Where did we leave our Mojo (apologies to Austin Powers...)

My wife and I were able to escape the wet weather of Auckland and spend some time in Southeast Asia where we experienced the buzz, activity (the food of course!)?and cultural immersion we love. We were struck by the dynamism, work ethic and desire to succeed in each country we visited. Upon returning to New Zealand, I spoke with many Directors and CEO’s relating what we had experienced and asked the question “What do we have to do to get our Mojo back”. Somewhat sadly, every single person we spoke with agreed that we had lost our collective edge as a Country, but did have ideas on how to rectify the malaise we are in.

I expected a range of responses but was surprised at the brevity of the list of issues that are playing on the minds of the people who are battling a difficult economy. The main concerns that were noted are as follow:

A lack of National ambition. ?Several Directors shared their views on the Resource Management Act, saying that structural changes have been enacted which limit our ability to grow rapidly and are causing divisional issues within NZ. We need to engage in meaningful discussion around how to unite the Country with a level of desire AND a plan to be the best in Agriculture, Fin Tech, Marine technology, Education etc. Has ideology overcome implementation and practicality?

A lack of talent. ?I have to agree. We have yet to resolve the immigration issues which have been well reported, leading to a dearth of talent at all levels of industry. As a result, hiring managers are forced to hire talent which is only just adequate – many Directors were dismayed at the lack of capable executives out there.

Centralised thinking. Lots of talk, then more talk and no activity. We have an ecosystem of agencies that spend valuable resources recreating work which has been done by another entity, often with no resolution and further duplication. A Centralised system produces a centralised way of thinking. Closed minds and an inflated nationalistic approach only return the results we have already experienced.

Having reflected on the above, I then applied these issues to leadership traits and the way an organisation is run, and how each of these issues translate directly to successful leadership. On a smaller scale the above are exactly what a Board or CEO are faced with. National ambition equates to having a Vision and Strategy for a firm, a plan on how to implement the strategy, lack of talent is overcome by selecting the best people, centralised thinking is overcome by prioritising objectives and having a bias to action but bouncing back positively from setbacks. At Lighthouse we are developing a framework which will help companies better clarify where they are at in the business cycle, how they compare against others and what they need to do to get the Mojo back. Stay tuned.?

P.S - A huge thank you to all who gave their time to share their views and ideas, its good to see we still have a passion for seeing everyone do well as one Country.