We all must act to kill zombie image

Shamubeel Eaqub says the most important thing Wanganui can do is build on its strengths. Photo/Bevan Conley

I was fortunate to be invited to the presentation last Friday by Shamubeel Eaqub, the economist who coined the phrase "zombie town" and included our fair city in the conversation.

Economists are an interesting breed. They are intelligent people and have a skill at gathering data and interpreting it into forecasts. However, much like the MetService, they have been known to forecast doom that never eventuates and, in the case of the global financial crisis, good conditions when there was an economic hurricane making landfall.

I have always held economics is just as much art as it is science, but recognise the level of thinking and analysis that invariably supports such soundbite statements as "we can't let the inflation genie out of the bottle" and "green shoots of recovery".

It is from the Aladdin's cave of economic metaphors that terms like "zombie towns" have emerged. The risk is that these two words have overshadowed the central message of the author. Was it intended to shock? Possibly. Has it started a dialogue? Importantly yes. Should we take heed and act? Absolutely, yes.

While many were imagining places like Wanganui wandering in a stupor feeding on the brains (being economic utility, productivity, intellectual property and resources) of "normal" cities and towns, I saw what Eaqub had to say as more of a rallying cry to action. And this is what it proved to be.

The central messages of his presentation last Friday were that we, as a community, need to accept the changing environment, play to our strengths, maximise the opportunities that are there and move collectively.

This final point is the most important when it comes to Wanganui's situation. It is no good trying to meet this type of challenge in pockets - as a business you wouldn't undertake any kind of strategic initiative without your marketing team, so discounting or overlooking individuals or groups in trying to plan to meet this challenge would be an obtuse approach to the complex.

Equally, we cannot take for granted any of the foundations of the community be they economic, social or cultural.

A number of the attendees highlighted the importance of the Heads Rd group of businesses - they could not be more correct.

To move away from the "zombie town" label, we need to build on what we have and ensure there is an environment for businesses to grow and also develop the right conditions for others to be planted - be that in Heads Rd or throughout the rest of our region.

In the case of many businesses, succession is important so any approach also needs to consider and cater for the transition to the next generation.

I am just scratching the surface here. However, I made sure I asked Shamubeel what it is that we should do first (because so long as we are inclusive in our approach and concentrate on the right things, we can be successful as ingredients such as drive, lifestyle, innovation and creativity are all here).

He said: "Build on your strengths" and that is what we, as a community, simply must do.

Russell Bell's Zenith Strategic Solutions is a specialist Wanganui business advice and consultancy practice - 021 2442421