Lesson one - 'OK' is a recipe for failure, says Warehouse chief

By JIM EAGLES

Greg Muir, chief executive of The Warehouse, worries that New Zealanders no longer want to be the best in the world at what they do.

"We seem to have lost our passion to be at the leading edge," he says. "The attitude now seems to be, 'It's enough to be OK'.

"But internationally, just being OK doesn't make it. You've got to be clearly superior if you want to get anywhere."

In Muir's view changing that attitude and getting the country's edge back are the keys to improving its economic performance.

And the first stage in achieving that, he says, is persuading the country how much improved economic performance matters.

"One of the most worrying things is that the importance of doing better isn't on anyone's agenda.

"I don't want to think that my children and my children's children will live in a country that is verging on Third World status because in my generation we weren't proactive enough.

"Certainly my parents' generation laid a very good platform for us, and it would be appalling if our generation were not innovative and adaptive enough to ensure that we leave the country in great shape for generations to come."

Muir obviously knows what it takes to achieve growth.

In the 3 1/2 years he has been at The Warehouse its turnover has doubled and the share price has grown 2 1/2 times.

That growth, he says, is due to the vision of founder Stephen Tindall - the people-first culture, a climate which makes it easy for people to perform and the constant striving to do things differently and better.

That same approach, he is confident, is what the country needs.

"And I think it was the New Zealand approach for a long, long time."

Like many business leaders Muir believes the change needs to start with education.

"For most of the past century we were at the leading edge, but I don't think that is the case now."

Teachers, he says, must be given the resources to do the job and the standing that should go with such a crucial role.

But as well, a much stronger focus is needed on basic skills and on the need to perform.

"I have real concerns about the inability to communicate of some of the young people coming into our business.

"Some of the kids coming out of an education system where they are not really encouraged and where a laissez faire attitude prevails find the workplace a really foreign scene.

"When kids hit the real world they find themselves being examined every day.

"We expect things of kids, we expect them to live up to our standards, we expect them to deliver on goals. We expect them to be able to write a note and communicate with customers, to add an account and to understand how our systems work.

"When you've got kids who can't do those things hitting the workforce, you're placing a huge educational burden on employers which shouldn't be there."

Muir says he is not calling for a revolution in education, "but I do see a need for a greater focus on the basics like the old three Rs and for a greater emphasis on standards, aspirations and accountability through examinations".

At university level he sees a similar need for a greater focus on producing the skills the country needs - especially in conjunction with a targeted foreign investment programme - and for the creation of centres of excellence "so we are turning out people who can perform at global level".

Muir believes it also has to be made easier for New Zealanders to succeed.

"There is no doubt that the business operating environment is becoming tougher with all the rules and regulations," he says.

"To be fair, New Zealand isn't on its own in this. Doing business in Australia, the US or the UK is equally full of pieces of paper and bureaucrats.

"But that's no reason why we can't be at the leading edge and give ourselves an advantage."

The Resource Management Act is at the top of Muir's concerns, although he - like Tindall - believes strongly in protecting the environment.

"Thanks to the RMA it's gone from taking us, at worst, six months to get planning approval for a new store to taking up to two years.

"That's not trying to do something which is marginal or pushing the legal boundaries but something which is quite within the rules.

"Unfortunately, the act allows neighbours who've got a grudge, a rival commercial interest or iwi fighting each other over the ability to take money out of the process to get in on the act and hold things up.

"That's just wrong, and the Government needs to understand that it's not clever, it's not helping the environment and it's starting to strangle development."



The labour market is another area where Muir believes unrealistic rules are holding back business growth.

"There's got to be a balance between looking after your team members and being flexible, and I don't think we've got the balance right.

"It's not so bad for big companies, but it's incredibly difficult for small businesses because they don't have the expertise to stay squeaky clean.

"There have been too many cases where, say, some small employer is legitimately trying to dismiss an employee for dishonesty or refusing to obey reasonable instructions and they get clobbered - not for acting unfairly but for some procedural irregularity."

The big problem with such rules, he says, is that too often they "stop the little guys having a go".

"And that's not what we want. We want them having a go. That's what made this country great."

What NZ should be doing, Muir says, is making itself a world leader in reducing compliance costs and becoming a great place to do business.

"I worked in Australia for a few years in the 80s and 90s, and at that time New Zealand was more competitive than Australia.

"In those days there was a lot of respect for the speed and decisiveness with which we moved on issues. But now that's been reversed and we're falling behind."



What he would really love to see is the Government devising and communicating to the public a vision for restoring New Zealand's competitive edge in all areas.



"I think we could consider the All Blacks as a metaphor for the state of the country.

"Once we were world beaters, we had confidence developed through long term success. But we seem to have lost our edge, our international competitiveness, over the past few years.

"I don't think there's any reason we can't get it back but we need to be a lot more focussed, determined, aspirational and outward looking.

"The Aussies are clearly focused on winning, and until we get into the same mode these guys are going to eat our lunch time after time."

* Tomorrow: Telecom chief executive Theresa Gattung wants the country to focus on a crusade for economic growth.

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