean, what are we trying to achieve and how do we do it? Wikipedia describes facilitation as a term broadly used to describe any activity which makes tasks for others easy, or tasks that are assisted.

Effective facilitation in business meetings is to guide, without directing others to a point of learning or acceptance of change and is achieved through establishing wide participation, trust and engagement.

The facilitators role is to draw out discussion, others ideas and viewpoints and to encourage a sharing, team based collaborative environment. If achieved, the group will be better able to clarify its objectives, processes and outcomes.

Facilitation is not like the traditional teacher-student relationship; rather it is a sharing of information at all levels within a group for the purposes of increasing awareness, identifying issues, gaining collective understanding and an agreement to resolve.

A good facilitator will keep the meeting focused on its topic of discussion, steer the discussion on broader contexts, provide neutral perspectives and generally manage the process with appropriate time keeping.

At the completion of the facilitation, or at stages of agreement throughout the process, the facilitator will encourage the group with summaries of the achievements.

A facilitator is someone who:

Does not evaluate the ideas expressed

Recognises the strengths and abilities of individual group members and helps them to feel comfortable about sharing their hopes, concerns and ideas

Helps the group focus its energies on the task

Supports the group, giving participants confidence in sharing without feeling threatened

Values diversity and is sensitive to the different needs and interests of group members

Makes sure everyone has the opportunity to participate

Leads by example through attitudes, approach and actions

Periodically summarises using active listening skills clarification, paraphrasing, empathy and summarising, the group discussion to ensure consensus of understanding and the progress of the discussions

Recognises progress with positive reinforcing statements.

The facilitator must give control and responsibility to the group to make the process effective.

Groups that need to engage a facilitator often find that using a trained external facilitator makes the process more efficient and easier with everyone involved.

External appointed facilitators should:

Apply a variety of participatory processes

Demonstrate effective verbal communication skills

Develop rapport with participants

Demonstrate ability to observe and provide feedback to participants

Create opportunities for participants to benefit from the diversity of the group

Help individuals identify and review underlying assumptions

Recognise conflict and its role within group learning / maturity

Provide a safe environment for conflict to surface

Manage disruptive group behaviour

Support the group through resolution of conflict

Draw out participants of all learning/thinking styles

Encourage creative thinking

Accept all ideas

Use approaches that best fit needs and abilities of the group.

The win is the bringing all members of the team to a point where a creative, collaborative, unified resolution has been achieved.

This is when facilitation is most effective, providing ownership and the greatest chance of success.

Improving your facilitation of meetings

Kevin Vincent is a director of business improvement consultants Vincent and Nugent Limited - www.vincentnugent.co.nz

The promise of prosperity

David Shearer is the MP for Mt Albert and leader of the Labour Party

As the parliamentary inquiry into the future of manufacturing continues, we have been hearing the personal stories of many workers and business people who have lost jobs and income. Some of those stories are heart-breaking; in four years, more than a thousand manufacturing companies have closed their doors with 40,000 jobs lost.

Were seeing higher unemployment, lower export earnings, higher international debt and a slide towards a poorer New Zealand.

Jane and David Ellis from Earth Sea Sky are successful Canterbury based clothing manufacturers who made a submission to the manufacturing inquiry. Theyre determined to keep manufacturing in New Zealand and should be applauded for that.

But Jane and Davids business is facing a double whammy. The high dollar means they cant compete with overseas manufacturers when exporting, meanwhile here in New Zealand the Governments procurement policies have seen them shut out of important local contracts that would have boosted their business.

Energetic businesspeople like Jane and David Ellis need to be met halfway by an active government thats working for them.

I want to make it easier to do business in New Zealand. Its imperative that we modernise our economy and turn this situation around.

First we need to create a deep pool of investment in New Zealand that businesses can draw on to expand and export to the world, upping our national income. A universal KiwiSaver will provide this.

If we implement a capital gains tax, people will be encouraged to invest in productive New Zealand businesses, rather than speculating on property (this capital gains tax will of course exclude the family home).

We want to give tax breaks to businesses that invest in research and development, encouraging innovative and new ideas and products that we can take to the rest of the world.

Well pay the equivalent of the dole to every tradesperson willing to train a young apprentice.

Our young people are central to our plans, and we must make sure theyre all in work, education or training. The New Zealand of the future will require an energetic, high skills workforce.

A procurement policy is a necessity. Kiwi businesses like David and Jane Ellis should always be at the front of the queue when the government is considering a big purchase.

Taxpayer money should never be spent on overseas products that could be made here by Kiwi businesses for a fair price.

Our provincial centres are neglected and struggling. Labour is developing a policy package to support businesses in the regions.

We will not stand by and let the high dollar strangle New Zealand businesses. We will overhaul the Reserve Bank Act to give proper weight to important economic considerations such as jobs and the exchange rate, not solely to inflation.

The National Government is racking up debt, selling assets and ignoring the high dollar while New Zealand businesses suffer and close.

Labour will fight for the survival of New Zealand businesses.

Were a hardworking and smart nation. Under my leadership we will develop an efficient, ideas-based economy that turns heads internationally, brings our expatriates home and leaves a legacy of prosperity for the next generation.

www.aucklandtoday.net.nz May/June 2013 7

Viewpoint | HR/Strategies

Organisations grow when people grow

Colin Clapp is the Chief Thinking Officer at Accountable Business Progress. His team helps to turn good businesses into great companies. Visit www.accountable.co.nz

We all know business is about people, but as a business leader, are you truly investing in your team? Without a productive and motivated team, reaching your financial goals will always be an uphill battle.Corporate wellbeing is a phrase tossed around boardrooms with regularity, but for you, in your business, how can you make the total wellness of your team a reality?

At Accountable Business Progress, we have professionals working with businesses in the following areas each is interlinked and to be a well business, we believe you need to focus on each of these areas to reach your goals.

Business clarity

A business that has a clear plan, shared goals and a supportive environment to achieve its goals, is a business that will succeed. Its the old adage, If you fail to plan, then plan to fail.

Provide your team with a clear picture of your expectations, vision and purpose. Involve, empower and encourage them to step up and contribute. Be an effective and supportive leader.

Personal wellbeing and empowerment

Limiting beliefs and emotional left-overs from peoples pasts can repress them. Help your team break through the glass ceiling individually and collectively as a team.

By taking an active interest in increasing their emotional wellbeing and teaching them personal effectiveness and efficiency, the increase in their contribution to your business can be astonishing.

Personal responsibility and productivity

While the business as a whole needs effective leadership and goals, each individual needs to take responsibility for their role in helping to make these happen.

Individuals need goals that align with the business and this in turn brings about a desire to be productive. Individuals also need personal vision and purpose in their own life.

This will spill over into the workplace.

The skill to manage and drive change

Who is your inner champion? People who are left to their own devices to facilitate and implement change are likely to fall into the hands of cynics and sceptics.

Change has to be viewed as positive and contribute to the companys goals.

Physical wellbeing

Invest into the wellbeing of your people and you will grow.

Here is an interesting list of questions from the book First Break all the Rules by Marcus Buckingham. These 12 factors have been identified as the main reasons why employees leave jobs.

Do individual members of my team know what is expected of them at work?

Do individual members of my team have the materials and equipment they need to do their work right?

At work do individual members of my team have the opportunity to do what they do best every day?

In the last seven days, have individual members of my team received recognition or praise for good work?

Do individual members of my team feel that I, or someone at work, seem to care about them?

Is there anyone at work who encourages my teams individual development?

At work, do the opinions of individual members on my team seem to count?

Does the mission/purpose of my company make the individual members of my team feel like their work is important?

Do the team feel like their co-workers are committed to doing quality work?

Do individual members of my team have a best friend at work?

In the last six months, have I talked with individual members of my team about their progress?

At work, have individual members of my team had opportunities to grow?

The upside of organisational agility

Iain Fraser is CEO of business consultancy Project Plus Ltd. Contact [email protected] or visit www.projectplusgroup.com

With just a few exceptions, the worlds economies are still suffering from shifting global market priorities and slow growth.

These have created complex, risk-laden business environments that have many leaders looking for inspiration in order to find ways to balance the need to innovate and change (getting ahead), against the mindset of lets just clamp down and ride this out (staying in business).

For organisations that want to get ahead, recent research suggests those organisations that have high levels of agility are twice as likely to see increased success with their new initiatives, when compared to those with low agility.

So what is agility?

In essence its about an organisations ability to be flexible, or as I prefer, to be nimble, in its ability to conduct its business.

Forward thinking organisational leaders have recognised that post global financial crisis (GFC) there is a greater need for organisations to be way more receptive to delivery of value, thats faster and for a cost thats less than before.

Leaders that recognise the need for change, identify market shifts and wish to seize new opportunities, or maintain a fast pace, are beginning to adapt their approaches on three key areas: namely, execution of plans (portfolio management style), risk management and talent (resource) management.

A new business management model

Becoming a more nimble organisation requires a strong understanding of and line of sight on the organisations ability to execute against and benefit from, its goals and objectives.

A leaning towards stronger, matrix type structures and the empowerment of resources, together with portfolio management techniques, is gaining momentum around the world.

Why portfolio management?

Portfolio management use, together with its cousins programme and project management, allows any organisation to blend change driven initiatives with business as usual (BAU) in a matrix manner that has high levels of resource empowerment and leadership.

This requires the organisations to take risk; risk that is calculated and considered, accepted and communicated throughout the organisation, so that prioritisation, decision making and ultimately business benefits are better understood and easier to achieve.

Portfolio management is no longer just about finance investments, albeit there is a linkage in terms of organisations seeking to balance their internal investments (capital) into change driven activity, that directly contributes towards future business successes i.e. return on investment.

In summary portfolio management is all about the way we do business, from strategy planning through to benefits realisation.

The use of modern portfolio management techniques demonstrates that project management has come a long way not just a construction/engineering oriented discipline anymore, but a recognised technique for balancing an organisations capacity and capability to better achieve goals and objectives faster and for lower cost.

To get ahead, organisations must adapt and become more nimble in todays environment.

In taking no risk, one is unlikely to thrive or even survive however, taking too much risk can have the same effect.

Bottom line is, portfolio management together with a nimble and lean philosophy thats change driven gives better performance that then allows any organisation to get ahead.

Business benefits that are real!We care about the benefits our clients gain from our

integrated solutions. We provide advice, review, specialist resource injection and professional development. Get in

touch to realise your benefits.

www.projectplusgroup.co.nz People, Passion and Projects


Viewpoints | SalesViewpoints | Legal

John Shingleton is a partner and general manager at Malley & Co Lawyers, specialising in management, human resources and employment law. Visit www.malley.co.nz

How to manage a poor performing employee

Managing poor performance by an employee can be fraught with difficulty and there is a considerable process employers need to follow. Ideally, all new employees should be properly employed under a 90-day trial period. However, there are circumstances when an employer discovers they have hired a poor performer, but did not have the employee on a 90-day trial period. That employer might instead have hired the employee on a probationary period. These are usually for up to three months.

It is important not to confuse a probationary period with a 90-day trial period. They are two very different contractual arrangements. Similarly, the employer might have a specific poor performance management clause in the employment agreement.

How to manage poor performance when there is no specific contractual clause

It is essential that the employee is clear as to what is expected of them at the outset of employment. Documenting clear and precise standards or Key Performance Indicators is a must

The employer must have evidence of the poor performance. Again, documentation is critical

If the employer is concerned about the poor performance, then the employer must treat the employee in good faith

Practically, the employer should outline the concerns in writing and first invite the employee to attend a meeting, with a support person or legal representative, to discuss the concerns. All the concerns and supporting evidence must be disclosed in the letter

The first meeting is to provide the employee with an opportunity to discuss the concerns and express their point of view on the matters that have been raised. At the end of the meeting, the employer should review what has been said and decide whether to continue managing the perceived lack of performance

It may be that the process need not progress any further. But, if the concerns are still alive, then the employer should put the employee on a performance management plan.

A performance management plan

The proposed plan should be circulated to the employee for comment first before a second meeting is held.

The plan should outline specific tangible targets and periodic reviews. At those reviews it is important to give the employee documented feedback.

Ideally, the plan would include any assistance the employer considers reasonable for the employee to reach the required targets.

The letter also needs to outline the potential outcomes of the plan. If they do not reach the agreed outcomes within the specified timeframe, a first warning and an extension to the plan will be put in place.

If extending the plan, the employer should further notify the employee that if at the end of the extended period, the employee does not reach the required standard, a disciplinary meeting may be held which depending on the gravity of the poor performance may conclude with a final written warning or dismissal.

If the employer has reached the stage where a final written warning or dismissal is fairly warranted, then the employer is entering into the area of discipline. Section 103A of the Employment Relations Act 2000 imposes on the employer a duty to act fairly and reasonably. The good faith obligations still remain.

The Employment Relations Authority makes clear that employers must give employee all fair and reasonable opportunities to reach the required standard. It is also crucial that the standard that is required is also fair and reasonable. If it is found that the standard is unachievable, then that could give rise to a legitimate personal grievance against the employer.

To avoid getting into this, properly hire new employees under a 90-day trial period. If a new employee is a poor performer, then they can be let go quickly without fuss.

Richard Gee is an author, international speaker and trainer of sales people. His websites www.geewiz.co.nz, www.geewiztv.com and www.successful.co.nz contain examples and free strategies for sales marketing and business development

Running a great sales meeting

Too many sales meetings actually turn the sales reps off coming because of the agenda and communication style, which gives the reverse stimulation and destroys the leadership respect.To make sure your sales meetings focus is right, there is a simple format you can follow.

Start with a welcome and the sharing of a recent successful sale by each sales rep.

This creates participation right at the beginning, encourages preparation for future meetings, boosts egos and will enthuse the group all in the first two minutes.

Review the objectives set last week by each rep and whether they were achieved, this gives participation and also shows who on your team is organised, focussed and made sure they got their customer objective, which also builds peer group pressure.

Dont spend time going over old sales history numbers; the team cant change the past but can show what they learnt from the numbers last month and detail to you what they are going to do different to catch up or do better.

One set of numbers to review is the number of face to face sales calls made by each rep since the last meeting. This number shows you how many times they got in front of customers to demonstrate their skills, which is what you employed them to do. It highlights lazy sales people, who needs training or help from you and it again motivates the group.

Then introduce any product news, company news and supplier news, with resource handouts or samples, to encourage immediate sales action. If you have admin issues, invite your admin manager to address the team about the issues, rather than you.

Discuss the focus for the next week, month or time frame where you set the vision for what you want the sales team to concentrate on.

It is your chance to lead from the front and tell them when you will be out visiting clients with the reps.

Sometimes you may have a supplier presentation; this should be no longer than 10 to 20 minutes and make sure you see what they are presenting first and how they intend to present it - it is your sales team, so dont be made to look a fool from poor supplier selling presentations.

Then finish your meeting with each sales rep setting an objective to achieve by the next meeting. Each rep writes this objective down and hands it to you for use in the next meeting. If it is not written down it never happens!

This makes sure you have a positive start and end to the meeting and your sales reps will want to attend and participate at future sales meetings.

Sales meetings should always focus on the future and the sales people attending should walk away understanding their contribution to the direction needed and be self motivated to do so.

Upcoming Auckland seminars:

May 14 Sales Basics May 15 Advanced Serious Selling June 18 Sales Basics June 19 Leadership with Results July 16 Sales Basics July 17 Sales Management Aug 13 Sales Basics Aug 14 Advanced Serious Selling Sept 17 Sales Basics Sept 18 Leadership with Results Oct 15 Sales Basics Oct 16 Customer Service Basics Nov 12 Sales Basics Nov 13 Advanced Serious Selling

Business problem solver, Decision maker, Sales Motivator, International Guru!

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www.geewiz.co.nz | www.geewiztv.com | Ph. 0800GEEWIZ Or M.0274 720 410

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Can virtual teams outperform traditional teams? By Stephen Lynch

With offices in the USA, Canada, and New Zealand, our company is organised by functional teams, comprising staff members who work together on a daily basis, across multiple time zones, mostly with colleagues they have never actually met face to face. And heres the thing, they may never get to meet face to face! Likewise in our work with clients; we have clients we have worked with virtually for several years now that we have never met face to face!

A few years ago, these types of working relationships would have seemed strange, but now, thanks to a combination of web conferencing technology and business execution software, this style of working feels very normal to us.

Increasingly, these types of working relationships are becoming the norm for our client firms too. More and more companies are forming virtual teams with staff (and external contractors) who reside in different locations to collaborate on projects. Some of these teams last only for the duration of the project, while others are more permanent in nature.

The notion of staff being forced to all work out of the same office and to work the same business hours makes less and less sense and the future implications for office space requirements and working environments are profound.

In the past, it was thought that you need to work face to face in order to create highly productive teams but is that still true?

I came across a study of 80 firms showing that virtual teams can be highly effective, even when individual members have never met in person - and they can even outperform traditional teams.

Key advantages of working face to face:

Frequent informal face to face communication helps to strengthen social bonds and build trust

Can directly observe and read our colleagues emotional states.

Key advantages of virtual teams:

Assemble people with the best expertise for the job, regardless of location

Geographically dispersed teams tend to have divergent viewpoints reducing group think, leading to higher quality problem solving and decision making

The research showed that virtual teams can indeed outperform local teams - provided they are set up and managed in the right way. You cant just assemble a dispersed team of talented people and hope for the best.

How to create highly productive virtual teams:

Shared commitment to group goals

Awareness and appreciation of cultural differences

Global culture create a sense of belonging to the virtual team, not just the local office

Disciplined meeting cadence with high quality communications

People encouraged to share personal communications as well e.g. whats going on in their lives

Solid business execution practices to make performance visible and drive progress

Each team member held firmly accountable for results.

Business execution software helps firms like us to create and manage highly productive teams.

You dont need to have virtual teams to experience the benefits of using such tools either. Even your face to face teams will benefit from implementing a disciplined business execution system.

Stephen Lynch is the chief operating officer of Global Operations at Results.com. Information kindly provided by www.results.com

News | Business Tips

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Phone: 64 9 889 0055 Fax: 64 9 479 9802 PO Box 300 866, Albany 0752, Auckland


Viewpoints | Working Life News | Events Diary

The concept that employees should leave their personal lives at the door is becoming obsolete. Many companies not only want to know about the personal lives of their staff, but are getting actively involved in helping them. Although a companys greatest asset is its staff, generally managers have only wanted to know the at work part of that asset, keeping a comfortable arms length from involvement in their personal lives.

This attitude is finally changing with managers taking a holistic approach. The word holistic means to emphasise the importance of the whole person and the interdependence of all the different parts. It is the understanding that all aspects of peoples needs, including the psychological, physical, social and spiritual, need to be taken into account and seen as a whole.

The ideal employee is someone who has grown to and is operating at their fullest potential. According to Abraham Maslow, the full realisation of ones potential is only realised when all other needs are fulfilled.

His hierarchy of needs model proposed that one must satisfy lower level basic needs before progressing on to meet higher level growth needs. Once these needs have been reasonably satisfied, one may be able to reach the highest level called self-actualisation.

Maslow described self-actualised people as those who were fulfilled and doing all they were capable of. Every person is capable of moving toward a level of self-actualisation, but unfortunately progress is often disrupted by failure to meet lower level needs. It is at these lower levels that astute managers are offering assistance.

Companies who actively assist their employees up the hierarchy of needs are more likely to have self-actualised people on their team - those who can perform at the highest possible level.

Most people already have their basic needs met however, after the Christchurch earthquakes this was no longer the case. Recognising that the worry associated with

Personal lives of staff - how involved should you get?

Karen Degen is the owner of Set Free with EFT, a company that changes mindsets to create business success. Email [email protected] or visit www.setfree.co.nz

this would impact on their staffs ability to be focused and productive, smart companies stepped in to assist with meeting that need. One large multinational company for example offered five additional days paid leave so their staff could sort out any earthquake related issues.

They also offered to quickly send constructional engineers to evaluate the homes of their staff members. This went a long way towards creating peace of mind, or where there was serious damage, certainty and an ability to make decisions straight away.

Most peoples progress up the hierarchy of needs is hampered at the third and fourth levels. These levels are primarily emotional, including self esteem and confidence. Any assistance given to move employees through these levels will be well rewarded. There is a saying energy flows where attention goes. Unfortunately many peoples attention is focused on worry, fear or self doubt.

One way that managers can take the more holistic approach is to have regular holistic (whole person) meetings with each employee, using that time to find out what is happening in their lives, but more importantly how they feel about those situations.

In finding out how they feel about themselves and their lives, any barriers to achieving their fullest potential can be identified and assistance provided.

For many managers this is not the type of discussion they feel comfortable having. These discussions also require a particular skill set many managers may not possess. It may be more prudent to provide access to an expert in this field who can hold these holistic meetings and provide any assistance needed to move through the various personal challenges.

One thing managers can do to create a sense of safety and trust around this is to set an example. For instance, dont hide your own personal or family issues from your employees. Allow them to see the whole side of you, challenges and all. Those who wall off their own personal life will find their employees putting up similar walls.

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NZ Curriculum matching, award-winning & scientifically proven programme for education.

Students become calmer, happier and friendlier towards each other. CMC programme teaches Empathy and Peace in the purest form.

(CMC) Children Massaging Children as HAUORA lesson at schools

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EVENTS DIARY

MONDAY, APRIL 29 MAY 17OXY Break

If you work in an office environment you probably have some of these symptoms: tired, run down, sore back, tight shoulders, neck cramps? You need an OXY Break!

Right now, you are probably only using 20 percent of your lung capacity when you breathe. Ten percent of the energy you use every day comes from food. The other 90 percent comes from oxygen. By learning some simple breathing exercises, you can increase your physical wellbeing five fold.

Visit: www.vision4lifepro.com

WEDNESDAY, May 1 2 An Evening with Jack Dee

After a six year absence from stand up comedy, Jack Dee is back, agonising over the slightest of annoyances and misdemeanours. Why is he touring again? I want to spend less time with my family he says. Jack Dee is an actor, comedian and writer who has won worldwide acclaim for his stand up comedy routines. Having forged a highly successful comedic reputation during the 1990s based on the sardonic, deadpan style of his stand up routine, Jack Dee shot to even greater fame in 2001 after he won the very first series of Celebrity Big Brother.

For tickets, go to: www.eventfinder.co.nz

THURSDAY, MAY 9 - 10Communication Strategies

Identify common communication problems and learn how to deal with them. Develop skills to ask questions that give you the information you need. Learn what your non-verbal messages are telling others. Develop skills in listening actively and empathetically to others. Enhance your ability to handle difficult situations Deal with situations assertively.

For more information and to visit: www.minervalearning.co.nz

FRIDAY, May 10Employment Law for Small Business

Employment contracts can seem fraught with risks to your business. Explore employment law in detail and equip yourself with the knowledge and skills to minimise that risk by attending this Employment Law for Small Business course. Youll examine recruitment, employment agreements, current legislation, bargaining, restructuring and resolution of disputes in a practical and interactive one day format.

For more information go to: www.businessatmanukau.co.nz

TUESDAY, May 14Integrated Marketing

Having an integrated marketing plan is essential to drive sales and run an effective business. This workshop will make sure you create marketing plans that deliver an effective and integrated approach to your business marketing. Using real business scenarios across a wide variety of sectors and company sizes, you will learn how to develop and deliver an integrated marketing plan that is aligned to your business goals and includes the most current tactical options.

To register, go to: www.aucklandchamber.co.nz

TUESDAY, MAY 14Business Plan

If youre like most people, chances are youve never put your thoughts down on paper or in fact structured your business around a set plan. It is something you can share with your team so youre all working with the same aim. After working through the workshop you will have the knowledge and tools necessary to assist you with the completion of a basic business plan. The plan itself, once complete, will provide a sound basis for management and will enable you to share and celebrate your successes.

To register, go to: www.bizhub.anz.co.nz

WEDNESDAY, MAY 15 - 19Writers and Readers festival

Taking place at Aotea Centre in Auckland, this event will see fiction, poetry, politics, food and wine, sport, conflict, science, music, travel, history, gardening, architecture and health featured in the programme. There will also be a free book valuing event, live playwriting, two days of sessions at the Auckland Art Gallery, a cricket lunch with Australian cricket writer Gideon Haigh and three free readings sessions each day bringing together New Zealand and international writers around themes.

For more information visit: www.writersfestival.co.nz

Be in to winWin an hour with James McNeish at the Auckland Writers and Readers Festival

When: Saturday, May 18, from 4-5pm

Where: Lower NZI Room, Aotea Centre

James McNeishs memoir Touchstones paints a self portrait of one of New Zealands most accomplished writers abroad and at home. James will expand on his witty and poignant tale in conversation with Finlay Macdonald.

Simply email [email protected] and mention James McNeish in the subject line and go in the draw to win.

RR


News | Technology

Its one of those things with a catch phrase thats really caught on cloud computing. But what does cloud computing really mean and how can it help you? Cloud computing, quite simply, is internet based computing storage.

Smart storageBy Melinda Collins

Where we previously would have saved data on our own computers, the idea of cloud computing is that same data is stored off-site so if your machine or network goes up in smoke, your data doesnt go with it.

It is a solution which is growing in popularity, particularly within the SME sector.

So why are more SMEs moving to the cloud? Cloud computing increases efficiency, helps improve cash flow and offers many more benefits.

So whats stopping the rest of us?

Deciding whether to move to the cloud is a business decision that depends on a variety of factors, Privacy Commissioner Marie Shroff says.

Shroff has just released guidance material for SMEs, to help them protect personal information when using cloud computing. Businesses dont necessarily have time to put together a checklist for themselves. So weve developed some guidance, including a list that sets out the most important questions for SMEs to think about and ask prospective cloud providers about.

The plan is to keep the guide up to date so it retains its usability. We started by talking to some New Zealand businesses and government agencies to see how they were using the cloud and work out where the information gaps might be.

Weve also consulted those businesses and agencies in developing the guidance. We welcome feedback to help us ensure that the guidance remains up to date

and useable throughout the business and government community, she says.

Businesses today are increasingly turning to cloud computing, but many are flying blind with the range of options, providers and risks. Shifting to the cloud can often make really good sense. But responsible businesses will always want to be sure that their client and staff information will be safe. We saw a gap in the guidance that was available.

Some questions to ask providers are:

What information will you be sending to the cloud? Some types of information are more sensitive or risky than other types of information

How will you keep the information secure, both while its crossing the internet and when its stored with your cloud provider?

Will your cloud provider tell you if theres a security breach, or if the information is accessed by anyone other than you?

Where will the information be stored? Some countries may not protect the information as strongly as you would like

Can you get the information back quickly if you want it?

Who else might see the information and why?

Will the cloud provider delete the information if you decide to move service, or if you dont need it any more?

The cloud guidance is available free from the Privacy Commissioners website www.privacy.org.nz/using-the-cloud/

An internet software company is promising to make it easier to get fresh content and harness social media to add significant value to a companys website.Shuttlerock, being launched by New Zealanders Jonny Hendriksen and Paul Bingham, generates fresh content recognised by search engines. Social media has never been easier or more affordable, Bingham says. Currently there is just not enough time to keep adding fresh content to a company website. There are also too many social channels to chase effectively and more are coming.

Bingham says Shuttlerock was developed to tackle a number of current problems many

companies experience with their online marketing efforts, problems both he and Hendriksen had encountered running their own businesses.

Companies are challenged to get best use out of social media sites. Search engine optimisation can be complicated and is often expensive. Some content management systems can also be complicated and often only one person looks after it, Hendriksen says.

From our own experiences we know more and more customers are demanding up to date and interactive content from their web experience. The days of the static website content have come to an end.

Shuttlerocks competition platform also entices customers to share their experience of a product or service to their friends online and Shuttlerocks photo content boards are integrated with social

media sites like Facebook to help drive traffic to a companys website.

Hendriksen stresses its the first time that a company has created a means to reach a customers friends and receive recognition from search engines for content that is then created on their website.

The Shuttlerock system creates lots of good relevant content meaning potential customers stay on a site longer, and that means they are more likely to take action.

Shuttlerock also has the ability to gather email addresses of both customers and their friends an extremely relevant group of potential customers.

Content can be generated from a range of sources, and is not just limited to staff. Its then easily uploaded with images automatically sized, very much like social media site Facebook, reducing the need for complex content management systems.

To find more information visit www.shuttlerock.com

Keeping it fresh on your website

Paul Bingham and Jonny Hendriksen are committed to going global with software company Shuttlerock, promising to make it easier to get fresh content and harness social media to add significant value to companies websites.


News | Trends

YouTube has come to define the era of online video; but while Charlie bites his brothers finger, Justin Beiber wants to be your boyfriend and Lady Gaga has her cake and rolls around in it too, the web portal has in recent years become a showroom for the intellectual style of the digital age. With names like Fifty shades of gay, Could tissue engineering mean personalised medicine? and The dance of the dung beetle, the latest trend in online clips seem to go against all the standard rules for internet infamy. It is elite idea sharing gone mainstream.

TED Talks are a series of internet video lectures which have taken the world by storm, with more than one billion views worldwide. An acronym for technology, entertainment and design, TED Talks have developed from the conference of the same name.

The trend began as a simple attempt to share what happens at TED with the world. Under the moniker ideas worth spreading, talks were released online, giving everyone on-demand access to the worlds most inspiring voices.

So weve made it even simpler for you to hear these voices by hunting out the top 10 TED Talks for business. Just tap them into YouTube and you have a front seat pass.

Rory Sutherland: Life lessons from an ad man

Entrepreneurs can learn a lot by studying behavioural economics. Rory Sutherland, vice chairman of Ogilvy & Mather states that a change in perceived value can be just as satisfying as what we consider real value; a humorous and deeply insightful presentation that every entrepreneur, or at least every marketer, should watch.

Simon Sinek: How great leaders inspire action

People dont buy what you do, they buy why you do it. An author, motivational speaker, and strategic communications professor at Columbia University, Sinek has a simple but powerful model for inspirational leadership that starts with his famous golden circle of motivation and the question Why?

Seth Godin: How to get your ideas to spread

Everyone has heard the expression The best thing since sliced bread but did you know that for 15 years after sliced bread was invented it wasnt popular? The success of sliced bread, like the success of anything,

was less about the product and more about whether or not you could get your idea to spread or not.

Marketing guru and author Godin spells out why, when it comes to getting our attention, bad or bizarre ideas are more successful than boring ones.

Cameron Herold: Lets raise kids to be entrepreneurs

Herold thinks weekly allowances teach kids the wrong habits teaching kids to expect a regular paycheque, something to which entrepreneurs usually dont get. Herold taught his two kids to walk around the yard looking for stuff that needs to get done, then they negotiate a price. He makes the case for a new type of parenting and education that helps would-be entrepreneurs flourish.

Jason Fried: Why work doesnt happen at work

The office isnt a good place to work, meetings are toxic and ASAP is poison. In Jason Frieds TED Talk, he lays out the problems with work and offers three suggestions to fix a broken office.

Richard St. John: 8 secrets of success

Why do people succeed? Is it because they are smart? Or are they just lucky? The answer is neither. Success analyst, speaker and author St. John asked more than 500 extraordinarily successful people what helped them succeed, analysed their answers and discovered eight traits successful people have in common.

Nigel Marsh: How to make work-life balance work

Marsh, author of Overworked and Underlaid, speaks about the dangers of putting our lives in the hands of abattoirs of the human soul aka commercial corporations and how to enforce the boundaries we want in our life.

Steve Jobs: How to live before you die

No list of inspiring talks would be complete without Steve Jobs 2005 commencement address at Stanford University. While not officially a TED Talk, the deeply touching and inspirational speech is included in TEDs Best of the Web list and is a must-watch even if youve already seen it before.

Shawn Achor: The happy secret to better work

Psychologist Shawn Achor doubles as a comedian in this talk, during which he says the lens through which your brain views the world shapes your reality. And if we can change the lens not only can we change your happiness, but we can change every single educational and business outcome at the same time, he says in this highly entertaining video.

Julie Burstein: Four lessons in creativity

In this inspiring talk, radio host and book author Julie Burstein gives voice to several interviews with remarkably talented people who found that creativity grows when you pay attention to the world around you, learn from challenges, push against the limits of what you can do as well as the hardest thing of all--embrace loss.

By Melinda Collins

Talking the talk


News | Trends

One of the biggest challenges businesses face today is positioning their products and services for maximum marketability. In most industries, all the players have access to basically the same technology and resources thus, the products they turn out are very similar in terms of features, benefits and pricing.

In such a climate, how do you get an edge?

The best way to get ahead and stay one up on the competition is to become proficient at selling value instead of price. Any business that is willing to train its staff to the highest possible level will have the best chance of producing high income. Training is an important investment in your business.

The need for training and development is ongoing for any effective sales team. The more frequent the training the more likely the team will deliver consistently improved results. Companies that choose not to provide training are hurting themselves, as they are not improving and investing in their people the sales teams; the providers of their revenue.

Any improvements, big or small in sales skills, such as prospecting, making better presentations, overcoming objections, value added negotiations, or closing can lead to significant increases in sales results.

There are many well researched and documented reasons that cover the real and tangible benefits of sales and service training and here are a selection of the more widely known.

Sales and profitabilityWell trained sales teams will most definitely deliver increased sales results, leading to greater profits. The more understanding the sales team has of the sales process, the easier it will be to convert customer enquiries into sales.

I have heard that it is not uncommon for up to 80 percent of the business to be generated by just 20 percent of the salespeople. If this is the case then its no wonder that most sales organisations may struggle.

If non-performers are being constantly replaced, then that staff turnover will be an enormous drain on budgets. Good customer relations will be difficult to secure, as you will be always introducing new sales people and any chance of retaining knowledge of your customers will remain elusive.

Customer serviceIn order for organisations to excel, they must differentiate themselves and their employees in significant ways that add value to the customer experience. They must provide service that is unique, faster, more reliable, more responsive and more caring than ever before.

Increased customer service can be a surprising by-product of teaching your staff better sales skills.

Many managers are surprised at the way customers respond to the increased interpersonal communication skills staff have when they learn better sales skills. Happy customers are the best promoters of your business.

I am often surprised by some business owners who seem to take a hands off approach to customer service in their business; they hire what they think are good people and just assume that theyll do the right things often without even bothering to do any customer service training.

When you train your customer service teams you will show them how to effectively cultivate improved customer relations instead of risking them.

Connection between customer service and sales teamsThere is no doubt that sales and service are inextricably linked. Customer service is most often provided by telephone operators and sales generally by face to face contact.

Both roles require good understanding of the customer and the customers needs. Both roles require similar skill sets in so far as finding the right solution for the customer. When the two roles are linked in a closer way, you will find the business benefits from happier customers and increased sales, as the teams work more cohesively as a part of the whole marketing environment.

Good customer service must apply equally to both internal and external customers with

Why sales training

the resultant outcome being an improved internal culture, leading to an improved external culture, benefiting clients and ultimately the company performance.

Better understanding of what makes a customer buy Without understanding why people buy the product, it is almost impossible for the salesperson to close the deal.

Training will encourage your staff to consider the underlying reasons people make in any purchase.

The purchasing process for a customer generally follows a process of being receptive to buying, drawing some focus on specific needs, wants or desires, gaining knowledge of what is available to suit those requirements, evaluating the options and making a decision.

The sales process mirrors this by providing the information, product or service that meets those requirements. By being able to provide the solutions, sales teams create an environment where customers feel comfortable and confident in buying.

Sales and customer service teams must have comprehensive knowledge of the company capability and the benefits of the products and service you offer. In a former role I always ensured customer service teams had a product or two at their desks to study and learn about.

By Kevin Vincentworks

Up-selling to other productsAnother benefit of increasing the sales skills is that staff are far more likely to introduce the customer to other products in your portfolio. For example we think of up-selling as the typical Do you want fries with that? Yes the age old up-sell is alive and well and it is very important.

A company can add extra line items to a customer enquiry by knowing what is available and appropriate. It is a great key performance indicator (KPI) to capture and measure up-selling and a company will be pleasantly surprised just how much that can contribute to results. One never buys a suit without a new shirt and tie do they?

Great sales people will focus on all products and opportunities that benefit the customers and give better customer service.

Sales training simply works and will benefit a companys sales force on so many different levels.

Sales is not just about getting clients and taking orders, there are call planning, relationship building, adding value, follow up skills, time management, prospecting skills and customer service skills involved as well.

Kevin Vincent is a director of business improvement consultants Vincent and Nugent Limited - www.vincentnugent.co.nz

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News | Q&A

Not only is Ian Taylor the founder of one of New Zealands most innovative multimedia companies, but he just happened to revolutionise the way the world watches sport with the development of real time 3D graphics for the Americas Cup.But thats not the only reason we wanted to talk innovation with him.

After 20 years with TVNZ, Ian went on to establish three successful technology businesses in Dunedin; multimedia company Taylormade Media, computer animation company Animation Research Ltd (ARL), and specialist online booking company BookIt.

He shot to fame in the computing world when ARL provided revolutionary real time 3D sports graphics at the 1992 Americas Cup. The company has gone on to expand this technology into a range of global sports, including golf, cricket, tennis and Formula One.

Besides sports, the company has contributed computer animation to television shows both within New Zealand and overseas including: Kiwi documentary series Human Potential, the BBCs Inventions That Changed the World, and National Geographics Mega Disasters.

A lot of Kiwis think we are tucked away in the corner of the South Pacific, so we cant compete on an international stage, what do you say to this?

We should look on it as a strength. Sir Ernest Rutherford is quoted as saying We didnt have the money so we had to think. That could just as easily be We are tucked away in the corner of the South Pacific so we have to think. We can, and do, provide a special brand of thinking that is valued around the world.

Why is technological innovation so important?

I like the description of innovation as doing something better today than we did it yesterday. In that context it applies to everything we do not just technology. We are wrong to think that technology is the only place that innovation takes place.

Youve said in New Zealand people talk the talk about ingenuity and innovation, but nobody walks the walk, tell us about that?

The government has recently announced changes to its procurement process. Thats the talk. We will know that they are walking the walk when more small, innovative New Zealand companies start consistently winning government contracts.

So the notion of us becoming a knowledge economy is really just a pipe dream?

No, but I think we need to understand that the knowledge economy isnt new.

Inside innovation

Knowledge has always been at the core of successful economies. It was knowledge that created the first refrigerated shipping. We are just dealing with a new level of knowledge and a new way of delivering it. I have every confidence that if we dont take full advantage of that, our kids will.

How big an issue is the lack of start-up funding in terms of turning bright ideas into a business reality in New Zealand?

Thats not really something I can comment on. I have always worried about taking other peoples money to chase my personal dreams. Perhaps one day I will have an idea that is strong enough to warrant that investment from strangers.

Youve taken some big risks in business, how important is risk taking to success?

Thats interesting because I dont ever think in terms of risk. I have never done a risk assessment on anything I have done. Equally, I have never done anything that I didnt feel excited and passionate about. Even when things have turned bad, like our excursion into Indian cricket, I had no regrets. We achieved everything we set out to achieve. We just happened to get shafted on the way.

How much of an issue is tall poppy syndrome in this country?

I think it is overrated. Personally I find Kiwis are genuinely proud of what we have done as a little company and it gives me great comfort to know that they care.

Your animation has been a huge hit in the sporting world - where else do you see its potential?

We do sport because we love it. But we also build air traffic control simulators, do city visualisation and planning, we work for one of the largest mining companies in the world visualising natural catastrophe data, we built the training simulator for one of the worlds leading F1 Race teams. There are lots of other things we do but again, the motivation is doing things we like.

What do you see in the future for digital technology?

Its unlimited. I was brought up in a house without electricity. I thought turning the light on with a flick of a switch was amazing. I have given up being surprised by the changes technology has brought to our lives. The big challenge is making sure that technology serves us, not the other way around.

Ian Taylor

In 1992, in a world first, Americas Cup boats were tracked in real time off the coast of San Diego using Taylors software and it has been an essential component of every Americas Cup since. In 2000 he developed another world first real 3D graphics of a sporting event, delivered to the world online. Photo by Sergio Dionisio

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Auckland Today #99