Nurture Change’s Fiji transformers
An illustrious line-up is ready to charge up a new group of business leaders.
Even the most successful people and organisations in the world started with baby steps. Guy Ryan, Young New Zealander Of The Year
Business retreat event Nurture Change 2016 kicks off next week. The owners and employees of some of New Zealand’s most exciting businesses will join experts in Fiji for five days of reflection, relaxation and discussion.
James Crow, co-founder of Nice Blocks and Little Island Creamery, Charlie Phillips, chief executive of Queenstown Resort College, Ryan Everton, founder of reuseable cup firm Globelet and Gareth Berry the boss of software company, Unleashed, are the four winners of our Fairfax competition to win a scholarship prize to the event.
And they will finally get the chance to be inspired by a glittering line-up of speakers from the worlds of business, law and sport including businesswoman Diane Foreman and medalwinning Olympians Lisa Carrington and Hamish Carter.
Retreat co-founder Zac de Silva said: ‘‘It will be a great way to learn by hearing about the successes, failures and lessons of other business leaders.
‘‘A university study revealed a few years back that the average business owner or senior manager spends less than one hour a month thinking about their business strategy and the bigger picture. This is why we created Nurture Change. There is nothing better than taking some time out to think strategically about your business - and life - to identify how you and your business can perform better.’’
Winner Charlie Phillips said: ‘‘Queenstown is an incredibly positive community, but it is important to have external exposure to ensure your view of the world remains broad. The trip will hopefully seed new initiatives that I can use to improve and enhance the student experience.
‘‘Having good intent and energy is one thing, but being able to harness that energy into achieving something productive is another. With the range of speakers and other experts at this retreat, you have the perfect mix of aspiration, but more importantly, examples of how to get it done.’’
Everton added: ‘‘In the 18th century, productivity was a direct measure of how productive your land was. In the Industrial Revolution it was how much work you could get done in an hour.
‘‘Today, we live in a connection economy, and productivity is about ideas and people. I’m hoping Nurture Change will help generate a lot of ideas and connect them to a bunch of like-minded people.’’
Gareth Berry said the daily grind meant leaders needed rest and relaxation to recharge their ideas and find inspiration.
And Sunday Business and Stuff.co.nz has featured some of the speakers who will be sharing their experience with delegates at the retreat. This week, we share some final inspirational thoughts from some of the other VIPs who will attend the event at the InterContinental Hotel.
Lizzi Hines, the owner of awardwinning design company Spaceworks said: ‘‘I have a number of leaders that I have learned from and I think I take a nugget of goodness from them all. Two big leaders would be Vic Crone and Frances Valintine, a client and now friend. Vic is such an inspirational lady.
‘‘She taught me the importance of people and culture and understanding how their emotional IQ can affect your business. A rotten egg can tip the balance and poison a business, but on the flipside, if you can work inside or understand someone’s emotional IQ you can work with them and grow them
‘‘In watching Frances, founder of Tech Futures Lab, I am reminded of the importance of passion. She is so passionate about what she does and she simply radiates it. She is one of those people you love to be around and watch and learn from, simply because she loves what she does and believes in her core mission.’’
Entrepreneur Jake Millar, cofounder of the business education platform Unfiltered, identified the global professional services company PwC as a company to watch.
He said: ‘‘PwC is heading into unknown territory as tech unicorns threaten to disrupt their core business at every corner. But the way PwC are pulling apart every single aspect of their own business model – and really questioning how they can disrupt themselves – sets a fantastic example for startups and corporates globally.’’
We asked Chris Lee, Partner at law firm Hesketh Henry: ‘‘What has been your biggest learning in business to date and why? How has it affected you going forward?’’
He said: ‘‘I was involved in a case where the client alerted its customers and regulators to a mistake it had made, and then worked with them to deliver solutions in a manner that minimised harm, business disruptions and losses. Not only were there no lawsuits or penalties, the behaviour sent a massive message both externally and internally, about the business’ values and aspirations.’’
American Michol Dalcourt, Founder of The Institute Of Motion shared his most valuable lesson learned in a successful career.
‘‘Its a cliche´ as well as true that a business’s success is directly linked to the quality of the people involved. If you are leader of a business, spend the bulk of your time developing people and putting them into the right seat for them, not your business. Then, spend the remaining time putting air underneath their wings. Simple concept; most don’t do it.’’
But it was Guy Ryan, Young New Zealander Of The Year, who reminded everyone of the power of dreams.
‘‘Dream up a compelling vision,’’ he said. ‘‘Define the ideal outcomes, and break it down into small, practical steps to get there. Even the most successful people and organisations in the world started with baby steps. They definitely didn’t have all the answers and still don’t. The critical thing is that they started – they stepped into the unknown … and you can too. You might just create something remarkable.’’