Time to blunt cutting remarks

THERE are few things in life which make my stomach churn and I think I have a reasonably robust constitution. There are some things, and I guess everybody has them, which really get me going.

If you are a regular reader you might have picked up my strong feelings about how our city is portrayed and the negative flow on to the business community.

I am passionate about mentoring and the positive impact that it can have in improving your business.

But this last week I encountered the "Tall Poppy Syndrome" which has me quite fired up.

It involved a comment made about another individual but I am sure that people who put their "head above the parapet" like myself and other successful people have felt the draught of the blade as others try to "bring them back to earth".

Many theorists have likened the behaviour to traits deeply rooted in the New Zealand psyche. Visitors to this country remark about us "not being like Australia" in an effort to say that we don't have an environment in which success can thrive.

My message to Wanganui is that we need to encourage those amongst us who are excelling to go on to bigger and brighter things - not "return to the pack".

And there should be no pay-off or satisfaction from "bagging" others who are doing really well.

Invariably those that make these types of comments ignore all the hard work, sweat and tears that went into achieving success - not to mention the risks taken to do so.

To wield the sword against our "tall poppies" is to indulge in ignorance, plain and simple - and if you think it gains some competitive advantage by doing so, you are sadly mistaken. It is particularly unhelpful when we live in a community which needs every positive break it can get to weather the recession.

Without these "tall poppies" we wouldn't have the advanced society we have today and many of the things we take for granted would either not exist or not been bettered.

I'm working with business people who are tall poppies in the truest sense of the words. It is a business at the cutting edge of technology with bright young people who have really impressed me with their knowledge of their market and initiatives which actually lead the nation.

In another case I see that Wanganui has been identified internationally as an "intelligent community". This is on the back of how we have embraced UFB. This stuff should be embraced by all and shouted from the rooftops and not scoffed at. Congratulations to the district council for this small-pay off for all its excellent work!

There are some tall poppies here and we need to give them all the encouragement they need to grow and bring value back to our community. Otherwise we will be left with thistles, and these are the things which should be cut down and removed so that the rest of New Zealand can admire and want to visit (or live and prosper in) our successful garden!

Zenith Solutions is a Wanganui-based management consulting practice. It specialises in providing strategic planning, business process improvement and financial management services. Contact russell@manageable.co.nz or phone 021-244-2421.