kevin's world

June

June, 2010

After a quieter May all changed dramatically in June.
I spent the first went meeting with most of the Tactix players getting a better understanding of professional netball.

The second week was all Tradestaff excepting for a Rugby league fundraising lunch run by the Halswell RL club. It’s the second time I’ve been to one of their functions and I recommend it highly. They raise funds for youth rugby league and I particularly like the way they involve the young players as waiters and cleaners.

The middle of the month saw a real pick up in marketing work and massive rainfall. One thing is for sure and that is that my golf game has stopped in its tracks but it is very hard to get excited about golf when the course is underwater.

I also was able to attend the official function celebrating 100 years of Maori rugby followed by the match against Ireland in Rotorua. It was a fantastic occasion and pretty special for a boy from Ashburton who got to talk with his childhood heroes.

Then things changed quite dramatically when at only my 2nd board meeting I proudly took on the role of chairman of the Tactix which is pretty exciting and obviously quite a challenge.

Business at Tradestaff has been good and while the rain slowed things down in June I am still pleased with results compared to last year. Lots of feedback from clients however that the good times might not be here to stay.

The last couple of weeks seemed to be mid winter Christmas parties wall to wall. Way too much socializing and while June was good for business networking it wasn’t so good for the weight.

Lots of work required on the golf and weight goals!!           

Maybe July will be better?

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May

May, 2010

May was by my standards pretty quiet.

Business at Tradestaff has been very good and I was quoted in various media as saying better by as much as 25% on the same period last year.

However to put that into context last year was pretty terrible. Still nice to break some records and see my hard working staff see some rewards for their efforts.

Mostly however I was knee deep in auditing and budgets!

I finally saw some progress on the golf course when I shot 85 off the back tees at Templeton which is my best round in a very long time.     I started well, had 3 very bad holes then played the last 12 holes only 5 over par, so much better and quite motivating!

Lots of little bits and pieces happening elsewhere none of much is very interesting or worth reporting but some good sales training sessions in Auckland which I’m pleased to say was well recieved and seemed to be relevant to the client’s needs. 

I have been getting a better understanding of the professional netball enviroment and feel I’m not totally in the dark at Tactix board meetings.    My arrival on the board has coincided with a run of significant losses including losing to the previously winless Central Pulse. 

I rounded out the month socially with a night at the Opera which was a concert of Aida sung entirely in Italian. I still have no real idea what was going on, but I enjoyed the experience none the less and would probably go again. 

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April

April, 2010

Where do I start with April? It must have been the fastest month in the history of months, well at least it felt that way. Of course Easter weekend made the first week disapear and I took a few days off down at our Rangitata bach with the family.

Trading at Tradestaff has continued well and as is often the case my workload just about doubles at this time of year with annual accounts, budgets and forecasting taking over. Certainly feeling a lot better this year about business than we were a year ago.

I played in a two day golf tournament called the Christchurch casino masters which mirrors the actual golf masters. The winner even gets a green jacket! I was in the top 20 after the first day but a disaster round of epic proportions the next day counted me out of the prize round. A great concept however and the charities attached to the tournament benefitted by more than $100,000!

Another week of financial reporting (and the 1000 yard stare that comes from it) and then we travelled up to Hamilton for the V8 street race. Tradestaff’s Hamilton office is right on the track so we take the opportunity to host clients there for the weekend; it’s a huge event for the 3 days but we always have a big turnout and it’s become a very popular with our motor head clients and staff.

The next week just for something different I was asked to help out with an antinatal group; particually the men. So while the woman in the group went away to talk about girl’s stuff I took the men into the man cave and I shared some experiences. It was actually a lot of fun and I loved scaring the daylights out of them!

The launch of the fabulous Ernst and Young Entrepreneur of the year competition was launched in April and as a member of the alumni I attended a lunch where last year’s winner Diane Foreman spoke. I spoke at the same event last year with the previous winner Michael Hill. If you want any advice about this event or would like to be nominated, just let me know.

Finally to my great surprise I accepted an invitation to become a director of the Canterbury Tactix board. It was a surprise because I’ve never really been a netball fan and know pretty much nothing about the game. I attended my first game as a board member and as an ominious sign of things to come we got thrashed by 28 points!

I demonstrated my knowledge by asking how many players were on each team and then asked the coach what she did in the organisation. Anyway it seems that I’m not on the board for my netball knowledge and I am quite excited about being part of the team.

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March

March, 2010

The start of March saw me trying to make the most of the tail end of summer with plenty of golf coaching to ensure I make that single figure handicap goal. Truth is that I’m hitting it like a pro on the practise range, but am terrible on the course. It’s pretty soul destroying but not being naturally talented means I have to work much harder even if it feels like I’m getting worse.

I have been well overdue in getting down to Tradetaff’s most southern branches in Queenstown and Dunedin and was keen to do it in the 2nd week of March but that sapce was being taken up by a mangaement meeting.

So I combined the two things and we had a mangement road trip. Along with my GM and National Ops manager we drove from Christchurch down the coast to Dunedin stopping off to show them around my old home town of Ashburton.

We also stopped off at my family bach at the Rangitata river mouth where my Mum and Dad were holidaying. Good old Mum had fresh scones with jam and cream waiting. Fantastic.

We worked that afternoon in Dunedin and travelled the next morning to Queenstown where we worked that afternoon before dining at possibly the best restaurant in NZ, the Botswana Butchery. It’s not cheap and at times the service is a bit suspect but, oh my god the food is spectacular. Treat yourself next time you are in Queenstown, just don’t start your night on the Buck’s fizz cocktails like we did!

We worked the next morning before a bit of team building and recovery time in Wanaka with a highlight being the famous Puzzle world where we had some lunch and generally just had some good old fashioned kid like fun. It’s my third visit and I would go back tomorrow. Then we drove all the way back to Christchurch taking in all central Otago and the hydro lakes area has to offer.

The trip was a great success and we had about 10hours in the car to talk about work. All in all a good fun way to have a 3 day management meeting while visiting branches, seeing clients and being a tourist all at the same time.

I managed to fit 2 very bad rounds of golf in the next week before heading up to Auckland for the weekend where the good folk at the NBR graciously hosted me at a client function to view the Louis Veton yacht racing up close from onboard the luxuary vessel the MV Liberte.

 It was great day and an excellent networking opportunity with people from the likes of Pacific blue and Telecom.  The next day included a training workshop with the NBR sales staff where I was asked to help with their sales training and branding. Good fun!

And finally the last week of March was flat out with business certainly appearing to pick up. I’ve always said that Tradestaff is a good barometer for the economy and while it’s early days our trading since Christmas has been very encouraging.

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February

February, 2010

Wow, February was busy!

 It started out in the most unlikely of conference venues, Huntly.

Yes, I know it seems hard to believe the Hillside hotel is as good a spot to hold a conference or get away from it all as anywhere I have in NZ. If you live within an hour of Huntly then book a weekend away; I guarantee you will love the solitude and scenery if nothing else.

 The conference was actually for the Tradestaff team leaders and I enjoyed the opportunity to participate and present. I had tickets for ACDC in Auckland but was enjoying the conference so much that I gave up the concert and stayed at Hillside for the night instead.

 The next week I was back in Auckland again and took the opportunity to meet with the Starship foundation on behalf of the clown doctors. What an amazing organisation the foundation is and thank heavens for the work they do. The meeting went well and we hope to have the clowns working in the Starship hospital very soon.

 Then I took some social time with the Bangladesh/NZ cricket ODI where I took my mum along to watch the game, her first time at the live cricket. Two days later I was back at AMI stadium watching the Crusaders make good start to the season with a win over the Highlanders.

 The third week was all go again with discussions with a local client looking to expand and more conference work; this time at Kaiapoi. In these difficult times you don’t need to spend a fortune on conference facilities and one of my favourites is the Blue Skies conference and training centre.

 It’s pretty hard case, but the food is good and the costs very cheap. Probably too cheap in my opinion!

 The last week was a real mixture with lots of Tradestaff work mixed in with so much golf that it wore me out! The highlight was an opportunity to play in the pro-am before the Pegasus NZ women’s golf open. I recommend Pegasus as a golf course which in my humble opinion is as good as anywhere I have played in NZ. Not sure I would be rushing out to live there however!

 You should check out the pro, Mianne Bagger, we played with; I promise it is worth a read.  All I can say is that she is a great chick and we were sad to see her not make the cut.

 Then of course there was the amazing 20/20 match against Australia. I was an early adapter to the 20/20 concept and that game had everything I want in a sporting event. Pleased to say that I had tipped that NZ would win, but I had no idea we would see that kind of drama.

 Talking of tipping, I am playing virtual rugby again this year; my username is “Raz almighty” and I scored 53 points last week correctly picking all 7 games and only missing one margin.   I’m up to 1900^th out of more than 106,000 entrants, but still have some way to go to finish in the top 10 again as I did in 2008.

Some people have been asking about my weight and golf handicap goals. Firstly my chocolate cake and Shiraz diet seems to be working and I’m down a kilo which is promising.

The golf handicap will move out before it comes down, but I did have a 39 on the first 9 on Saturday before blowing out to a 51 on the 2^nd nine. It’s a work in progress but I’ll get there!

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January

January, 2010

Not too much to report for the first couple of weeks in January other than that we got to spend some time at our bach at the Rangitata river mouth. I can’t even claim to have caught a fish, but it was nice to chill out after a busy year. It also gave me a chance to catch up on a few things and set in place some targets for this year.

My first function of the year was the opening of the new Deans stand at AMI stadium. Despite the 5.30am start I particularly enjoyed the event which included a Maori blessing and of course an appearance from the Prime minister.

Tradestaff has made a very strong start to the year which is a good indicator of things to come although I have been stressing that 2 good weeks isn’t a trend.

I finished January up with a great night at the football watching the Phoenix before a record crowd of 19,000 at AMI stadium. Couldn’t help but wonder that despite all the hype about record crowds, that 19,000 fans at a rugby game would be deemed a disappointment.

Now, I said earlier that I was going to set a few targets for the year. I have always thought the easiest way to achieve a goal is to make it public, so then I’m shamed into actually doing something about them.

Target #1        Weight down to 90kg. I’m currently 96kg so it doesn’t sound that hard, but I haven’t been 90kg for almost 20 years.

Target #2        Golf handicap down to 9. I have just started playing again after giving the game away about 5 years ago. My current handicap (based on 2003 scores) is 14.8. It will get worse before it gets better but I am committed to being a single figure golfer again for the first time in over 20 years. My NZ golf number is 4692733 if you want to follow my progress.

I have set a time limit on both targets to be achieved before my birthday which is September 17.

I also have to maintain both targets up to and past that date.

Keep me honest!

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December

December, 2009

December was really all about waiting.

Waiting for good things like Christmas and the holidays of course but with a new little baby Eder due on New Year’s eve many things were put on hold, just in case.

After the Pearl Jam concert I was trying to maintain a low profile and get as much work out of the way as I could before Christmas and baby arrived. That meant getting the negotiations completed for the new Tradestaff database management system which is I’m pleased to say is all go!

The Clown doctors also invited me along to the Christchurch public hospital to observe the clowns in action. If I was ever in doubt regarding my involvement in this charity it was quickly quashed in the acute admissions ward. To see the joy and laughter bought to those injured or very sick people, especially the kids in Oncology, made me more determined than ever to help make this organisation fly.

December was also the first time I have had the opportunity to really put some time into Fiddler’s Green winery, a wonderful family owned business based out at Waipara. I’m trying to help build the winery’s profile and while there is plenty to do, the wine is fantastic as their many awards show. My tip is their Pinot Gris which has almost moved me away from Marlborough Sauvignon Blanc and that’s saying something!

Of course if you want to buy some great wine and help out the clown doctors at the same time, just let me know as we do have some of the Fiddler’s Green Clown doctor’s range left at a great price with $2 going from every bottle straight to the charity.

In the middle of the month we had a great staff promotion at Tradestaff. All the branches had been earning points (or Tradestaff dollars) over the previous few weeks and then we had an auction based on the old game show “it’s in the bag.” It was a great motivator with some very good (and some very bad) prizes such as hot air balloon rides and significant valued vouchers. The staff didn’t know the contents of each “bag” as they bid so each announcement of the prize was greeted with anticipation.

The next day I headed up to Tauranga for a day/night to look at potential new buildings for Tradestaff and to meet with the Bop rugby union to discuss our sponsorship arrangement. That happened to tie in with the Tauranga races where the rugby union graciously hosted me for a very enjoyable day followed by too much Christmas cheer that night. It really is a good spot and I have many friends in the bay.

Then just as we were getting ready for Christmas and were considering how to do Xmas day with baby due any day that decision was made for us. At 11.36am on Monday Isabella Eder was born weighing in at 4.055kg or 8lbs 15ozs in the old money. She was 56cm long obviously taking her height from me!

I did work hard at the gym in the first 2 weeks, but after that it was custard and the combined Xmas/summer/wetting baby’s head activities have been social, very social.

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November

November, 2009

November in Christchurch can be a fantastic month. Obviously we have the NZ cup and show week to kick start it, but coupled in with the onset of better weather and pre Christmas cheer makes living in Canterbury worthwhile. I have often said it’s the most liveable city in the world; 8 months of the year.

My November started inevitably with horse racing. I’ve had an interest in racing horses since I was a kid having owned my first horse when I was 18. Over the years various horses I’ve owned in one way or another have won over 50 races. It’s a great industry employing many thousands of really good people contributing an enormous amount of revenue to the NZ economy.

For once I actually got some of that money with a fantastic winning week starting with my accountant’s horse in the Kaikoura cup followed by picking the winner of the Melbourne cup, then having a stupendous day on NZ cup day. I ensured most of my winnings were well spent over the rest of November in various bars and restaurants around Christchurch thus doing my bet to boost the economy.

Business wise things picked up at Tradestaff and after a terrible October we saw steady growth right through the November which looks to continue into December. While I often say that Tradestaff is a great barometer for the economy, I think the increase is more seasonal than some kind of economic turn around, but we’ll cross our fingers and wait and see.

My work with the winery has continued and while quite demanding is very interesting; that industry really is very challenging and it certainly has shown me that there has never been a better time to be a wine drinker. Quality wines are being sold for less than they would have more than 10 years ago.

I also have spent some time working with the Canterbury rugby league organisation who’s flagship team the “Canterbury Bulls” won the 2009 Bartercard cup competition. If you ever watch a replay of the final you’ll see me on TV cheering them home looking like a loyal fan when I embarrassed to report it was the only game I attended. I’ll certainly be there more next year!

November also has seen me take on my first Pro bono client, in the Clown Doctors charitable trust.

Clown Doctors NZ has been set up as an extension of the world wide Red Noses charity which places professional clowns into children’s wards and aged care facilities. If you have seen the movie “Patch Adams” starring Robin Williams then you’ll understand. These guys have already been providing clowns into Christchurch hospitals since September with a fantastic response and we hope to have clowns into Auckland’s Starship hospital in March 2010. My role is quite simple, raise their profile and get funding.

If you want to know more or even better want to donate money, just email me now at kevin@kec.co.nz. Also look out for a Clown Doctors wine range coming soon.

November finished off with bang as we enjoyed the Pearl Jam concert at AMI stadium. Fantastic!

So a very busy month again with the gym attendance slipping to a shameful low while the socialising ratio went through the roof. We’re expecting a new little Eder any day now though, so my defence is that I was making the most of the opportunity while I still have it!

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October

October, 2009

October was a little less manic than September thankfully, but a wide variety of interesting opportunities meant it rushed by very quickly. The first week was business as usual before the Eder clan made a visit to Auckland on a work/holiday combo.

 The middle of the month saw all sorts of activity. In a 3 day period I met with an art dealership looking to go online and international, an award winning winery looking for investment and marketing angles and then a small manufacturing entrepreneur with an interest in wharf management concepts. Talk about diversity!

That same week we attended the Make a wish foundation race night at Addington raceway in Christchurch. This is a fundraising night for a fantastic organisation and we are happy to have supported them for the last 3 years. For once I kept my hand in my pocket and didn’t buy anything in the silent auction!

Then the next week I was back to Auckland for some staff training work before attending the final of the 2009 Ernst and Young Entrepreneur of the year award deservedly won by Diane Foreman.  What a great business person and human dynamo she is.

If you have any interest in entering next year, let me know and I can help you with the process free of charge!

The event was held at the Langham Hotel which is easily my favourite hotel in NZ. It’s five star without all this new minimalistic blandness that new hotels seem to have these days. While it can be pricey they have good bargain rates or do what we do and use www.wotif.com and get a really good deal. 

The rest of October rushed by suddenly all the talk was about Summer, cup week in Christchurch and of course Christmas. The October gym to socialising ratio was much better but I have no doubt November will be bad, very bad!

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September

September, 2009

September was an incredibly busy month but in the good kind of way. It started with a conference and some market research in the beautiful Bay of Islands, followed by the Sydenham rugby dinner.

In the second week I was lucky enough to attend a meet and greet over dinner in Auckland with all the finalists for the 2009 Ernst and Young Entrepreneur of the Year Competition. All of the finalists are quite incredible people in their own right and it highlighted again to me how significant making the finals last year was for me.

Later that week I flew to Napier to provide some recession busting training before taking a very good client and his wife out for dinner at an amazing restaurant called ‘The Old Church‘ which believe it or not is actually an old church!

It’s just down the road from the Mission Estate and I can’t recommend it enough. That’s my tip for the month; if you’re in the Hawkes bay and looking for a top class unique dining experience, The Old Church is the spot!

For the first time I stayed at a relatively new hotel in Napier “The Nautilus.” Let me firstly say that the hotel is extremely nice, but it is a classic example of a fantastic facility run incredibly poorly.

The day I checked in it was hot and I had been working very hard all day without lunch. As I was taking my client out for dinner later all I wanted was a cold beer and a snack. I should have known things were going to be bad when the bar fridge contained 2 cans of coke and 3 cans of Tui, all warm in order to save power when the room was empty!

I went to the onsite restaurant at 5.20pm to ask if they had anything for me to eat (I actually asked for a sandwich) but the manager told me they didn’t open until 5.30pm and he couldn’t help me. He also offered no other option; a classic case of customer service 101 I would have thought. So I got in my car to go in search of food only to find that there was a dairy and a takeaway bay less than 50 metres from the hotel. Thanks again Mr Manager!

Anyway after my lovely dinner at the old church the night before I had to get up early the next morning and drive to Tauranga and my complaints about warm beer etc fell on deaf ears.

I arrived in Tauranga for more training before attending a function for a valued staff member who was celebrating her 10 year anniversary working for Tradestaff. We celebrated with a late lunch at Mills Reef Winery which was lovely before moving to the function which was celebrated with other staff, family and clients. It really was a cool event and a great reminder that celebrating milestones with your people is not only a great way to build staff loyalty and retention, but can be fun too.

Later that night The Nautilus hotel saga had a sequel. I had left behind my toilet bag containing electric razor, cologne and toothbrush in my hotel room. The next morning (Saturday), I rang the hotel and suggested that I may have left it there. The manager said “yes that’s right you did” but had made no effort to contact me to let me know. I then asked him to courier it to my house and charge the cost of that to my credit card but he replied he would only do it if I mailed him a courier bag first. I can’t repeat my reply to him, but let me tell you; do not stay in the Nautilus Hotel in Napier!

The next week after a day pitching ideas in Wellington I took a week’s holiday on fantastic Hamilton Island and celebrated my 43rd birthday on Whitehaven beach which is an absolute must to visit. 28° everyday and a bar in the pool; need I say more? Also well worth the trip is the new Hamilton Island Golf Club, already said to be one of the top 10 courses in the world and it’s only been open 2 months! I shot 96 and only lost 5 golf balls which is considerably less than the course record so far of 37 balls.

Finally the last week of September was taken up with planning meetings, article writing, consulting with a software company and doing analysis on a franchising opportunity. So a very busy September with 17 air flights, a birthday and 14 nights of functions or socializing countered with only 5 sessions at the gym.

Thankfully October looks a lot quieter and my gym to socialising ratio should even out….maybe!

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