Business Owners Forum

Productivity – getting more from what you have (North Harbour)

Almost all business owners find themselves under intense pressure to do more with less. Maintaining competitiveness is a constant imperative with customers and clients typically wanting more, wanting it faster – and expecting it to cost less.

Continuous improvement in productivity is often a critical success factor in ensuring your business will still be prospering two, five or ten years down the track.

For those business owners who are focussed on improving productivity, the 16 August Business Owners Forum will be a must-attend event.

This event will be held at the BNZ Partners facility on Constellation Drive, North Harbour at 5:30pm on Thursday 16 August 2012 – and will run through to 7:30pm on the night.

We have assembled a varied and skilled panel for this event:

Jenny Smith. Jenny is an experienced Kaizen (Lean) >>> practitioner having embedded Kaizen principles throughout the BNZ. Jenny could speak for a day on Kaizen, so come and hear some nuggets from her considerable experience in this area distilled down to a short and snappy session.

Naomi Ballantyne. Naomi is in the middle of building her third life insurance company – Partners Life Limited. Naomi cut her teeth as one of the founding employees of Sovereign Insurance where she eventually went on to become the Chief Operating Officer, and three decades on she is keenly aware of the issues facing business owners striving for constant improvements in productivity. Come and hear some of the tips and traps Naomi can pass on from her journey.

David Webb. David is Managing Partner of PPB Advisory, an Australasian professional advisory firm that specialises in breaking through the barriers that may hinder business success. This may include a focus on optimising the value of a business, thinking differently about how a company is structured or addressing financial distress. David is well placed to offer some valuable insight to this topic.

As always for Business Owners Forum events, this session will be free of charge and completely free of sales pitches from the supporters or the panelists. And there will be pizza, beer and wine to lubricate quality discussion.

Business Owners Forums are held monthly on the third Thursday of the month – alternating between North Harbour and Whangarei venues.

If you’d like to attend this event, email Fraser Hurrell before the end of 14 August 2012. And if you’d like to be included on the invite list for future events, just add your contact details in the box to the right.

The Power of Branding for your Business (Whangarei)

What does it take for your business to unleash the full potential of its brand? Our panel will discuss this question from three different angles at the July 2012 Business Owners Forum event.

This event will be held on 19 July at the Elevate CA office, Level Four, 35 Robert Street, Whangarei from 5:30pmto 7:30pm.

On the panel for this event we have three local experts who will discuss their take on this topic. The panelists will be revealed on the night, but we can tell you they consist of a local business owner with a powerful nationwide brand, a branding and design agency owner – and a leading academic in this field.

This will be a must-attend event for Northland business owners interested in these aspects of the branding equation:

The tools and techniques are available to get involved and influence the online conversations people are having about your business;

How to ensure the sum of your stakeholders’ perceptions of your business are positive – and what happens when you get it wrong;

How your business can create and leverage a succesful brand.

Business Owners Forums are held monthly on the third Thursday of the month – alternating between North Harbour and Whangarei venues.

If you’d like to attend this event, email Fraser Hurrell before the end of 16 July. And if you’d like to be included on the invite list for future events, just add your contact details in the box to the right

Managing Disputes and Conflict Resolution (North Harbour)

Clinical Psychologist Richard Hughes once defined conflict as that which occurs when two opposing parties have interests or goals that appear to be incompatible. Conflict and disputes are an almost inevitable facet of business life – and one which can occupy a significant amount of a business owner’s energy.

Most business owners will know from bitter experience that poorly managed, conflicts and disputes will quickly sap their own motivation and positive energy – and that of their team. And although few of us have any formal training in managing disputes and conflict resolution, skills in this area are vital to business success.

This event will discuss these issues and offer some valuable insight, tips and techniques for managing disputes and conflict resolution.

This Business Owners Forum event will be held at the BNZ Partners facility on Constellation Drive, North Harbour at 5:30pm on Thursday 21 June 2012 – and will run through to 7:30pm on the night.

We have assembled a varied and skilled panel for this event:

David Henton. David is director of Confident Communications Limited – and his business specialises in managing conflict from the human perspective. David has some valuable insights and practical techniques from his considerable experience in this area. And as a bonus he is also an entertaining and accomplished speaker.

Damien Grant. As an insolvency practitioner and director of Waterstone Insolvency Limited, disputes and conflict come with the territory for Damien. Damien’s approach may be somewhat contentious – and it may not tick all of the text-book boxes. But it will resonate with business owners – and everyone is sure to take at least one nugget back to their business.

Nura Taefi. As a solicitor at Kensington Swan Lawyers, Nura has appeared in the High Court, Employment Court and the Employment Relations Authority in relation to a wide variety of disputes and conflicts. Nura knows the consquences of failure to manage disputes and resolve conflicts outside the courtroom – and she has some valuable insights to share.

Business Owners Forums are held monthly on the third Thursday of the month – alternating between North Harbour and Whangarei venues.

If you’d like to attend this event, email Fraser Hurrell before the end of 19 June 2012. And if you’d like to be included on the invite list for future events, just add your contact details in the box to the right.

Be a sought after Employer (Whangarei)

We hear so much in the media about unemployment, but the experience of most business owners is that there is no pool of great talent waiting at the front door. Finding and retaining good people for your business is a challenge.

Of course it is essential for businesses to identify their competitive advantages in the marketplace. But equally important is to identify and nurture their competitive advantage as a sought after employer.

This Business Owners Forum event will be held at the Elevate CA office on Robert Street, CBD Whangarei at 5:30pm on Thursday 17 May 2012 – and will run through to 7:30pm on the night.

This will be a must attend event for business owners who recognise the need to develop a competitive advantage as an employer of choice.

Business Owners Forums are held monthly on the third Thursday of the month – alternating between North Harbour and Whangarei venues.

If you’d like to attend this event, email Fraser Hurrell before the end of 14 May 2012. And if you’d like to be included on the invite list for future events, just add your contact details in the box to the right.

Be a sought after employer (North Harbour)

Finding and retaining good people for your business is a challenge. We hear so much in the media about unemployment, but the experience of most business owners is that there is no pool of great talent waiting at the front door.

This Business Owners Forum event will be held at the BNZ Partners facility on Constellation Drive, North Harbour at 5:30pm on Thursday 19 April 2012 – and will run through to 7:30pm on the night.

Here are the quality panelists for this event:

Heidi Johnston – Managing Director of Windowmakers Limited. Heidi led Windowmakers to success as winner of the Employer of Choice Award at the 2010 Enterprise North Shore Business Excellence Awards, so she has a wealth of insights into this topic. Come and hear how Heidi has created an organisation that is at the top of its game as a sought after employer.

Rosemarie McCarthy – Managing Director and Owner of Entertainment International Limited. Rosemarie’s business employs a large number of call centre operators in a diverse team with representatives of most ethnic groups in Auckland. Rosemarie’s success is dependent on her ability to retain a competitive advantage as a sought after employer. Come along and hear some of the tips and traps from Rosemarie’s journey

Bryce Johns, Editor – Herald on Sunday. Herald on Sunday is an employer that stands or falls on its ability to attract and retain top talent. Bryce has some valuable insight on how his organisation rises to that challenge. Come along and glean some tips, techniques and strategies from Bryce’s story that you can take back and utilise in your own business.

This Business Owners Forum will be a must attend for business owners who recognise the need to develop a competitive advantage as an employer of choice.

Business Owners Forums are held monthly on the third Thursday of the month – alternating between North Harbour and Whangarei venues.

If you’d like to attend this event, email Fraser Hurrell before the end of 16 April 2012. And if you’d like to be included on the invite list for future events, just add your contact details in the box to the right.