The Business New Zealand Challenge

For some years now  the Canterbury Employers’ Chamber of Commerce has been involved, as a sponsor and supporter, in The Business New Zealand Challenge (formerly know as SELL). This initiative is designed to introduce students to the challenges and excitement of a business environment, in a condensed three day business planning exercise. The programme is run by the Young Enterprise Trust and is complimentary to the popular Young Enterprise Scheme, which has been around for many years. This year The Business New Zealand  Challenge will be staged at Kaikoura High School, Papanui High School, Timaru Boys’ High School, Rangiora High School, Mt Hutt,  Linwood College, Avonside Girls and St Bedes College.

Have a look at  http://youtu.be/8kPwHD4ehj8  to see what  The Challenge is all about.

We think connecting the students of today with the business opportunities of tomorrow is a critical part of growing New Zealand.

www.cecc.org.nz

The beginning of the recovery end of our Earthquake experience

It is clear that we are starting to get into the beginning of the recovery end of our Earthquake experience.  Increasing work on infrastructure, rebuilds, repairs, skill shortages and housing shortages are all signs of increasing economic activity relating to the recovery.

We are awaiting  finality on the Central City Plan and the wider Economic Recovery Plan is about to go out for consultation and input.

We are getting closer to certainty with the siting of critical pieces of infrastructure and there is now more clarity on the anticipated long term impact of the Earthquake on City Council plans, programmes and finances. Of course we are still living the nightmare of insurance complications, building assessments and continuing delays in housing repairs.

However we know this recovery is a long game.

We should be assured, that once we do get the recovery really cranking, we will enjoy a sustained period of intense and positive activity in the rebuild. No one should consider that we are “stuck” in a rebuild mode and that this is a negative environment until the rebuild is completed. On the contrary: we have suffered the pain and we have a lot of the potential gain locked  in!

Christchurch is  going to be an exciting and challenging place to be part of, long into the future. It is just about time to climb on board and fasten your seat belts!

http://www.cecc.org.nz/

Design Your Future Forum

Here are some thoughts eminating from the  Design your Future Forum I attended in Auckland last week. It was driven by some of the worlds  great thought leaders on business trends.

You might find some of them challenging. I hope you find all of them interesting

• Data is the new oil
• Water is the new oil
• Simplicity is a part of good design
• We are living in a volatile place
• The more efficient a system gets the less resilient it becomes
• You cannot plan an urban space. You can imagine it, but you cannot plan it
• Design behaviours, not objects
• Be insanely great
• Design is never done
• Systems are never done
• Focus on the user and all else will follow
• A powerful mission is fundamental to success.
• The play you are immersed in, in childhood determines how you act as an adult.
• Imagination is more important than knowledge
• The smartest person is the one who is the most strategically creative
• The hand programmes the brain
• Play has a positive approach to failure
• The opposite of play is depression, not work
• Bring your whole person to work
• Design is a method of imagining something that does not yet exist
• The employee experience is as important as the customer experience
• The concept of empathy means you must understand what is happening in your customer’s life
• Youth are perpetually connected
• Youth are forming new habits that everyone else is adopting
• The millenials do care about their privacy.
• Leadership is the capacity for human beings to scope their own future

 www.cecc.org.nz

Inspirational Kiwi businessman to speak at Get Into It Christchurch

The Get Into It Cocktail Event for Business is the final part of the Get Into It Christchurch campaign, which has been running for the last five weeks. The event is being held tomorrow (Wednesday 4 April) from 5.00pm to 7.00pm at the Westpac Business and Community Hub, and is free for any Christchurch business to attend.

Steve Lange purchased Tony’s Tyre Services when he was 23 years old, using a loan from his accountant at 28% interest.  He grew the business from a single Palmerston North tyre shop to a recognised national brand, overcoming enormous challenges along the way – including nearly going broke twice. A high school dropout who went on to become one of New Zealand’s leading entrepreneurial businessmen, Steve is coming to Christchurch to share his story of triumphing over adversity, at a free business event.

“Christchurch business people have been through the wringer over the last 18 months and I’m hoping that through sharing the highs and lows of my business career I can provide a bit of encouragement and inspiration – and maybe a few laughs,” says Steve. 

More than 100 Canterbury businesses have taken part in the Get Into It Christchurch campaign, and they are all in the running for thousands of dollars’ worth of prizes which will be up for grabs at the Get Into It Cocktail Event for Business.

Any Canterbury business can attend the free event, which is proudly sponsored by Vodafone.  To register email registrations@cecc.org.nz or for more information go to www.facebook.com/GetIntoItChristchurch or call Recover Canterbury on 0800 50 50 96.

http://www.cecc.org.nz/