LEADER COLUMN AUGUST 2011
This month’s 20-20-Inner-City-Development-Subcommittee meeting did more than just outline the Whangarei District Councils vision for the commercial business district; it also provided an update on a number of key projects that the council intends to undertake to bring their vision to fruition. The community will see some highly visible physical elements that will do much to create a sense of arrival and legibility for visitors and a sense of place for the district’s residents.
One of the most obvious of these which is now close to completion is the new canopy over the Victoria Street Bridge. This will provide an arena for a wide range of activities of varying size and create a key visual element tying the CBD and the Town Basin. Furthermore with this structure being constructed by Fabric Structure Systems it is an opportunity to celebrate the creativity and capability of Whangarei business.
At the same time the conceptual form of the linkage between the Town Basin and Cameron Street Mall is beginning to reach a level of detail that will enable the Council to consult with and receive feedback from the various CBD stakeholders. It appears that James Street is likely to be the main connector between Cameron Street Mall and the Town Basin with this street becoming either a laneway or mall. It is possible that the change could be carried out in stages, starting with a laneway and then progressing to a full extended mall.
The conceptual options currently before the council allow for covered walkways, pedestrian friendly streetscapes and dedicated activity strips aimed at enlivening the edge of existing commercial buildings and encouraging movement on foot through the city. Interestingly the council has a relatively short time frame for these projects with much of the work programmed for completion within three to five years. This would mean that Whangarei’s inner-city would have a dramatically different form, and present a much more attractive environment for retail activity than it currently does.
These projects and overall concept may not be to everyone’s liking but they do provide a sense of certainty and direction. They allow business to invest based on an informed vision as to where the council sees our city in the future. What then remains to complete this vision are possibly the rationalization of council office space and the developing of a stronger focus for performing arts around Forum North
14 September 2011
LEADER COLUMN JULY 2011
The Northland Chamber of Commerce is the Northland regional coordinator for Business Mentors New Zealand (BMNZ). This is an agency funded by patrons from the private sector and New Zealand Trade and Enterprise and it has the capacity to combine the elements mentioned above. For a one-off registration fee of $100, BMNZ provide the service of putting client businesses in touch with mentors. This entitles the client to free mentoring services for a two year period.
Many small businesses do not have the support and resources found within large companies. The mentor scheme allows them to access skills and knowledge that may not otherwise be available to them and in doing so, an opportunity to overcome this disadvantage of scale. The mentor provides support to the business and the focus is on ensuring the business owner undertakes tasks identified as needing to be addressed if the business is to be sustainable or develop.
Although this is just one way the Northland Chamber of Commerce helps our region’s businesses, it is an important one. This is a service that is not just for struggling businesses, but for any business that wants to strengthen its position in the market. Assistance may be to develop a pathway to grow a business, explore export opportunities, or possibly to create a succession plan so a business owner may exit their business in a manner of their choosing.
Northland is blessed with a many very successful and knowledgeable business people who have gained their experience both here and overseas. For many of these people, living in Northland is a conscious choice made at the expense of career and financial opportunities. The challenge is to utilise them and their experience to better equip the next generation of business people.
This is a volunteer service and the amount of time commitment varies based on the individual mentor’s circumstances. However it goes without saying that the more mentors we have the better we can manage and improve the level of service we provide. Mentors have access to a wide range of resources to assist them in mentoring and care is taken to match the client’s needs with the mentor’s skills. We are seeking assistance from these amazingly talented and often underulitised business people in Northland, who can help the Region’s businesses, if you would like to know more about how you can help, please contact the Chamber at info@northchamber.co.nz.
The Northland Chamber of Commerce is the Northland regional coordinator for Business Mentors New Zealand (BMNZ). This is an agency funded by patrons from the private sector and New Zealand Trade and Enterprise and it has the capacity to combine the elements mentioned above. For a one-off registration fee of $100, BMNZ provide the service of putting client businesses in touch with mentors. This entitles the client to free mentoring services for a two year period.
Many small businesses do not have the support and resources found within large companies. The mentor scheme allows them to access skills and knowledge that may not otherwise be available to them and in doing so, an opportunity to overcome this disadvantage of scale. The mentor provides support to the business and the focus is on ensuring the business owner undertakes tasks identified as needing to be addressed if the business is to be sustainable or develop.
Although this is just one way the Northland Chamber of Commerce helps our region’s businesses, it is an important one. This is a service that is not just for struggling businesses, but for any business that wants to strengthen its position in the market. Assistance may be to develop a pathway to grow a business, explore export opportunities, or possibly to create a succession plan so a business owner may exit their business in a manner of their choosing.
Northland is blessed with a many very successful and knowledgeable business people who have gained their experience both here and overseas. For many of these people, living in Northland is a conscious choice made at the expense of career and financial opportunities. The challenge is to utilise them and their experience to better equip the next generation of business people.
This is a volunteer service and the amount of time commitment varies based on the individual mentor’s circumstances. However it goes without saying that the more mentors we have the better we can manage and improve the level of service we provide. Mentors have access to a wide range of resources to assist them in mentoring and care is taken to match the client’s needs with the mentor’s skills. We are seeking assistance from these amazingly talented and often underulitised business people in Northland, who can help the Region’s businesses, if you would like to know more about how you can help, please contact the Chamber at info@northchamber.co.nz.
LEADER COLUMN SEPTEMBER 2011
Following on from last month’s column regarding the recent changes to the Town Basin and the proposed future shape of our Commercial Business District, it might be appropriate to consider how we can benefit from these changes and what is still missing from the mix. There has been talk lately regarding the value of event or destination tourism and the role it can play in stimulating economic growth. Much of what has been done or is planned to be done could potentially act as an attractant for groups wishing to hold events in Northland.
The Council - and others - are working to create a vibrant, walkable inner city with good amenity. This accompanied by our climate, fantastic natural environment and our close proximity to New Zealand’s largest city should make us an attractive destination for event tourism. There are of course a number of key elements that are required before Whangarei is a position to take advantage of this opportunity. Among these are sufficient hotel beds of a sufficient standard, a theatre or auditorium of the required capacity and a hospitality centre capable of catering for 400 plus guests.
Like most things, whether we chose to pursue them or not will ultimately political decisions based on the desires of the community, but overseas cases show that this market can be an economic game changer for many cities and towns. For example with an innovative culture San Diego, through a whole-of-city approach has used event tourism and in particular conventions as a driver to transform and rebuild their inner city. It has allowed them to develop a strong and diverse economy. Even with the scale of their event’s infrastructure they turn way a year’s worth on convention business each year.
As well as the possibility of attendees deciding they may want to do business here and the general economic benefits that such events bring to the District, there is an added advantage for our community. Members of Northland’s communities can have the opportunity to participate in events that they would not otherwise be exposed to or able to attend. This removes another barrier to people choosing to settle here by creating a community that is culturally strong, diverse and innovative. To make this happen will require further investment in infrastructure at a cost to our ratepayers but this cost needs to be weighed against the potential benefit for future generations.
Following on from last month’s column regarding the recent changes to the Town Basin and the proposed future shape of our Commercial Business District, it might be appropriate to consider how we can benefit from these changes and what is still missing from the mix. There has been talk lately regarding the value of event or destination tourism and the role it can play in stimulating economic growth. Much of what has been done or is planned to be done could potentially act as an attractant for groups wishing to hold events in Northland.
The Council - and others - are working to create a vibrant, walkable inner city with good amenity. This accompanied by our climate, fantastic natural environment and our close proximity to New Zealand’s largest city should make us an attractive destination for event tourism. There are of course a number of key elements that are required before Whangarei is a position to take advantage of this opportunity. Among these are sufficient hotel beds of a sufficient standard, a theatre or auditorium of the required capacity and a hospitality centre capable of catering for 400 plus guests.
Like most things, whether we chose to pursue them or not will ultimately political decisions based on the desires of the community, but overseas cases show that this market can be an economic game changer for many cities and towns. For example with an innovative culture San Diego, through a whole-of-city approach has used event tourism and in particular conventions as a driver to transform and rebuild their inner city. It has allowed them to develop a strong and diverse economy. Even with the scale of their event’s infrastructure they turn way a year’s worth on convention business each year.
As well as the possibility of attendees deciding they may want to do business here and the general economic benefits that such events bring to the District, there is an added advantage for our community. Members of Northland’s communities can have the opportunity to participate in events that they would not otherwise be exposed to or able to attend. This removes another barrier to people choosing to settle here by creating a community that is culturally strong, diverse and innovative. To make this happen will require further investment in infrastructure at a cost to our ratepayers but this cost needs to be weighed against the potential benefit for future generations.
ADVOCATE COLUMN 1st WEEK SEPTEMBER 2011
It seems that every day there are results from some new survey or another being released to enlighten us on the state of the economy and New Zealand business. All have their value and the quarterly Chamber of Commerce Business Confidence Survey is an example of a survey that can provide information as to the business owner’s perspective. Recently there have been two other surveys released that offer not only information but also some interpretation which can be used to the benefit of anyone involved in business.
The first of these is the ANZ Privately-Owned Business Barometer which provides an in-depth perspective benchmarked against previous year’s results that enable – among other things - the identification of long-term trends. The full details of this are available on the bank’s website, but in brief this survey found that business owners are both resilient and passionate about the success of their own business. While the majority expects positive growth in the next year, owners are stretched and are finding it harder to balance work and their personal life.
The second survey was one that has been undertaken on behalf of NZ CA Limited entitled “Growth Guide the business of growth small medium business 2011” of which local accounting firm Sudburys Limited are a partner. As the title suggests, this survey focuses on the growth ambitions of businesses surveyed, what those owners believe they need to concentrate on to achieve growth, what is likely to inhibit growth and how can they overcome these barriers. It also addresses what the respondents saw as important for them to do and whether in fact they were actually doing those things at present.
Interestingly much of the areas identified by the businesses as necessary for growth, were things over which the owner has control. It entailed gaining a better understanding of their market, their customers and their business. Equally important was seen as the need to have an understanding of where they wanted their business to be in the future. To this end the need to have a business plan was highlighted as critical to growth.
Companies with business plans were shown as significantly more likely to have enjoyed growth than those without. Both these surveys show that the information needs to be interpreted by the owner, tailored to their individual business and managed with the support of professionals such as banks, lawyers or accountants to create a plan that gives the best opportunity for growth.
It seems that every day there are results from some new survey or another being released to enlighten us on the state of the economy and New Zealand business. All have their value and the quarterly Chamber of Commerce Business Confidence Survey is an example of a survey that can provide information as to the business owner’s perspective. Recently there have been two other surveys released that offer not only information but also some interpretation which can be used to the benefit of anyone involved in business.
The first of these is the ANZ Privately-Owned Business Barometer which provides an in-depth perspective benchmarked against previous year’s results that enable – among other things - the identification of long-term trends. The full details of this are available on the bank’s website, but in brief this survey found that business owners are both resilient and passionate about the success of their own business. While the majority expects positive growth in the next year, owners are stretched and are finding it harder to balance work and their personal life.
The second survey was one that has been undertaken on behalf of NZ CA Limited entitled “Growth Guide the business of growth small medium business 2011” of which local accounting firm Sudburys Limited are a partner. As the title suggests, this survey focuses on the growth ambitions of businesses surveyed, what those owners believe they need to concentrate on to achieve growth, what is likely to inhibit growth and how can they overcome these barriers. It also addresses what the respondents saw as important for them to do and whether in fact they were actually doing those things at present.
Interestingly much of the areas identified by the businesses as necessary for growth, were things over which the owner has control. It entailed gaining a better understanding of their market, their customers and their business. Equally important was seen as the need to have an understanding of where they wanted their business to be in the future. To this end the need to have a business plan was highlighted as critical to growth.
Companies with business plans were shown as significantly more likely to have enjoyed growth than those without. Both these surveys show that the information needs to be interpreted by the owner, tailored to their individual business and managed with the support of professionals such as banks, lawyers or accountants to create a plan that gives the best opportunity for growth.
BUSINESS ADVOCATE COLUMN AUGUST 2011
In the coming months if everything goes to plan, Northland through its role with the 2011 Rugby World Cup should have an early start to its summer season with an influx of overseas and domestic tourists ready to sample our products, service and scenery. With this event comes an opportunity to show the rest of the country and the world why we love it here. If we can influence these visitors to sell Northland as a place to live, work or visit when they go home then we will create a real legacy from hosting these teams.
While we have little influence over how many visitors will come to the region, as individuals we have an opportunity to positively impact on their stay. The barriers to this happening are obvious. We are all aware of businesses that offer poor or inconsistent quality of service and how we as the consumer react to them.
This is about the customer’s expectations not ours. The likelihood is that our visitors will have high expectations in relation to product and service and for us to improve our reputation we do not only need to meet these expectations but to exceed them. Part of this may require an understanding of a visitor’s cultural difference. Like all things market knowledge accompanied service or product knowledge will be essential in achieving a positive impression.
We will need to be open and ready for business. This is not going to be the time to practice on the customer. Much of the values around customer service will be driven by the business owner. They will be the ones who make sure they hire friendly staff and train them. This training will include product knowledge and understanding. It will focus on developing confident service staff who recognise the importance of selling to the consumer and creating an ongoing relationship with them.
The other key responsibility of the owner is to construct a business framework that enables the staff to fulfil their potential and do their job without physical and procedural boundaries. This is a specialist area of training and there is value in seeking specialist help to develop the systems to make this possible. Finally the owner is tasked with ensuring all within the business understand his or her vision and what it is that they want the customer to experience. This is the story that the consumer will take away with them and tell their friends.
In the coming months if everything goes to plan, Northland through its role with the 2011 Rugby World Cup should have an early start to its summer season with an influx of overseas and domestic tourists ready to sample our products, service and scenery. With this event comes an opportunity to show the rest of the country and the world why we love it here. If we can influence these visitors to sell Northland as a place to live, work or visit when they go home then we will create a real legacy from hosting these teams.
While we have little influence over how many visitors will come to the region, as individuals we have an opportunity to positively impact on their stay. The barriers to this happening are obvious. We are all aware of businesses that offer poor or inconsistent quality of service and how we as the consumer react to them.
This is about the customer’s expectations not ours. The likelihood is that our visitors will have high expectations in relation to product and service and for us to improve our reputation we do not only need to meet these expectations but to exceed them. Part of this may require an understanding of a visitor’s cultural difference. Like all things market knowledge accompanied service or product knowledge will be essential in achieving a positive impression.
We will need to be open and ready for business. This is not going to be the time to practice on the customer. Much of the values around customer service will be driven by the business owner. They will be the ones who make sure they hire friendly staff and train them. This training will include product knowledge and understanding. It will focus on developing confident service staff who recognise the importance of selling to the consumer and creating an ongoing relationship with them.
The other key responsibility of the owner is to construct a business framework that enables the staff to fulfil their potential and do their job without physical and procedural boundaries. This is a specialist area of training and there is value in seeking specialist help to develop the systems to make this possible. Finally the owner is tasked with ensuring all within the business understand his or her vision and what it is that they want the customer to experience. This is the story that the consumer will take away with them and tell their friends.
ADVOCATE COLUMN 3rd WEEK AUGUST 2011
On average New Zealand youth are more disadvantaged across a number of performance indicators than many other OECD countries and this disadvantage is strongly concentrated in Maori and Pacific Islanders. With 45% on New Zealand’s total unemployed being youth, this has significant impact on our future well-being. While our youth perform (comparatively) well in education, this does not follow through on average after leaving school. The New Zealand Institute has released a discussion document “More ladders, fewer snakes: Two proposals to reduce youth disadvantage”. It makes interesting reading identified that accelerated roll-out of e-learning to low decile schools and improving the school-to-work transition could materially reduce youth unemployment and resulting social issues.
The paper looked at both the advantages of increasing student engagement by rolling out e-learning to low decile schools and at improving the transition from school to work as two forms of intervention that have a positive outcome on reducing this disadvantage. Obviously with the roll out of Ultrafast Broadband and the Rural Broadband Initiative there will be opportunities to improve outcomes through e-learning. There will also be a number of challenges to be met to ensure that we do not create a digital divide across our various communities.
An equally critical point is how we can assist youth in the transition from school to work. Youth often have difficulty in finding their way into permanent. In part this is due to a disconnect between workforce needs and education capacity that can lead to a mismatch between supply and demand. The paper gave an example of a program undertaken by the Otorohanga District which has lead to a zero youth unemployment rate over the last 5 years as a way that this situation can be addressed if the community are willing to commit to making a change.
There are real economic benefits if we get this right. If we achieve the OCED average this could result in annual cash savings greater than annual investment. As well as this there a number of other economic and social benefits to the community and also opportunity to attract further inward investment. Using the Otorohanga case study as an example, businesses relocated there due to the support the program gave to employers and the resource of young trained workers. There is not room to go into this paper in detail due to limited space but the document is available at http://www.nzinstitute.org and certainly worth the time to read.
On average New Zealand youth are more disadvantaged across a number of performance indicators than many other OECD countries and this disadvantage is strongly concentrated in Maori and Pacific Islanders. With 45% on New Zealand’s total unemployed being youth, this has significant impact on our future well-being. While our youth perform (comparatively) well in education, this does not follow through on average after leaving school. The New Zealand Institute has released a discussion document “More ladders, fewer snakes: Two proposals to reduce youth disadvantage”. It makes interesting reading identified that accelerated roll-out of e-learning to low decile schools and improving the school-to-work transition could materially reduce youth unemployment and resulting social issues.
The paper looked at both the advantages of increasing student engagement by rolling out e-learning to low decile schools and at improving the transition from school to work as two forms of intervention that have a positive outcome on reducing this disadvantage. Obviously with the roll out of Ultrafast Broadband and the Rural Broadband Initiative there will be opportunities to improve outcomes through e-learning. There will also be a number of challenges to be met to ensure that we do not create a digital divide across our various communities.
An equally critical point is how we can assist youth in the transition from school to work. Youth often have difficulty in finding their way into permanent. In part this is due to a disconnect between workforce needs and education capacity that can lead to a mismatch between supply and demand. The paper gave an example of a program undertaken by the Otorohanga District which has lead to a zero youth unemployment rate over the last 5 years as a way that this situation can be addressed if the community are willing to commit to making a change.
There are real economic benefits if we get this right. If we achieve the OCED average this could result in annual cash savings greater than annual investment. As well as this there a number of other economic and social benefits to the community and also opportunity to attract further inward investment. Using the Otorohanga case study as an example, businesses relocated there due to the support the program gave to employers and the resource of young trained workers. There is not room to go into this paper in detail due to limited space but the document is available at http://www.nzinstitute.org and certainly worth the time to read.
ADVOCATE COLUMN 1ST WEEK AUGUST 2011
Recent events in Christchurch and elsewhere around New Zealand and the world have shown the devastating impact that natural or man-made disasters can have on businesses and the economy. Some statistics suggest that 3 out of 5 businesses do not have the resilience to survive a major disruption to their business and many cease operating within 5 years of such an event. Disruption of business will affect your ability to maintain your existing market. There have many examples of this arising in Christchurch where inner city business on recommencing operations found that their old customers had moved onto other suppliers.
Previously, something that many enterprises - small or large – may not have considered is how such an event would directly affect their ability to continue to operate. The scale and context of these unplanned disruptions may vary from something like Northland’s typical weather events to something far more catastrophic but the objective for the business remains the same. How do they keep their business operating?
It is generally accepted that a business should have a Business Continuity Plan (BCP) and the exact nature of such a plan will vary depending on the business to which it is to be applied to. The plan will map out how to continue doing business until the environment in which it is operating recovers from whatever event caused the disruption. These plans are probably a useful document not just for their intended purposes but also for examining how your business operates and what are the key processes, personnel and resources.
When developing such a plan it is important that the business keeps an open mind and considers all possible events and what kind of disruption may come from them. This is not a one size fits all document so must be able to be scaled up or down as required and be flexible enough to adapt to changes in the circumstances and your business. It will give you the opportunity to examine your supply chain and see what relationships you have that are critical to you continuing to operate. It may be appropriate to discuss with those key stakeholders what if any BCPs they have. The unexpected will happen and if your business has planned for this and communicated you plan to your strategic partners then your ability to continue to trade in the future will be enhanced.
Recent events in Christchurch and elsewhere around New Zealand and the world have shown the devastating impact that natural or man-made disasters can have on businesses and the economy. Some statistics suggest that 3 out of 5 businesses do not have the resilience to survive a major disruption to their business and many cease operating within 5 years of such an event. Disruption of business will affect your ability to maintain your existing market. There have many examples of this arising in Christchurch where inner city business on recommencing operations found that their old customers had moved onto other suppliers.
Previously, something that many enterprises - small or large – may not have considered is how such an event would directly affect their ability to continue to operate. The scale and context of these unplanned disruptions may vary from something like Northland’s typical weather events to something far more catastrophic but the objective for the business remains the same. How do they keep their business operating?
It is generally accepted that a business should have a Business Continuity Plan (BCP) and the exact nature of such a plan will vary depending on the business to which it is to be applied to. The plan will map out how to continue doing business until the environment in which it is operating recovers from whatever event caused the disruption. These plans are probably a useful document not just for their intended purposes but also for examining how your business operates and what are the key processes, personnel and resources.
When developing such a plan it is important that the business keeps an open mind and considers all possible events and what kind of disruption may come from them. This is not a one size fits all document so must be able to be scaled up or down as required and be flexible enough to adapt to changes in the circumstances and your business. It will give you the opportunity to examine your supply chain and see what relationships you have that are critical to you continuing to operate. It may be appropriate to discuss with those key stakeholders what if any BCPs they have. The unexpected will happen and if your business has planned for this and communicated you plan to your strategic partners then your ability to continue to trade in the future will be enhanced.
BUSINESS ADVOCATE COLUMN JULY 2011
If we consider innovation and creativity as being of importance to Northland’s future then it is appropriate to consider what elements are required for this to take place. What happens in a business on a day-to-day basis may require different processes from those needed to identify opportunities to be innovative or creative. Often opportunities to gain a competitive advantage coincide with difficult economic times and during these periods there is also a pressure to increase efficiency and reduce risk. So although leadership within business can influence change, the value of outside influences and the opportunities they present should not be overlooked.
Youth and tertiary education providers could be considered as potential outside influences for positive change. Youth because they are inherently more open to new ideas, taking risks and challenging accepted practices. While tertiary education can influence innovation and creativity within the business environment while at the same time applying academic rigor to business practice. More importantly tertiary education providers can act as enabling link between youth and enterprise.
As well as encouraging innovation and creativity, these two elements have another benefit for the communities in which they operate. They can positively influence a city’s reputation and act as an attractant for other innovative and creative people to come to that place. There are many examples both within New Zealand and overseas where tertiary institutes draw young and talented individuals into a district. Just look at Otago and Southland. The ability these institutions also have to prevent the loss of local talent should also not be overlooked.
The costs imposed on families wishing to assist their children gain further education can be prohibitive enough without having to consider additional costs relating to travel and accommodation associated with those young people being located away from home. It also means that those students and their families are spending money in their home communities rather than outside the district.
They create a demand and market for many products and services. In Christchurch several years ago, the relocation of the National Academy of Singing & Dramatic Art was sufficient to reinvigorate a large portion of their Commercial Business District that had been in steady decline. Then when their studies are completed they increase the skill level of the regional workforce and potentially start new businesses. In an ideal world we should be doing all we can to encourage and enable young Northlanders to contribute to the region’s economic growth.
If we consider innovation and creativity as being of importance to Northland’s future then it is appropriate to consider what elements are required for this to take place. What happens in a business on a day-to-day basis may require different processes from those needed to identify opportunities to be innovative or creative. Often opportunities to gain a competitive advantage coincide with difficult economic times and during these periods there is also a pressure to increase efficiency and reduce risk. So although leadership within business can influence change, the value of outside influences and the opportunities they present should not be overlooked.
Youth and tertiary education providers could be considered as potential outside influences for positive change. Youth because they are inherently more open to new ideas, taking risks and challenging accepted practices. While tertiary education can influence innovation and creativity within the business environment while at the same time applying academic rigor to business practice. More importantly tertiary education providers can act as enabling link between youth and enterprise.
As well as encouraging innovation and creativity, these two elements have another benefit for the communities in which they operate. They can positively influence a city’s reputation and act as an attractant for other innovative and creative people to come to that place. There are many examples both within New Zealand and overseas where tertiary institutes draw young and talented individuals into a district. Just look at Otago and Southland. The ability these institutions also have to prevent the loss of local talent should also not be overlooked.
The costs imposed on families wishing to assist their children gain further education can be prohibitive enough without having to consider additional costs relating to travel and accommodation associated with those young people being located away from home. It also means that those students and their families are spending money in their home communities rather than outside the district.
They create a demand and market for many products and services. In Christchurch several years ago, the relocation of the National Academy of Singing & Dramatic Art was sufficient to reinvigorate a large portion of their Commercial Business District that had been in steady decline. Then when their studies are completed they increase the skill level of the regional workforce and potentially start new businesses. In an ideal world we should be doing all we can to encourage and enable young Northlanders to contribute to the region’s economic growth.
ADVOCATE COLUMN 1st WEEK JULY 2011
One thing the Northland Chamber of Commerce has struggled with in recent times – and possibly in the past – is engaging with certain sectors of the business community. I do not think we are unique in our failings and I imagine other organisations also have difficulties connecting with these same sectors of the community. The unfortunate thing is that while there has been much hand-wringing and navel gazing on how Northland can move forward, there seems to be little meaningful progress in including the two groups within the community that will over time make a real difference to growing Northland.
With Northland having the second highest proportion of Māori nationally and the second lowest proportion of people aged 15 to 64 years, clearly two groups critical to our future and to realising Northland’s real potential are Māori and youth. These are the people who will provide tomorrow’s leaders and innovators, yet often they appear to be excluded from the conversations about where we are going and how we are going to get there.
Being on the wrong side of middle-aged and of predominantly European descent I am not qualified to say why there is an unwillingness to engage but I imagine it results from these groups either perceiving we lack relevance to them or that they do not feel sufficiently empowered to engage in the process. Either way the challenge is one that organisations such as ours will need to resolve. If we accept that business and the community are interconnected and that youth and Māori are part of the same community then we need to actively create an environment in which they will want to participate in.
This is not to say that Māori do not already feature strongly in the Region’s economy. They participate and contribute at many levels and through a diverse range of business structures. While economic development at a macro level often needs to be sector focused and relatively generic with one size fitting all, that does not mean that regional characteristics should not be taken into account. At a business development level, Northland needs to develop frameworks that act as enablers for all. Our population is too small to exclude any potential entrepreneurs and innovators. This means that we must work to find ways to be relevant to and to assist those who have potential to grow our economy.
One thing the Northland Chamber of Commerce has struggled with in recent times – and possibly in the past – is engaging with certain sectors of the business community. I do not think we are unique in our failings and I imagine other organisations also have difficulties connecting with these same sectors of the community. The unfortunate thing is that while there has been much hand-wringing and navel gazing on how Northland can move forward, there seems to be little meaningful progress in including the two groups within the community that will over time make a real difference to growing Northland.
With Northland having the second highest proportion of Māori nationally and the second lowest proportion of people aged 15 to 64 years, clearly two groups critical to our future and to realising Northland’s real potential are Māori and youth. These are the people who will provide tomorrow’s leaders and innovators, yet often they appear to be excluded from the conversations about where we are going and how we are going to get there.
Being on the wrong side of middle-aged and of predominantly European descent I am not qualified to say why there is an unwillingness to engage but I imagine it results from these groups either perceiving we lack relevance to them or that they do not feel sufficiently empowered to engage in the process. Either way the challenge is one that organisations such as ours will need to resolve. If we accept that business and the community are interconnected and that youth and Māori are part of the same community then we need to actively create an environment in which they will want to participate in.
This is not to say that Māori do not already feature strongly in the Region’s economy. They participate and contribute at many levels and through a diverse range of business structures. While economic development at a macro level often needs to be sector focused and relatively generic with one size fitting all, that does not mean that regional characteristics should not be taken into account. At a business development level, Northland needs to develop frameworks that act as enablers for all. Our population is too small to exclude any potential entrepreneurs and innovators. This means that we must work to find ways to be relevant to and to assist those who have potential to grow our economy.
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