Waikato Business News September/October 2017

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8 WAIKATO BUSINESS NEWS September/October 2017 When self-promotion turns into egomania When your business is just you, promoting your business is pretty much about blowing your own trumpet. For many of us, that’s an uncomfortable prospect. I’m happy waffling on about what my little business can do if it’s through the protective veil of an article like this or even, at a push, in a formal proposal. But coming up with a marketing message that doesn’t make me sound like a complete egomaniac is another story altogether. Probably should have considered this before I went solo...? My high school motto translated as something like ‘before honour is humility’. I didn’t think it struck home with me at the time but I did somehow emerge as someone who is often hamstrung by modesty. Self-esteem certainly is a commodity to be nurtured. Over recent years (probably because I’m getting a bit old) these sentiments have been magnified by working with some incredibly smart young New Zealanders who seem to radiate confidence in their own abilities. It took me far too long to realise that this is often just as much a façade for them as it is for many of the rest of us. I confess, I’m slightly in awe of those bright young things who can quickly reassure you of knowledge and capability beyond their years. And with many, that self-confidence is absolutely justified. So, I guess that brings us to what I see as one of the most important decisions for any small business – defining your brand and building an authentic story around it. If you genuinely are the first or longest established, the largest or the only one locally, feel free to herald that fact. There’s a difference between telling people about a clear point of difference and an arrogant boast. Advertising Standards takes a dim view of the use of words like ‘best’ and my feeling is that, thankfully, most Kiwis do too. I’ve noticed that, in consultancy and professional services, ‘best’ gets bandied around with little substance, particularly in areas that relate to new technologies and concepts that are out of the comfort zone of most customers. If you say you’re the ‘best’ or call yourself a ‘guru’, it is simple: prove it, honey. Good service and positive working relationships are crucial aspects of what helps great brands thrive. But it’s TELLING YOUR STORY > BY VICKI JONES Vicki Jones is director of Dugmore Jones, Hamilton-based marketing management consultancy. Email vicki@dugmorejones.co.nz not exactly sexy marketing, is it. We all claim to be terribly nice people, of course. We all say we put our customers first and become part of their team – one big happy family. For most organisations, marketing based on the soft skills can sound just that, soft. And frankly, shouldn’t it be a given anyway? I guess that, because the disappointing reality is that prioritising client relationships is not always a given, it’s often worth a mention, so long as your behaviour lives up to that brand promise. Trumpets don’t always need to roar. Soft hugs don’t necessarily need to be exchanged. But whatever you do, do it because it’s right for your brand... If you don’t focus on your undoubtable brilliance, or what an all-round good bloke you are, it comes back down to the offer. Most Kiwis like facts, no messing – what am I going to get for my investment. Even for those for whom the emotive factors are a driver in decision making, customers still deserve clarity in what it is you can do for them. For those of you lucky enough to be selling a prod- uct, I’m almost jealous. You have lots of facts to tell your customers and can balance out talking about features with benefits to tug at the heart strings. For those of us selling advice, the intangibility brings up different challenges. Exactly what a client gets from us is different with every organisation. And if not, we’re doing probably it wrong. That means our own marketing risks being based around generalised concepts and we’re reliant on successful projects to support our story. If you’re operating in a busy market which is lacking differentiation between you and your competitors, it may be a struggle to find a point of difference to focus on in your marketing and communications. Sometimes that’s just life. In many cases, particularly in professional services, the differences might be quite subtle. The way you tell your story can, in itself, create your uniqueness. Perhaps it’s in the language you use, an eye-catching design approach, the causes you support or the company you keep. Trumpets don’t always need to roar. Soft hugs don’t necessarily need to be exchanged. But whatever you do, do it because it’s right for your brand, genuine and sustainable. You need to be able to sleep at night. So, as I finalise the wording for my own marketing materials, I realise I can’t go with something like “I’ve been doing this a while and I kinda get it.” Or can I? Employer fights back Western Institute of Technology at Taranaki v Parr For many years employers felt powerless to push back with employees who were out of line but there is an increasing number of employers who are taking action against ex-employees who are causing harm. There are two significant cases working their way through the courts currently. One is Crimson Consulting Limited v Berry which bought a competitor business and employed the owner who subsequently resigned and went to another competitor. They are seeking to impose a restraint of trade and are seeking damages and are currently working through the Employment Court with a series of hearings, initially over confidentiality of information. A second spat between ITE v ALA (publication of the names is prohibited) has been to the Court of Appeal and Supreme Court and is back in the Employ- ment Court. Ex-employee ITE published a series of Youtube videos and Facebook posts that were critical of the employer and breached the Court’s non-publication orders. The Employment Court has had two hearings dealing with an application to direct the removal of the on-line material and is now addressing the breaches of the earlier judgements. This story of Mrs Angela Parr and Western Institute of Technology (WITT) is a more succinct episode. Mrs Parr was the personal assistant to the chief executive at WITT and therefore had access to the most sensitive information about the organisation. She left the organisation in 2013 and reached a settlement for a personal grievance which stated, as most agreements do, “Mrs Parr will not make any negative or disparaging statement publicly about WITT or any of its officers or employees… Mrs Parr also acknowledges that if she breaches this clause…she may be liable to penalties and compensation.” In February 2016 (two years after signing the settlement) a letter was sent to the Minister for Tertiary Education and the Shadow Minister raising a number of issues about WITT that were described as of grave concern to so many who were at present unable to speak or take action due to confidentiality agreements and ongoing court cases. The letter was signed by F Jacks. A further letter by the same person was sent in May to the Minister, the TSB Community Trust and the Bishop’s Action Foundation referring to the earlier letter and disparaging the chair of WITT who was associated with both recipient organisations. The letter was sent in a hand written envelope and when shown to the CEO she thought the writing was familiar, checked Mrs Parr’s personal file and thought she found a match. Samples of handwriting were sent to two experts for assessment and the experts concluded they were probably from the same person. WITT then sent the documents to the senior document examiner at the Police National Headquarters who concluded they were from the same person, Mrs Parr. Mrs Parr was approached by WITT and told to desist. She denied being the author of the documents so WITT approached the Employment Authority seeking a direction that Parr not breach the settlement again and seeking penalties for the breach. The first step in this process was to determine if the letters HR AND THE LAW > BY ANNE AITKEN Anne Aitken, HR Professional | Email: anne@anneaitken.co.nz breached the term of no disparaging comments. Not only did the Authority conclude that some of the comments were disparaging, so did Mrs Parr. Through a process of deduction, the Authority concluded that because of the content cross referencing, the letters had to have been written by the same person, Mrs Parr was the person who wrote one of the letters, therefore she was the person who wrote all of them. WITT was successful in having a further order of compliance issued and was awarded penalties of $6000 from a possible maximum of $20,000 ($10,000 for each breach). The issue of the level of costs Mrs Parr would be required to pay WITT was reserved, but there would be an expectation of a significant contribution. The decision also reinforced that the agreement not to make disparaging comments did not expire. The cost of this exercise for WITT would be substantial but it was unavoidable to stop the continuing damaging actions of a disaffected ex-employee who had been in such a trusted position. It is unusual these days for disparaging material to be sent by post, most of it is being done on-line like with ITE v ALA. It has far wider reach and the potential to go viral so employers are forced into taking action to address it rather than letting some grumpy sod mutter into their beer and anyone who would listen, as would have happened in the past.
WAIKATO BUSINESS NEWS September/October 2017 9 Search begins for new Momentum Waikato CEO Momentum Waikato Community Foundation is seeking a new chief executive following news that founding boss Cheryl Reynolds is stepping down after four years in the role. The organisation is seeking a new leader to take over the reins from Ms Reynolds, who will be leaving at the end of the year to establish a new philanthropic startup venture in 2018. “It has been an honour to serve my community and be part of such a game-changing organisation from the outset,” I am hoping that my next project will lead to a new funding stream for Momentum Waikato, and other highimpact charities says Ms Reynolds. “When I arrived at Momentum Waikato four years ago I was given a mandate to build an organisation that can achieve intergenerational, transformative change. Working with my trustees we have set out to achieve a better Waikato for everyone, forever.” Starting with that mandate, Ms Reynolds met with the founding donors and Momentum Waikato Community Foundation trustees to understand their vision for the region. “I asked ‘how can we as a community, with the limited resources we have, make the greatest impact, and what does success look like,” she says. “My job has been to lay the foundations for an organisation that will grow significantly over time and serve our donors and community in perpetuity. I’ve always thought New boss for SODA Erin Wansbrough has been appointed chief executive of business founder incubator SODA Inc and will join the organisation in October. Erin has a passion for entrepreneurship and brings a depth of business experience and knowledge of commercialisation. Most recently Erin was vice-president, business development at Adherium, a New Zealand digital health business addressing the problem of adherence to prescription medicine through the commercialisation of digital health technologies. SODA Inc chairman Graham Gaylard, who announced the chief executive appointment to clients and staff this week, says he’s delighted to have Erin on board. “Erin has great depth and knowledge about business innovation and commercialisation. SODA Inc has been going from strength to strength over the past year and we believe Erin’s connections, experience and drive will help take SODA Inc to the next level,” says Graham. Erin’s experience in business innovation includes having previously worked for Callaghan Innovation and the Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment (MBIE). There, she had the opportunity to complete both the Entrepreneurship Development Program and the Regional Entrepreneurship Acceleration Program at Massachusetts Institute of Technology – Sloan School of Management. She has also held senior management roles within Auckland UniServices, IMBcom, Genesis R&D Corporation, GlaxoSmithKline, AstraZeneca and Life Technologies. She also holds a Masters of Science and a Post New SODA Inc chief executive Erin Wansbrough. Graduate Diploma in Business Administration. Erin says she is looking forward to continuing on the strong relationships SODA Inc has with its clients, business growth advisors and partners. "My passion is in assisting entrepreneurs to build successful companies and to provide them with opportunities in industry, network development, education and investment. The team at SODA Inc has been instrumental in growing and strengthening businesses throughout New Zealand and it will be a privilege to be able to lead an organisation that understands the growing pains, grit and perspiration required in the pursuit of business success.” SODA Inc works with founders from all industry sectors because it believes good ideas and opportunities can be found anywhere. It matches expert advisors with founders to support them in building and growing a business around their goals. With headquarters in Wintec House in Hamilton, SODA Inc operates part-time, remote and customised incubation programmes for clients located throughout New Zealand, giving founders the flexibility to work within their local start-up ecosystem. about the future people working at Momentum Waikato and of the generations of children to come in 100 years’ time or 300 years’ time. In building the foundation we’ve had a long-term vision for an organisation that will serve – and have impact – for a very long time,” says Ms Reynolds. Over the past 25 years, Ms Reynolds has been chief executive at six public organisations and she was the founding CEO of SODA Inc for four years prior to starting at Momentum Waikato. As an entrepreneur and innovator, Momentum Waikato was the eleventh startup Ms Reynolds has built. She cites the Vital Impact Programme – an innovative change-making system – as something she is particularly proud of. “It delivers on both our founding donor’s and our community’s wishes for transformational intergenerational change, and that is something I find very rewarding,” says Ms Reynolds. The new Waikato Regional Theatre is also a major highlight, says Ms Reynolds. In August a feasibility report recommended the development of a 1100-seat theatre, shared public spaces and a public art gallery, to be located at the old Hamilton Hotel site on Victoria Street. The proposed theatre will replace Founders Theatre – which closed for safety reasons in March 2016 – and is currently before Hamilton City Council and others for funding approval. “It’s going to be a thriving creative precinct for the people of Hamilton and the Waikato and will reshape the CBD,” says Ms Reynolds. She has thanked the Momentum Waikato team who “are incredible, dedicated and do an amazing job” and the donors “who are the change-makers – their generosity is making a real difference for our community”. Her next project will see Ms Reynolds working from Raglan on her 12th startup, which she hopes will become “a global digital platform for generosity”. However her support of Momentum Waikato will be ongoing as a donor to the organisation. “I am hoping that my next project will lead to a new funding stream for Momentum Waikato, and other high-impact charities,” she says. Leonard Gardner, chairman of the Momentum Waikato Community Foundation, says Ms Reynolds has been a knowledgeable, inspiring 30430 Outgoing Momentum Waikato chief executive Cheryl Reynolds. www.braemarhospital.co.nz 24 Ohaupo Road, Hamilton Phone: 07 843 1899 All health insurers accepted Because Braemar is owned by a charitable trust, we reinvest any surplus back into the hospital to stay at the forefront of surgical innovation. Excellence means Braemar and generous leader – and has contributed greatly to both the Foundation and the region. “With her experience and vision she has led Momentum Waikato through its first four years and we’ve been incredibly lucky to have her passion and guiding hand leading the team. We are lucky that she remains committed to the Waikato region and to supporting Momentum Waikato through her new venture,” Mr Gardner says. With Ms Reynolds’ departure at the end of 2017 Momentum Waikato is now calling for expressions of interest in the CEO role. Mr Gardner is looking forward to the search for a new chief executive, and for the passion and vision they too will bring to the role. “It’s an exciting organisation to be part of, and an exciting time to be contributing to the future of Hamilton City and the Waikato region,” he says. Those who are interested in finding out more about the CEO opportunity should look on Seek.co.nz
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