Articles

In our work with family businesses, we recently had a situation where the founder of a large family business was apparently so frustrated with one of his sons (who is a senior manager in the company) that during a phone conversation said, “Son, if that’s the way you want to do it, then you’re sacked!”.

And this was 10 days before Christmas.

Both father and son are very forthright and determined people, so whilst a little shocked, I was not surprised with this happening.  Obviously, it’s not something the son said or did on this one occasion - there’s probably a lot of family history that’s led to this.

Now, what did surprise me was that three days later, the father reinstated his son.

And having worked with the family, we are pretty sure that the son’s three siblings would have been supporting their brother in standing up to Dad. Ah, family dynamics!

Can you imagine the atmosphere when the family are sitting around the table at Christmas dinner? The father/son topic is bound to come up, if not directly, then certainly by inference at some point during the meal.

Whilst this may seem like an extreme case of family disfunction, many families have both past and immediate history that can cause the celebratory meal to become a platform for raising past hurts and felt injustices.  In extreme cases, it could even lead to the “last supper” for the full family.

How to avoid such happenings and have a truly warming family Christmas get together?

When was the last time you heard a political or business leader on hearing a position or newly suggested policy by an “opposition” leader, say, “That sounds like a good idea. I fully support that.  And I believe we can add even more value”? Nada? Never? Or so long ago you’ve forgotten?  Me too!

In a newly published book by the late opionist, Steve Stannard, you’ll see some wonderful ways that we (and our leaders) can have reasoned, informed, accepting, and at appropriate times, humorous, ways of having collaborative rather than combative conversations about all the things that affect our daily lives.

Cycling doyen, sports scientist and lately barista, Steve succumbed to cancer on Saturday, 30^th August 2025, aged just 58.

The book, “You Can’t Make an Omelette Without Breaking a Few Eggs” containing 50 of Steve’s published opinion pieces, was launched at his memorial on Friday 21^st in Palmerston North, New Zealand.  It’s a tribute to Steve and his contribution to his community, and indeed the wider society. As I commented when asked about the book recently, “Where we often see today’s leadership antagonistic and polarising, you’ll find Steve’s articles reflect his often ‘way out’, but always practical, advice on how to better live our lives in a collaborative rather than confrontational manner”.

By Guest author, Kenny Bhosale

Personally, as an introvert, I was never the natural morale booster or energy bringer, and I came to terms with that. My role was to create space for others to step in and be that person.

Ever feel like being a leader also requires you to be a counsellor, mediator, referee, morale booster, energy bringer, emotional punching bag, therapist, a parent, peacemaker, mind reader, and team glue - all before it’s lunch time!? That’s the invisible labour of leadership. The stuff we rarely name or plan for, but that can quietly makes or breaks us. So let’s talk what successful leaders do differently.

By guest author, Michelle Nguyen.

If you’ve seen someone checking your ticket at the Stadium in Palmerston North NZ, serving you at a Japanese restaurant in the city, or leading a waste team at an event in The Square, chances are, that was me. I work multiple part-time jobs to keep learning and growing.

I arrived in New Zealand as an international student in 2022 from Vietnam, Binh Duong province in particular, one of the top five fastest growing cities in Vietnam and entered work-life here last year.

However, despite a great education, positive references and good local experience, I’ve struggled to find a permanent job since completing my studies. I wonder why.

By Bob Selden.  (This article was originally written by Bob in 2015 – and he’s still cycling!)

Two year’s ago, having reached the 70 year age mark, I decided to get fitter by doing more cycling – regularly. I mixed road riding with the home trainer, and achieved 369 days in a row! Then I encountered a slight “bump in the road”, being diagnosed with cancer. And that too was a positive, as because I was so physically fit by then, I was able to be treated with a much higher dose of chemo than normal, and recovered within six months.

But back to my riding – how was I able to go from zero days to 369?

By Ian (Harv) Harvey. 

Have you ever observed someone you admire, and thought, “Wouldn’t it be nice to be like them and have my shit together too”?

That’s something Harv often reflected on in his early years, navigating a plethora of challenges coming from many different angles.

Here’s the thing - 

I once worked for an organisation that seemed to embody the epitome of the ideal.  In fact, everything the management gurus suggest should be evident in the “excellent” organisation, was there.  Employees who were dedicated, management who cared about the staff (and who knew the business!) and customers who were loyal.  The organisation even had a marketing department that involved the staff in the latest advertising and promotional schemes before going public!  The corporate colours were blue and gold, and it was said that staff would die for the company if necessary and their blood would flow in the corporate colours!

Although I thoroughly enjoyed working there (and like all the others, would have shed blood, too), I thought the halcyon environment was merely a fluke and it was my good fortune to strike it lucky.  With hindsight, I can now see the logic of why this organisation worked so well - it was the solid foundations on which this idyllic structure was built.

Those foundations were - 

The first step in building business resilience, is to understand your customer’s concerns.

A point in case. In the 12 months following the GFC in 2008, new vehicle sales in the US fell by 43%.  I can imagine people in dealerships and car company HQ’s in the US sitting around asking, “How can we sell more vehicles?”. 

The result saw the opening of the discounting flood gates with one dealer even offering a two-for-the-price-of-one deal, “Buy a new vehicle at the retail price and we’ll give you a new one free!”.

Even such mad discounting had no impact on new vehicle sales – companies were thinking of their own concerns and asking the wrong question, “How can we sell more vehicles?”.

However, one company asked a different question with outstanding results,

As a former banker, this writer’s thinking was piqued by a recent article on ABC News that stated, “All three (major) lenders . . . reported serious downturns in earnings and each of the three major banks doled out unexpectedly large wads of cash to shareholders, either to distract from the performance or to diminish the pain and keep the share prices elevated”.

It posited the cause as, the rise of mortgage brokers in the home lending market.  Around 75% of new loans in Australia are now negotiated through mortgage brokers. Is that similar in NZ? Elsewhere?

In a crisis, you need speed, decisiveness, authority and often significant courage - good crisis management is essential.

After 168 years of publication, the British newspaper “News of the World” published its final edition on 10th July 2011.  At the time, the newspaper was profitable.  News Group Newspapers Ltd., the unit within News International responsible for the News of the World and The Sun, reported an operating profit of 18.2 million pounds in the year ended June 27, 2010.  Did they have good crisis management?

So what led to the demise of this historic newspaper?

When introducing change, managers most overlook making the change a compelling and heart touching event or process. After all, it's not management-like to talk of feelings – the soft stuff. It's much easier to explain the change in terms of logic and reason, which we then find to our dismay, doesn't have the impact we intended.

The biggest thing in the video news in 2012 was, "Invisible Children", a 30 minute video made by the Invisible Children organisation aimed at garnering support against African warlords. By August 2023 it had 103 million views and 1.8 million engagements!

Why was this video so "big"?

It went viral. In less than five days it had more than 70 million views. This is a story about the abduction, mistreatment and ultimate radical indoctrination of children into a waring way of life. So why did it go viral? And why this video when other organisations (including Invisible Children) have produced similar topic videos without such social media success?

Does a video have to have a certain topic content to go viral? Do viral videos have to have anything in common to go viral?

Do you and your colleagues enjoy what you’re doing and the people you work with? If “Yes”, great! If “No” or “Could be better”, chances are your business needs a ‘Fun Zone’.

Imagine for a moment that you’ve just bought an old house. It’s been recently beautifully renovated, painted and looks great. You move in, do some decorating to make it “yours” and at first it seems OK, but then you start to get the feeling that it’s not quite right. Then you realise – it’s a bit too cold in winter and a bit too hot in summer – whilst it still looks great, it just doesn’t feel right. The answer to get the feeling just right? Air conditioning!

A Fun Zone is a bit like the air conditioning you installed – it enables you to feel bright and breezy, and to really love the house as you did when you first saw it and moved in.

So, just what is a Fun Zone?

The Urban Dictionary describes a Fun Zone as a “distinct place where individuals and groups of friends go on any given day or night to experience amusement or enjoyment”. Wow! And isn’t that what work should be like?

Now, I can just hear the naysayers, “Oh yeah, but we’re here to work – to achieve outputs, not to sit around having fun all day”. Well, I have some news for them. But first, a story to illustrate what a Fun Zone should look like.