Posted on August 1, 2023
As we set out on an adventure I had dreamed about, racing 5000km across the Atlantic Ocean in a tiny rowing boat, everything was going to plan… On day two, my mate (Kevin Biggar) and I faced unexpected adversity. We found ourselves in the middle of a major storm. Headwinds, waves and currents – all…
Read MorePosted on March 15, 2021
March 15, 2021 In our last few newsletters we’ve been cautiously upbeat about New Zealand’s economic prospects, and somewhat critical of doom-casting by some economists and pundits. Those that relied on tracking underlying economic activity data and trends, as we tried to do, proved to be a lot more in tune than those that built…
Read MorePosted on February 25, 2021
Sustainable enterprise requires you to continually create value for a specified group of people. And your business model describes the logic of how you’ll deliver that value through to those customers/consumers. But what are the ways you can do this to ensure you achieve your objectives, or grow faster than your industry peers? Through our…
Read MorePosted on August 14, 2020
Here we explain the mechanics and practice of the Operating Model within Peak Performance. It was 4pm and the 12 people in the room, representing every team in the business, were amazed with the clarity and alignment of what they’d created during the day: Purpose, character, value-creating beliefs, goals, draft business model and the top…
Read MorePosted on August 5, 2020
After the tragedy of their ship being trapped, crushed and sunk by the Antarctic ice, Shackleton and his 22-man crew on the Endurance were forced to reinvent their goals. To survive, they hauled lifeboats across unforgiving ice in the brutal cold for 180 miles. Then, their world-famous and heroic ocean journey to South Georgia 800miles away in the 22-foot long James Caird. Shackleton kept his…
Read MorePosted on April 24, 2020
For 900km I’d been dragging a sled that started out at 160kg. By now it should feel lighter and easier, but it didn’t. Kevin and I had been leaning into our harnesses for twelve hours every day, I’d lost 25 kilos of body weight, and the finish line was nowhere in sight… Here’s a story from my…
Read MorePosted on April 20, 2020
Around the country, Regional Business Partners (RBP) have set aside significant funds to support businesses impacted by COVID-19 during these tough times, and to fully-fund* business advisory services. What’s on offer? We’re helping business leaders and owners recover or pivot their business and thrive again. Our funded advice and support is customised for you, related to these four areas. Further details on…
Read MorePosted on April 8, 2020
Hundreds of miles from civilisation, two ships sink at opposite ends of the same deserted island in a true story of human nature and leadership at its best—and its worst. In our documentary series Intrepid New Zealand I learnt about and recreated parts of two tragic, yet inspiring, shipwrecks that occurred in New Zealand’s waters. The lessons from these two…
Read MorePosted on November 13, 2018
Companies often think R&D is the only path toward innovation, while some think innovation focuses only around the performance of products and services – features, benefits or new offerings. But ‘innovation’ goes well beyond these things. Peak Performing organisations with a clear purpose and objectives continually try to create greater value, and this requires innovation…
Read MorePosted on October 23, 2018
Sometimes you learn more when things go wrong than you do when they go well. We were in Mykonos half way through our 2018 Northern Summer sailing adventure on our yacht ‘Swallow’. The Meltemi is a Katabatic wind that blows North to South through the Aegean in the summer months. It is at its strongest…
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