The leadership and teamwork on show in Christchurch, combined with Kiwis’ innate creative genius, will help the country reach its economic potential, says Chris Quin.
There's nothing like calamity to focus the mind and in the past year or two there has been a surplus.
If there is good to come out of situations like the Christchurch earthquakes and the global financial crisis, says Gen-i chief executive Chris Quin, it is the opportunity they provide to
harden-up the qualities of leadership and teamwork that help an organisation to shine at any time.
As a country, quite apart from recovering from the Canterbury quakes, we face other challenges.
We are a chronic underachiever in the OECD productivity stakes. In 2009, for instance, we worked on average 41 more hours than our Australian cousins only to earn US$10,500 less than they did. Little wonder the Government wants to close the gap.
It's something we all need to work together on, Quin says.
Some of the causes are reasonably obvious. If we’re chronically unproductive, we’ve also historically underspent on research and development. Government and industry invest only about 0.5% of revenue on R&D.
Yet, Quin says, eminent people such as 2011 New Zealander of the Year Sir Paul Callaghan tell us innovation is the way to lift output. According to the person who wore the same mantle last year, Ray Avery, we should be part way there, as “a country of geniuses”.
The trick to turning our innate genius into a pipeline of innovations is to encourage entrepreneurial spark, Quin says.
"We have to be far more ambitious and execute in far more effective and rewarding ways to encourage innovation," he says.
He turns to another field for advice on how to harness an abundance of natural talent to produce a desired outcome.
Another of the nation's immediate challenges is returning rugby's Webb Ellis Cup to its rightful home, and directing that effort is All Blacks coach Graham Henry.
Quizzed by Quin about his approach to getting the best from his team, Henry says he relies on a core of six player mentors, with captain Richie McCaw and vice-captain Daniel Carter at the centre.
"If they lead by example, you’re going to play pretty well."
The Christchurch quakes highlighted other qualities of effective leadership, Quin says, including the importance of clear communication, empathy and exerting influence by inspiring rather than cajoling.
"To give this country a lasting lift, we need to get ‘crisis-like’ leadership and engagement happening all the time," Quin says.