Talking Heads: Ian McCrae

Position: managing director,
Orion Systems
Staff: 60


What makes your day at work?

A good coffee in the morning as it gives the personality a bit of a kick-start! After that, one of my passions is walking around the office and talking to people. It is amazing the things you find out, both good and not-so-good. Frequently I come across brilliant pieces of creative work and this is always wonderfully exciting. The people here have extreme creative abilities, and their results frequently seem to be almost works of art. This creative ethos is also deliberately reflected in our building, which has soaring natural timber ceilings, exposed wooden floors and tall brick interiors. So, I absolutely love going to work.

When did you first become a manager?


Frankly, I don't really see my role as managing or directing individuals to do specific tasks. I see us as a team and my position is on the sideline as the biggest fan. My job is to encourage, cajole, occasionally shout, sometimes express disappointment, and not to throw too many things or get on to the "field of play" too often. Some would say that maybe I am not so good at staying off the field and this, of course, I deny. Often individuals are way ahead of me in understanding specific problems, issues or opportunities, and it isn't really possible to ever catch up. So it seems to me that the best strategy is to encourage independent thinking, decision-making and ownership. Gradually they become more self-sufficient. And that encourages them to stay here rather than go overseas, because they can see their product selling worldwide.

What was the most important lesson you learned on your way up?

That I was always going to be a very bad employee and that my only hope was self-employment. I have since discovered that being in your own business means working 80 hours a week so that you can avoid working 40 hours a week for someone else. But I don't like being told what to do. I have my own mind and having my own business is the only way it works.

What has been your best moment in business?


It was marvellous to this month pick up the Tuanz 2000 Health Innovation award, and an export commendation from Trade NZ. At boarding school I wasn't really a model student and my visits to the front of assembly were never to pick up awards. So these recent successes were a fantastic and totally novel experience. The Tuanz award was very satisfying because our customers, South Auckland Health and Auckland Healthcare, were co-recipients, so we all received recognition for huge efforts and sacrifices. Often this doesn't happen and vital contributions go unacknowledged.

How have you dealt with the pitfalls in your career?


I am told that I do get grumpy for an initial period of time, and this is followed by dogged determination and a stubbornness to do better or have a big success on another front. If I make a mistake, so be it - it's experience. If the staff make a mistake, that's fine because I know it's never intentional, and to get better you have to make mistakes. We all do it. You have to remain positive.

What annoys you most?

The All Blacks losing to the Australians. My wife tells me I am grumpy for at least 12 hours after such a loss and, of course, I dispute this. I don't really get annoyed at work, although I guess if I've missed an opportunity I find it annoying - if I could have done something but didn't. Another thing that annoys me is that historically technology companies in New Zealand have not been hugely successful - they get to a certain point and decide it's time to look for a buyer and escape with lots of cash. There's no reason why a New Zealand company can't be globally successful.

What will be the big business issue of the next decade?


Whether New Zealand can reinvent itself as a country of innovation and gain a belief that it can compete internationally. Or will it become a vassal state exporting raw talent to overseas corporates? Team New Zealand beat the world's best in yachting, New Zealand is brimming with smart individuals with great ideas and so I have frequently wondered why New Zealand's international commercial success in the high-tech arena has at best been middling. I am also a little sceptical regarding the Government's plans to invest in yet more good technology ideas. New Zealanders have enough ideas. We now just need maybe three or four technology companies to have runaway successes globally and for them to remain here. Once this has happened, I firmly believe others will follow.

What ambitions do you have?

I passionately believe there is an opportunity in New Zealand to build a very large software development organisation with thousands of employees. Today Nokia employs 60,000 worldwide and is based in Finland, a country of 5 million people. So I cannot see why we can't reasonably sustain a software development organisation about one-tenth the size of Nokia. I think Orion will shortly be employing several hundred people, and the question is whether we can push on further. I suspect it will come down to good strategies, more great people and a good portion of luck. We're working hard on marketing to get the best graduates.

How do you relax?

Relax with a business that is growing at a frenetic pace, a family of five and a house that always seems to need repairs? Simply not possible!

* Ian McCrae spoke with Paula Oliver.