Waikato Business News October/November 2020

WAIKATO BUSINESS NEWS October/November 2020
11
Team approach key to success
On March 7 this year, Joe Bradford signed a deal for $100,000
worth of road cases for the events industry in the US.
“I was stoked.”
His Cambridge firm
Fiasco had been building
up a head of steam in the sector
making the road cases. That
was about to change.
On March 10, the same guy
he had signed the deal with
called him and said “hey, can I
put a hold on that order?”
Bradford had little choice
but to agree - Covid-19 had
shut down that corner of the
US. The events industry had
tanked virtually overnight, and
it left Fiasco with a mountain
to climb - in double quick time.
Around March 12 they
started writing ideas on a
whiteboard. By March 15, they
had a new product to develop,
a flatpack desk for workers
at home.
It would be made from
birch plywood, would go in
a courier box, and would be
ergonomic.
They knew most workers
would take their computer
and possibly office chair home
with them for lockdown,
but they wouldn’t be taking
their desk.
“So we wanted to solve
that problem and by the
time we got to lockdown,
that's what we had done, we
had prototyped about eight
desks, we had started to order
some boxes.”
The solution flew. They
have now sold about 1500
desks in New Zealand, and
counting, and have sold them
to every state in the US.
Their US contact had lost
his job within days of cancelling
the road case order;
Fiasco, on the other hand, has
boosted staff numbers from
12 to 25.
Joe Bradford used the
analogy of a mountain when
he talked about his firm’s
response to the pandemic at a
LinkedIn Local event, organised
by Daniel Hopper and
held at The Instillery’s office in
Hamilton.
Bradford said firms faced
with the pandemic have either
invested in their staff and said,
“we're going to be stronger
when we come out with this”,
or they've said, “it's too hard”.
“And I would say to you
that that all comes down to
what mountain they painted for
themselves. If you paint yourself
a mountain and look at that
mountain and go, ‘that's too
daunting, I can't do it’. you're
not going to do it. If you look
at the mountain and go, ‘I'm
going to train mountain guides,
and we're going to get to the
top’, you'll get there.
Briana Christey and Ryan Joe
Luciane Calabrese and Ashmita Nagpal
“That mountain analogy is
something that we used with
our team right through this.
It's something I encourage you
guys to do.
“Paint yourself a picture,
talk to your team and believe in
that team and resources around
you.”
That focus on the team
approach was core to the message
of the two other speakers
on the night: Shelley Campbell,
Waikato/Bay of Plenty
Cancer Society chief executive,
and Ryan Joe, general
manager - Product & Marketing
at The Instillery.
Joe said during lockdown,
the Instillery leadership team
realised they needed to double
down on communication.
Keeping people connected was
a priority.
That saw them start up new
communication channels, and
run online sessions for staff to
connect and learn.
The communications were
not only around training and
work, but also around how
people were feeling. “And
it was okay for them to show
vulnerability which was a
really massive thing for us
and helped us connect as an
organisation.
“We developed an app
which allowed people to anonymously
check in, talk to us
and tell us if they were okay,
tell us if they needed help. We
had a massive uptake, even
just the fact that we had it there
Harkness Henry welcomes
Charlotte Muggeridge, Associate,
into their Resource Management
team.
Charlotte has a specialised
skill range across resource
management, property
development and subdivisions,
local government and unit titles.
Charlotte is a board member of
the international World YWCA
Board, a committee member
of the Waikato Plan Leadership
Committee, Past President and
current board member of the
Hamilton YWCA and member of
National Council of Women.
made a massive difference for
people was the feedback we
got.”
The Instillery released
the app free for other
organisations to use.
“Even though it's a small
thing it felt like something
that made a difference for
us, it was a really important
project for us.”
Campbell said when lockdown
hit, her team rolled
up their sleeves and did
whatever was needed. “I
had health providers driving
the shuttle to get people
up to the hospital treatment.
I had receptionists doing
house cleaning, cleaning
the cancer lodge, I had
Richie Jenkins and Tony Oxley
Charlotte Muggeridge
Associate
fundraisers delivering meals
to our patients at home.”
She also said she saw a
huge amount of collaboration
between health providers,
offering the kind of support
that previously would
have taken months or years
to negotiate. But the stresses
on staff have also been evident.
“And it's uncertain times
that we live in. So last week we
started a campaign that we've
called ‘Nobody's smarter than
all of us’. The idea is that you
don't have to rely just on your
own resilience and your own
strength to get you through the
next few months - rely on your
colleagues, rely on our combined
strengths that we have to
get us through.
“I really encourage
you in the workplaces to
think about what that looks
like for you and how you
make that happen.”
Lorraine Bright and Michelle Baillie
Harkness Henry specialists advise on a full range of resource
management law.
Our Resource Management team headed by Dr Joan Forret
provides constructive advice on all aspects of resource
management and Public Works Act law and how it relates to
your business or property, including:
• Plan changes and designations
• Resource consenting issues
• Assistance and advice for negotiations
• Representation at local authority hearings, and the
Environment Court
Phone (07) 838 2399
Address Level 8, KPMG Centre, 85 Alexandra Street, Hamilton 3204
www.harknesshenry.co.nz
a member of
Reuben Haddon-Silby and Joe Bradford