A primer of business school wisdom, grounded in real Kiwi examples, for New Zealand’s owner-manager businesses.

Published a decade ago and reprinted multiple times, the authors’ Changing Gears: How to Take Your Kiwi Business from the Kitchen Table to the Board Room was the first book that enabled Kiwi-sized firms to integrate business-school wisdom into their thinking.

Gearing Up: Leading Your Kiwi Business into the Future is a completely revised and updated primer for owner-manager New Zealand businesses. The book introduces the business basics that haven’t changed (business models and financial drivers, leadership, team building, strategy and planning), while exploring how globalisation and digital transformations are challenging what we know about doing business.

Throughout, the authors focus – through real examples – on the opportunities and challenges faced by the Kiwi men and women running our owner-operated businesses.

Authors

Darl Kolb, David Irving, Deborah Shepherd and Christine Woods come from extensive business backgrounds and are now based in the Business School of the University of Auckland, where they coach owner-managers in the very successful The Icehouse, a collaborative learning environment and growth centre for New Zealand businesses.

Reviews

A sound blend of theory and practical advice makes this a very useful, supportive book for SME owners. – Linda Donald, NZBusiness

Changing Gears is a fantastic guide book for Kiwi businesses as they strive to go to the next stage in their journey. – Northern Advocate

. . . a thoughtful, practical guide to tackling the management issues of how to grow, how to lead and how to improve management and leadership performance – Kiwi-style. – Management Magazine