Westlake Boys recommended selling minority stakes in state-owned power companies – and using the funds generated to purchase majority stakes in key privately-owned power companies. Judge Simon Chapple, principal advisor at the Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment, said: “Your solution really stood out, and economists often quite like counter-intuitive solutions. However you need to be aware if you are going to go down the counter-intuitive route, if you are going to step outside the herd, then your argument has got to be doubly strong. You are going to be subject to a lot more criticism because you are not thinking like everyone else.”

Macleans College concluded that while the sale of state assets was not a perfect solution, it did offer the most suitable way of reducing the government’s debt in the short term. Judge Dr Philip Stevens, head of economic research at the Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment, said: “This year’s presentation question shows you the kind of questions we have to deal with in economics – i.e. it’s very hard and there’s no simple answer. In economics we ask questions like: Why is Africa poor? Why is water, the most important thing we’ve got, worth less than diamonds? What services should be provided by the state? The questions are complicated, and the winning team used the economic tools at their disposal to weigh up the pros and cons, and then systematically arrive at their solution."

Nosh CEO Clinton Beuvink explains why it is so crucial for staff to have a passion for their company. For him, the cashier has the most important role within his company. “The cashier completes the experience,” he says. “They can make it totally memorable, because they’re the last interaction point, or they can destroy it.”

Farro Fresh co-founder Janene Draper explains how to empower staff and help them develop within the company. She suggests allowing employees to go on training courses and to act on their own development ideas. “We’ve had staff that have started off on the shop floor being a barista. “They’ve now got company cars and the other staff can actually see what’s happening within the group.”

Frog Recruitment director Jane Kennelly shares ideas on how to foster creativity in a business and the benefits that come from doing so. She also touches on some of the challenges involved in having highly creative people working together. “Sometimes it can become a little bit of a battle of the wills. “By and large, if we have great conversations, they typically lead to great decisions.”

Fran O'Sullivan, Executive Editor for Mood of the Boardroom presents her report & survey findings. Probing the views from CEO's of New Zealand's major companies in association with BusinessNZ, this years CEO survey is strongly focused on how New Zealand can successfully grow during a period of international uncertainty.

Fran O'Sullivan, Executive Editor of the Mood of the Boardroom delivers her report probing the views from CEO's of New Zealand's major companies in association with BusinessNZ. A major topic of hot debate is Superannuation & the issue of raising the age from 65 to 67. Eighty-eight percent of more than 100 CEOs surveyed said retirement funding should be raised. Business leaders were told in no uncertain terms that the Prime Minister would not break his word by raising the superannuation age. Speaking at the Mood of the Boardroom breakfast, Finance Minister Bill English responded to calls from CEOs for National to reconsider its position on super. However, Labour's finance spokesperson David Parker believes the age should be raised but disagrees on the terms of means based assessments.

Auckland tertiary students rally together to protest drastic budget cuts to the education industry.

Spaceworks Managing Director Lizzi Hines shares her thoughts on being a big picture thinker. She says having vision is one thing but that also needs to be balanced with an ability to sort out the finer details. “I actually find it more difficult to focus on the detail.” “I surround myself with the right people to assist me to focus on the detail.”

David Darling, CEO, Pacific Edge on Innovation. David talks about the winning combination behind innovation and international success in the biomedical industry. Having led companies that have achieved world firsts and global success, David says “we got those on the back of having great genetic resources, a great team and we were well resourced from a capital perspective”.

Scott Bartlett, Chief Executive, Orcon on Talent. Orcon CEO Scott Bartlett highlights the importance of staff development and training in keeping people motivated on the job. He also elaborates on a number of strategies businesses like Orcon can implement to give employees a sense of achievement. “The business has to invest in its people heavily,” Scott says. “When you do that, people get a better sense of engagement around the work they’re doing and they’ve got the tools for achieving results.”

Google is making prototypes of its futuristic, internet-connected glasses available for people to test out. The company is selling the device, known as Project Glass, for $US1,500 to people attending its annual conference in San Francisco for computer programmers. With the glasses, directions to your destination can appear literally before your eyes. You can talk to friends over video chat, take a photo or even buy a few things online as you walk around.

Josef Roberts, CEO, Burger Fuel on Culture. Burger Fuel CEO Josef Roberts believes culture is key to staff retention in his company. He elaborates on ways businesses can create the right culture to ensure employees remain engaged and motivated. “I’m a strong believer in creating a culture that people will actually contribute to and feel relaxed enough, confident enough and interested enough to keep coming to work,” Josef says. “We have a high retention of staff and people in the business and I think it’s because we’ve created a culture that’s fun and enjoyable.”

Bupa CEO Dwayne Crombie sees leadership as a way of empowering staff to take ownership of the decision-making process. “I try not to run everything. I try not to be the centre-point for a lot of the day-to-day decisions,” Dwayne says. “I actually tolerate people doing things that wouldn’t be my first choice, so, it doesn’t have to be my way.” Dwayne says staff should ascertain ownership in their roles rather than defer the decision-making process to top management.

Diane Hurford, creator and CEO, Brolly Sheets on Planning. When it comes to business, planning is the key for Brolly Sheets founder Diane Hurford. Diane shares with us the map that will drive her multi-million dollar sales goal in the next five years. “I’m a great believer in plans, so I know where I want the journey to go, I know in five years’ time where I want to be. I call it my Steve Austin plan and it’s a $6m plan,” Diane says.

Spain's banking crisis isn't just a problem for the world's financial markets. It's already a major concern for Spanish businesses who can't get credit, expand and hire workers.

Meet Shane Brealey, the founder and managing director of NZ Strong which has just finished the $15.8 million upgrade of The Tepid Baths in Auckland. He takes Anne Gibson on a tour of the complex, from reception into secret areas beneath the pools in a new basement, to show the inner workings of this revived historic civic amenity. He also tells how his firm overcame issues - and demolished rebuilt everything except the distinctive old heritage facade. Mr Brealey says the structure was essentially a new building, up to current Building Code standards. The biggest challenge was working on such a confined and restricted site. Water purification equipment, gas-fired stainless-steel water-heating tanks, sewage pipes and other services can now be easily accessed in a new basement level, he shows.

Herald economics editor Brian Fallow says that while an unchanged OCR is good news for borrowers, the reasons for it are not good news for anyone.

Reserve Bank Governor Alan Bollard kept the official cash rate unchanged at 2.5 per cent and pushed out the track for future rate hikes as Europe's instability weighs heavily on global growth.

Herald aviation writer Grant Bradley explores the new Boeing 787, from cabin to cockpit in this behind the scenes video tour.

KPMG head of Agribusiness NZ/Asia Pacific Ian Proudfoot speaks to nzherald.co.nz business reporter Ben Chapman-Smith, about the KPMG Agribusiness Agenda 2012, a survey of 98 industry leaders.

Business reporter Ben Chapman-Smith from nzherald.co.nz interviews KPMG Executive Chairman Ross Buckley as he explains his analysis and initial reaction to the 2012 Budget.

Finance Minister Bill English discusses the outlook for this year's Budget.

Apple is now the world’s most valuable company and nzherald.co.nz heard first hand from the co-founder of the company at his Auckland speaking event 'The Apple Story - Disruptive Innovation, Inspiration and Entrepreneurial Wizardry'. This video shows his views on 'The problem with schools and how we are taught to think'.

Alison Higgins-Miller from IT security company Websense on the world of online security threats - viral videos, malware and phishing attacks.

Google has begun making its search engine smarter, in a major upgrade that looks beyond query words to figure out what people are actually seeking online. Get an under the hood look at the next frontier in Search, from the team at Google behind the technology. The Knowledge Graph is a huge collection of the people, places and things in the world and how they're connected to one another. Video courtesy Google.

The size of the financial hole occupied by Dunedin Venues Management Ltd - the company tasked with running the Forsyth Barr Stadium - has been confirmed. Figures released showed the company had lost $1.9 million in the first six months of the 2011-12 financial year.

Overview of the winners and losers in the 2012-2013 budget including explanatory graphics and comments from Treasurer Wayne Swan's press conference.