EDITOR’S LETTER: New Year New Opportunities

Happy New Year. That greeting might be little later than some you have received but we don’t publish in January as, like most of the country, we too need holiday. But we’re back into it now and it’s going to be good year. challenging one, there’s little doubt about that, but if people keep their heads, work their way sensibly through challenges and give themselves and their colleagues the freedom to think little outside the square then we will get through this.
With that in mind, this month’s lead story examines the challenges many managers will face as result of the current economic conditions and offers expert advice on how best to manage them. Bearing in mind that it is summer and, while the economic situation is nothing to take lightly, buying in to global panic is highly unlikely to be very helpful, we’ve fashioned the wise words into Survivor-type presentation to appeal to those reality-tv addicts. Welcome to Survivor: Recession Island – hopefully one-off presentation.
Buying into that global panic (if anyone has enough cashflow to be able to buy anything) is something retailer extraordinaire Michael Hill has no time for. In our Face to Face feature, the retailer/golfer/violinist/entrepreneur talks about the process of turning Michael Hill into diversified global brand. He admits the timing could have been better economy-wise but his resolve to continue with plans for world domination is firm and there are exciting things to come from him. One is his trip to Monte Carlo in May to represent New Zealand in the Ernst & Young World Entrepreneur of the Year award. We wish him well.
Our new initiative for 2009, the first of many, is to introduce new section to the magazine. Just Good Business (pages 22-25 this month) will cover news, case studies, opinion and advice for companies heading down the sustainability path. We have deliberately avoided called it anything to do with being green as it is much more than that; we will cover the social, financial and economic aspects of sustainability/corporate social responsibility/triple bottom line – call it what you will, it is vital that more New Zealand organisations begin this journey if they, and the country, are to prosper.
Continuing the ‘new’ theme, NZ Management has new designer in 2009. Antonina Elliott has joined the team, replacing Stephanie Beagley who, after many years making the magazine look good, has moved to another 3media title Essentially Food.
As is the case with everyone in the current climate, there is lots to keep us busy here in the year ahead and I look forward to sharing news, views and information with you over the coming year.