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2 Min with Seequent CEO

Seequent are a New Zealand business success story. Over 7 years I have been proud to work with Greg Allnutt to support the growing, scaling software company as it pushed globally.

In 2018 Seequent won a number of awards including the Champion Canterbury Supreme Award, NZ High Tech Award and the overall NZ Business Exports Award.

Seequent CEO Shaun Maloney discusses this in a short 2 min video.

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Finalists at NZ Business Awards

It was a great night at the New Zealand International Business Awards on Thursday night. I was there in my role as Chair of Link Engine Management Ltd. Several of the board and all the Management Team attended.

After a year of solid expansion into the USA, winning at category at the Champion Canterbury Awards in September and having been finalists for the last two years at the NZ High Tech Awards it was nice to celebrate as a team.

I think it is important to celebrate excellence and to play our part on the NZ stage as a successful exporter.

The Prime Minister speaks.
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Champion Canterbury Awards

Last night I attended the Champion Canterbury Business Awards and to see four of our client Companies as finalists with 3 of them winning significant awards including the Supreme Award by tech company Seequent.

I was particularly proud of The Link Engine Management Ltd team who won the “Champion Manufacturer/ Producer Award. I am lucky enough to Chair the Board of this growing tech company full of clever people.

Reflecting on the evening brings me back to our Core Purpose which is to support leaders and businesses to thrive and stay ahead of competition, disruption and change.

Congratulations to the Chamber of Commerce for a great evening and congratulations to Link Engine Management, Christchurch Airport, Foot Science and Seequent for their achievements and for trusting us to support them on their journey to success.

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4 Game Changers to Improve Execution

One of the biggest challenges and frustrations that business leaders have in 2018 is how to execute their Strategic plan to ensure the future success of the business. Over the last 18 months we have conducted in depth surveys with 161 business leadership teams across New Zealand, Australia & the USA asking them 35 key questions over a 2 hour gap analysis assessment.

When it comes to Disciplined Execution the basics really count and the surveys highlighted a common gap in four areas as highlighted by the data;

  1. Role Clarity: 110 (68%) of the 161 teams interviewed had not clearly documented who was accountable for key roles in the business & how their performance would be measured. It stands to reason that if there is no real role clarity then there will be overlaps in effort, low levels of accountability & frustrations. In many cases roles had not been updated as the team grew, head count increased and the company evolved. Putting in the effort to document and get clarity on roles and measurements makes a huge impact and is an engaging discussion to have as a team.
  2. Consequences: 106 (66%) of the 161 teams had staff that did not know the consequences for achieving (or not achieving) the performance standard required for their role. Without praise and recognition for great work (catch people doing things right) there is no incentive to go above and beyond. Likewise if poor performance is not confronted it becomes hard to perform as a team and good people leave due to the mediocrity that is tolerated. These topics should be discussed as a team so there is clarity which will in turn lift engagement. (See “The Power of Consequence”).
  3. Meetings: 117 (73%) of the 161 teams did not conduct well-structured “execution meetings” with team members on a weekly basis. Most leaders hate meetings and their team members hate being part of them. Yet if you lead people you need to be excellent at leading engaging team meetings that allow you to live your culture. What makes a great meeting? Respect for time, never cancelled, clear team rules, being prepared, having each attendee speak to their numbers, a review of results, clarity on future actions, updates on strategic actions/projects, documented decisions (who, what, when), core value stories, connection & fun as a team. A clear cadence of meetings will make a huge impact on team engagement, execution and will maintain momentum.
  4. Quarterly Reviews: 132 (82%) of the 161 teams did not review their performance against their strategy and then update and communicate the strategic direction every quarter (90 days). Most Companies have a strategic plan that is reviewed annually or bi-annually but few review and update progress quarterly. It is a static plan. This quarterly review is a key meeting that drives reflection, lessons learnt, measures numbers and progress and allows the plan to iterate and remain highly relevant. A quarterly review every 90 days is a real game changer.

I have worked with hundreds of good leadership teams over the last 10 years and whenever these four game changers are implemented execution, engagement and accountability really starts to lift and it doesn’t cost anything. The team lifts to another level. It requires the CEO to refocus on several important things that will make a huge impact. Below are two short videos on these topics.

My website: www.kendalllangston.com