Notes From The Executive Podcast

Andrew Barnes ONZM is the founder of Perpetual Guardian, New Zealand's largest corporate trustee company, and the architect of the global 4-day work week movement.

After trialling a 4-day week at his 300-person firm in 2018, the story generated over 12,000 media articles worldwide, became the second most-read story in the New York Times, and sparked a movement now reaching 5.5 billion people across 125 countries. His company today generates twice the revenue per employee of its nearest competitor, while his staff work one day less.

What Andrew reveals
- The exact 100-80-100 rule: 100% pay, 80% time, 100% productivity, and why it works
- Why the 5-day work week is a 100-year-old industrial construct with no place in the digital age
- How a single article in The Economist on a plane became a global movement reaching 5.5 billion people
- Which countries including UAE, Iceland, Japan and Saudi Arabia have gone furthest and why
- Why 95% of organisations that trial the 4-day week keep it permanently
- The one mistake most businesses make when they try to implement it and how to avoid it
- How to be twice as productive as your competitors while giving your staff a day off every week

Episode Partners:
👉🏻 NZBusiness Magazine
www.nzbusiness.co.nz

FOLLOW Andrew
www.4dayweek.com

FOLLOW ME
https://www.instagram.com/minaamso/

LISTEN ON
Apple Podcasts: https://shorturl.at/UkJ8v
Spotify: https://shorturl.at/YW7bX

Jackie Smith is the Co-Founder and Director of Caci Clinic, one of New Zealand’s most established aesthetic and skin confidence brands with 75+ clinics nationwide.
Over 30 years, Jackie helped pioneer laser hair removal in NZ, introduced nurse-led injectables before it was mainstream, and built one of the country’s most recognised franchise brands using a membership model that changed the industry.
From living off $2 McDonald’s lunches to investing $170,000 in one of the first public laser machines in the world — this is a masterclass in scaling a franchise business the hard way.

◽️ How to scale a franchise business from 1 clinic to 75
◽️ The real difference between being a franchisee vs franchise owner
◽️ Why “burn the boats” commitment matters in business
◽️ The $170,000 laser bet that nearly broke them
◽️ Why membership models create predictable growth
◽️ Mistakes with surgery, gyms & buying the wrong franchise contracts
◽️ What most people misunderstand about “passive income”
◽️ The 3 non-negotiables she looks for in franchisees

👉🏻 NZBusiness Magazinewww.nzbusiness.co.nz
👉🏻 Podcast Guestwww.podcastguest.co.nz

Find Caci Clinic: https://caci.co.nz

Find Me:
https://www.instagram.com/minaamso/

Apple podcast: https://shorturl.at/UkJ8v
Spotify: https://shorturl.at/YW7bX

Simon Bridges is the CEO of the Auckland Business Chamber, New Zealand’s former Energy Minister, and the former leader of the New Zealand National Party (and thus Leader of the Opposition, 2018–2020). 

Episode Partner:
👉🏻 NZBusiness Magazine - www.nzbusiness.co.nz

What Simon reveals
◽️ The NZ business outlook: costs, competitiveness, and why he’s cautiously optimistic
◽️ Why power bills are high—and the case to split power companies (generators vs retailers)
◽️ AI adoption in NZ: where SMEs get productivity now (and where hype still dominates)
◽️ Data centres, renewables, and building enough generation to power growth
◽️ How an India–NZ FTA could open doors for exporters (horticulture, services, screen)
◽️ His execution playbook: pick 3–4 priorities that “make the boat go faster”

FOLLOW SimonFind Simon via the Auckland Business Chamber: https://www.aucklandchamber.co.nzFOLLOW MEhttps://www.instagram.com/minaamso/WATCH EPISODE ON YOUTUBEhttps://www.youtube.com/@NotesFromTheExecutivePodcastLISTEN ONApple podcast: https://shorturl.at/UkJ8vSpotify: https://shorturl.at/YW7bX

Paul Spoonley is a New Zealand social scientist and demographer who has led research on aging, fertility decline, immigration and regional development. He has advised government and business on long-term planning, productivity and labour markets, and has worked on immigration and settlement policy, social cohesion, and the future of work and education.

Episode Partners:
👉🏻 NZBusiness Magazine www.nzbusiness.co.nz
👉🏻 Podcast Guest www.podcastguest.co.nz

What Paul reveals
◽️NZ’s future is being decided by older voters and a birth rate that’s falling off a cliff. That’s not “demographics” - it’s your operating environment.
◽️Immigration isn’t a plan. It’s a patch. And we keep ripping it off and reapplying it like that won’t hurt.
◽️SMEs aren’t “struggling to hire.” They’re competing for a shrinking pool
◽️Auckland keeps winning because we let it. The regions don’t “lose people”, they get outbid and outbuilt.◽️Productivity doesn’t improve with another report. It improves when businesses adopt tech, retrain hard, and stop pretending our diaspora is irrelevant.

FOLLOW ME
https://www.instagram.com/minaamso/

WATCH EPISODE ON YOUTUBE (for Spotify & Apple descriptions)
https://www.youtube.com/@NotesFromTheExecutivePodcast

LISTEN ONApple podcast: https://shorturl.at/UkJ8vSpotify: https://shorturl.at/YW7bX

Renting vs buying NZ, net worth tracking, and the mindset shift from scarcity to abundance — chartered accountant-turned-entrepreneur Luke Kemeys goes deep on how Kiwis can build real financial well-being without being chained to a mortgage. We cover when renting beats buying, monthly net-worth tracking (assets minus liabilities), using debt (carefully), and the exact habits that unlock growth for founders.What Luke reveals
◽️ When renting beats buying in NZ (and for whom)
◽️ The 1 habit that builds financial progress: monthly net-worth tracking
◽️ How to treat your household like a business (cash in, cash out, decisions)
◽️ The $500 plan that actually changes your life (not “buy this coin”)
◽️ Using debt in business: when it accelerates vs. when it’s dangerous

Episode Partners
👉🏻 NZBusiness Magazinewww.nzbusiness.co.nz
👉🏻 Podcast Guestwww.podcastguest.co.nz

FOLLOW LUKE
Search: “Luke Kemeys”, “Next Advisory NZ”, “Keep the Change podcast”

FOLLOW ME
https://www.instagram.com/minaamso/

WATCH EPISODE ON YOUTUBE (for Spotify/Apple listeners)
https://www.youtube.com/@NotesFromTheExecutivePodcast
LISTEN ONApple Podcasts: https://shorturl.at/UkJ8vSpotify: https://shorturl.at/YW7bX

Luke Kemeys is a chartered accountant, business adviser, and co-founder of Next Advisory. He also hosts Keep the Change, a money podcast/newsletter followed by thousands of Kiwis each week. Luke works with founders on pricing, cashflow, and growth strategy, and is known for practical frameworks that get owners out of scarcity and into action.