RWC Blog

In recent years I’ve seen a growing trend in senior manager management styles towards wanting to “make people happy“. This leadership style is often referred to as a “populist” leadership style. I feel that a strong “PC culture” typically gives rise to this style of leadership. Unfortunately, populist leadership typically only takes constituents so far, and after the “lollies have stopped being handed-out” as a measure to keep people happy; that’s when the evolution of the given organisation (or even…

This evening my wife and I met with those teachers who teach our son at Lindisfarne College, Hawke’s Bay. This meeting occasion rates as the best yet for me. Why ? Because I’m seeing increasing evidence that schools such as this one are re-focusing their deliver of education according to the current and predicted future demands of the workplace. I firstly picked-up the latest edition of the Lindisfarne College “Rector’s Newsletter” publication, in which the Rector quotes from a Dec…

I was inspired to write this blog by viewing this perceptive commentary from Mike Hosking this morning. What concerns me the most is the current Government’s tendency to downplay – and even ignore or reject – findings from business confidence surveys. It is absolutely of no surprise to me whatsoever that particularly small business confidence is as low as what it is right now. And having been a Regional Business Advisor in recent times, and knowing what the format of…

The following expressions of wisdom have (apparently erroneously) been attributed to Abraham Lincoln. Wherever they originated from, they still have considerable relevancy for the current day. Governments in particular would do well to refer to these wise words at the time they become poised ready to compose policy/ legislation… “You cannot bring about prosperity by discouraging thrift. You cannot strengthen the weak by weakening the strong. You cannot help small men up by tearing big men down. You cannot help…

Today I was thinking about the growing number of businesses that promote the latest and greatest ‘XYZ’ system/ product/ service that will “deliver amazing results”.  My words of caution are, before you commit to purchasing what they have to sell, do your homework to determine: a) What the basis of their system/ platform/ product/ service is – is it simply a theoretical algorithm dreamed-up without any “real world” evidence/ substantiation ? b) Who within the business has been responsible for…

I was recently asked by the Principal of a local Hawke’s Bay primary school what I considered the key characteristics were of a person that typically lead to success. The Principal had just finished talking with a student on this topic.   I said, “in a nutshell, it is comes down to a person’s ability to closely observe the world around them, and then their willingness to act as/ when observed opportunities present themselves, and finally their determination to stay doing the thing which they…

This blog is inspired by a student who I taught at the Eastern Institute of Technology during 2017. I received a short note from this student a few days ago, in which she expressed her gratitude for the support that I gave her during a particularly challenging/ problematic phase of her studies last year.  Her note got me thinking about various people who I still think fondly of after many years of not having seen them; versus those who I…

I continue to marvel at the level of genius apparent in the new inventions being given birth to in Europe and USA in particular. Such as this clever “next level” solar energy product.   Increasingly the feeling I am getting is that on many fronts New Zealand’s level of innovation is generally falling behind that of other countries; and I can’t help but think that a lot of this has to do with the amount of ‘red tape’ that all industries…

It staggers me to see how many particularly older employers tend to have a narrow view of the value of employees – an attitude which is generally restricted to employees being a “necessary evil” (i.e. necessary cost) of running a business. The penny still hasn’t really dropped with these employers that the people who they employ are in fact the most valuable resource that they have – beyond the value of stock and other physical assets. Unfortunately for employers with…

What the world needs right now is people: a) Telling other people the “good stuff” that they see in others and the good/ constructive/ positive acts which they see others doing. b) Enabling others to be the best that they’re capable of being. c) Embracing the differences – both strengths and weaknesses – in others; in the pursuit of collaboration. d) …learning how to diminish their own fear in order to bring their self-confidence to the fore. Let me tell…