Next week marks the start of what we hope will be the front end of some form of economic recovery here in New Zealand.

Regrettably, however, not everyone is going to get through it. Through no fault of their own, thousands of businesses will be forced to cut back or worse, lose everything they have, meaning more staff will lose their jobs and require the country’s support.

In time, when the headiness of the situation passes, the nation will judge the Government's response. In time, questions will be asked. We’re not there yet, but in the coming months, we will be. Between now and then, however, it is up to each of us to finish what we started – stopping the spread of the virus.

After that, there will be a requirement for us as citizens to put our minds to the future. To think about the type of country we want and how to progress as a society.

When we get to that point, I hope we will be mature enough to engage in that discussion rather than simply judging Labour for what they did (or failed to do) but to express our interest in building a nation that recognises people’s efforts and the right to opportunity.

Like many, I agree with much of the rhetoric from both sides but make no mistake, businesses will be the saviour of this nation given they employ over two-thirds of our workforce.

Yes, there are people in business who arguably shouldn’t be. People who exploit their staff, act dishonestly and deliver little if any value to the country. But I also believe these people are a minority. In my experience, I’ve found the vast majority of New Zealand business owners to be honest, hardworking Kiwis who are committed to their customers and community. They look after their staff and therefore play a vital part in putting food on the table for thousands of families. They care about their part of the world and want to make it better for everyone.

So what can you do as the Government relaxes our alert level status down to 2 over the next month or so that you haven’t been able to do for a while?

Thoughts

Buy an ice cream, meet up with friends, get a haircut, take your family out to dinner – even if it’s just a picnic in the park. Go to your favourite café or get a takeaway and tell them you’ve been looking forward to it.

©1995-Present day. All rights reserved – Steel Performance Solutions 

We appreciate it has been a tough time for many but hope these articles have been useful. From next week, we will pare them back to weekly for the next month after which time we will review the frequency.

In the meantime, if you’ve found them useful, you can access many more on our website. As you will see, we’ve endeavoured to use relevant titles to ensure they can be used as a reference source of additional insight or inspiration or simply an alternative view as seen through the eyes of a performance specialist.

In closing, it’s important we remember this; despite what’s happened, it’s your choice what you think from here and therefore what you do – so while you can’t change the fact the outbreak occurred, or what the Government did, you can decide how to proceed from this point.

Be strong, consider your options, and then when you are ready, get to work on your vision.

 

Best of luck from all of us at Vantaset