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Former television current affairs host Susan Wood says she is coming to terms with "being unemployed again" after dramatically quitting her first job since TVNZ after just one week.
Ms Wood said she walked out as manager of the Takapuna Beach Business Association on Tuesday after discovering she couldn't achieve her goal of turning the area into a Downunder Santa Monica because of a lack of resources.
"I wouldn't have been able to achieve what I was contracted to do with the resources that were in place," Ms Wood said.
She had realised within days of starting work that the "big vision stuff" for Takapuna Beach would not be possible.
"It has tonnes of potential to really make it a destination. I wanted to bring the stakeholders together, get everyone rowing in the same direction, and really get a good vibe about the place."
Ms Wood said she felt a responsibility to ratepayers - who funded the business association - not to stay longer.
"I could have sat there for three months sorting out the problems, made sure the Santa Parade ran on time, but in the end I felt it would be better to go with my integrity intact."
Ms Wood said she was hired as a manager, not an administrator.
She checked out the role before she started but didn't realise she wouldn't be able to achieve her goals because no one had crunched the numbers before her arrival.
"It was a daily surprise as I kept putting it together until I worked it out."
But she said she wasn't blaming anyone at all.
Ms Wood said the association board was "pretty shocked" when she said she was leaving but thinks members respected her honesty.
Yesterday she was still coming to terms with being unemployed again. "It's been a tough couple of weeks. It's not what I wanted my first foray [into the non-media] world to have been like.
"It's been stressful but there was no yelling at the kids this time."
Early this month she told the New Zealand Women's Weekly she "couldn't wait" to start the job.
Yesterday, she wasn't sure what her next move would be.
"I really don't know ... I feel a bit flat, really."
She was looking to re-invent herself but didn't want to go into public relations.
"I really want to be hands on and use my business degree."
Takapuna Beach Business Association deputy chairman Mike Sheehy wished Ms Wood well.
"The reality is she had a look at the job, saw it wasn't for her, and left," Mr Sheehy said.
Asked whether he was surprised she only stayed a short time, he said: "Yes and no - good managers make quick decisions. She saw it wasn't for her and went."
He didn't think she should have looked into the job more before accepting it and starting work.
"A lot of people start somewhere and realise it's not for them. There's nothing worse than someone being somewhere they don't want to be."
Mr Sheehy said Ms Wood had been on the job only a week and a half, but was "more than capable".
