Editorial: Courage & confidence

Welcome to this special issue of NZ Management magazine which will now be an annual feature on the magazine’s publishing schedule. The 2014 preview will come out at the end of this year for holiday season reading.
For years now The Economist has published The World in (2010, 2011 etc) special issue and there are any number of publications looking at the global issues as we head into new year. What you told us in our readership survey late last year, was that you wanted to hear from other New Zealand business leaders about issues and experiences that are relevant to you. (Read more results from that Colmar Brunton research on page 7.)
What’s really interesting from the research is that, in business environment dominated by what Deloitte’s Thomas Pippos refers to as “digital disruption” (page 37), 85 percent of you still prefer to receive this information in print form. sizeable minority of that group want to get both. That’s an indicator of one of the mega-trends for 2013; it’s the year that the world of infotech goes truly mobile. People want to access their information wherever they are, and whenever they want it, on the device that’s most convenient for them – smartphone or tablet.
The recent Christmas gift-giving season marked another milestone; tablets became mainstream. UK retailers reported “one tablet bought every second” in the lead-up to Christmas, and predictions are that 50 percent of UK citizens will have one by this time next year (see page 9).
But while much workplace change is technology-driven, time and again our thought leaders on these pages identified looking after people as one of the critical success factors for every enterprise and NZ as whole. At the macro level it means supporting economic growth and providing opportunities for talent to thrive here, and to return from valuable experience gained offshore. At the micro level, in every organisation, it’s putting people first – whether they’re staff, contractors, colleagues or clients.
In challenging times – the ‘new normal’ – every organisation is dependent on each individual performing at the top of their game. That only happens if people are motivated and engaged. And, looking at the insights from the NZIM’s report on NZ’s management capability, that’s of some concern. See pages 20, 21 and the report itself on pages 71-98 of this issue.
I don’t want to end on negative note because, despite all the challenges, our best and brightest are surprisingly upbeat about NZ’s prospects and particularly our potential. We need courage, confidence, and to just make it happen.