In the country of New Zealand there continues to be a lot of wringing of hands, gnashing of teeth and even self flagellation over the ‘Kiwi productivity issue’ - working harder and harder every year and somehow falling further and further behind others on ‘the league tables of productive nations’ … what’s to be done?

It’s a question that is constantly asked and answered in posts all over LinkedIN - everyone seems to have an answer - but ‘execution’ remains lacking. I have also attended a few sessions in the past couple of months where the same questions are asked. The same answers emerge The inaction continues.

I have my theories - not least of which is answered by what will be going on in Aotearoa soon - and will continue until Waitangi Day (ask a local). It’s worse - because there is a lead up to the period - already in full flow as the ‘great wind down' begins to kick in.

Apocryphal? Maybe - but some told me recently that in their “28 years in business they had not once received a purchase commitment after October 28th.” .. he didn’t say - but I am guessing “and never before February 6th”.

Doug wrote ‘Throwing Rocks at the Google Bus in 2016’. This quote just popped up in my feed and prompted this post

It’s taking a while to sink in - though it always does ‘down here’.

This in turn reminded of this observation by Alex Pawlowski over in the land of Substack (coincidentally - ‘Hamish’ one of the two co-founders is a Kiwi).

Alex was riffing on AI …

AI has made ideas abundant. You can generate a strategy, a campaign, a business plan in minutes. The new scarcity isn’t insight — it’s implementation. Execution becomes the strategic moat.

I would argue that has always been the case. I’d be a billionaire if I had a dollar for every time I have been told ‘that idea isn’t original - I visualised that years ago’. The correct reply?

They executed.

(🔗 A dollar? What happened to cents? Dollars only accepted because the cent is apparently no more.)

That (execution) is what we are not doing. (Broad sweeping generalisation for sure - but in a nation that prides itself with its ‘edge’ - the blade does seem to have become a tad ‘dull’

Having a coffee this week with someone I saw talking about this very problem last week. I know we are on the same ‘thinking’ page - I wonder how we can move the conversation to action - because down here we do seem to be waiting - for everyone else - to make the move.

If you want to red more of my related ramblings on New Zealand - you can do that