Notes From The Executive

<p>I asked eight people whether New Zealand is actually broke, or whether that is a false narrative. They do not agree with each other, the question is, do you?</p>
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<p><strong>Watch The Full Episodes</strong><br>Phil O'Reilly ONZM <a href="https://youtu.be/smuSEOkp6lg">https://youtu.be/smuSEOkp6lg</a><br>Damien Grant <a href="https://youtu.be/pz-btE8ge1M">https://youtu.be/pz-btE8ge1M</a><br>Bernard Hickey <a href="https://youtu.be/BktT8wXe-2w">https://youtu.be/BktT8wXe-2w</a><br>Nick Tuffley <a href="https://youtu.be/dS_qDECbCV4">https://youtu.be/dS_qDECbCV4</a><br>Shamubeel Eaqub <a href="https://youtu.be/96TvHjL5a0M">https://youtu.be/96TvHjL5a0M</a><br>Paul Spoonley <a href="https://youtu.be/ex4fQY5zDaA">https://youtu.be/ex4fQY5zDaA</a><br>Luke Kemeys <a href="https://youtu.be/3y2CXX5Yx-A">https://youtu.be/3y2CXX5Yx-A</a><br>Simon Bridges <a href="https://youtu.be/np6gYsXroLQ">https://youtu.be/np6gYsXroLQ</a></p>
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<p><strong>Timestamps</strong><br>0:00 Are we actually broke as a country<br>1:27 What is the myth New Zealand keeps telling itself<br>1:42 How bad is this compared to the global financial crisis<br>5:34 Why is this still a housing market with bits tacked on<br>6:20 Is a real economy beyond housing just a myth<br>9:29 Why can a business only borrow against the owner's house<br>11:34 What do you do when you cannot pay the tax bill<br>14:38 How many New Zealanders are actually leaving<br>23:42 Why one father tells his own daughters to leave</p>
<p>Nick Tuffley is Chief Economist at ASB.<br><br>Shamubeel Eaqub is Chief Economist at Simplicity.<br><br>Bernard Hickey is an economist and journalist at The Kākā.<br><br>Phil O'Reilly ONZM is Managing Director of Iron Duke Partners.<br><br>Damien Grant is a liquidator at Waterstone Insolvency.<br><br>Paul Spoonley is Distinguished Professor Emeritus at Massey University.<br><br>Luke Kemeys is a director and accountant at Next Advisory.<br><br>Simon Bridges is Chief Executive of the Auckland Business Chamber and a former Minister of Energy.</p>
<p>Nick Tuffley rates this shock nine out of ten, against six or seven for the global financial crisis. Unemployment hit 5.6 percent in the June 2026 quarter, the highest since 2015, and liquidations sit at a fifteen year high. If you want the New Zealand economy explained without spin, the New Zealand recession in plain terms, or a straight answer on cost of living and the New Zealand housing market, this is the episode. Grab my free list of NZ podcasts to get booked on: <a href="https://pwrfully.com/freepodcasts?utm_source=podcast&utm_medium=shownotes&utm_campaign=freelist">https://pwrfully.com/freepodcasts?utm_source=podcast&utm_medium=shownotes&utm_campaign=freelist</a></p>

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<p>Richard Conway moved from the United Kingdom to New Zealand in 2009 and founded Pure SEO the same year, building it into one of the country's largest independent search agencies. He is now founder and chief executive of The Optimisers.</p>

<p>He won Gold for Service to the Industry at the Interactive Advertising Bureau New Zealand awards in 2023, and was inducted into its Hall of Fame in 2026. His argument here: ranking first on Google no longer guarantees you appear in a large language model answer, and the brands that survive build trust signals instead of buying shortcuts.</p>

<p><strong>What I Asked Richard</strong><br>How are you actually using artificial intelligence to make money?<br>What separates using AI well from using it dangerously?<br>What mistakes are business owners making right now?<br>How do you track whether any of it is working?<br>How do you play the long game instead of the short game?</p>

<p><strong>Chapters</strong><br>00:00 Why being high on Google may not be enough now<br>01:58 How do business owners use AI day to day<br>02:50 When does using AI become dangerous<br>04:27 How do you rebuild a business system from scratch<br>06:00 Should you let AI make your sales calls<br>13:53 How do you build something with no coding skill<br>22:00 What is zero click shopping<br>26:44 Why does trust decide who AI recommends<br>30:20 Who is gaming Reddit to appear in AI answers<br>35:13 Why unique data beats weekly blog posts<br>42:21 Can a small business do this without an agency<br>49:47 What should every business owner do first</p>

<p><strong>Follow Richard</strong><br>The Optimisers <a href="https://theoptimisers.com">https://theoptimisers.com</a><br>LinkedIn <a href="https://nz.linkedin.com/in/pureseo">https://nz.linkedin.com/in/pureseo</a></p>

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<p>I sat down with Richard Conway to work out what changes when a machine, not a person, picks the supplier. Semrush data puts Reddit in about 40 percent of AI answers. In February 2026 Mastercard and Westpac completed New Zealand's first authenticated agent-led payments. He told me an industry exists to spam Reddit and plant businesses inside AI answers, and it will reach New Zealand. Covers AI search, generative engine optimisation, zero click shopping and NZ business marketing. Grab my free list of NZ podcasts to get booked on: <a href="https://pwrfully.com/freepodcasts?utm_source=podcast&utm_medium=shownotes&utm_campaign=freelist">https://pwrfully.com/freepodcasts?utm_source=podcast&utm_medium=shownotes&utm_campaign=freelist</a></p>

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Melissa Clark-Reynolds ONZM is a New Zealand futurist and professional company director, and the founder of FutureCentre.nz. She was made an Officer of the New Zealand Order of Merit in 2015 for services to the technology industry, and at 15 was the youngest woman of her time to attend a New Zealand university.

After more than 25 years as a technology entrepreneur and chief executive, she now sits in boardrooms as an independent director. Her board roles include Wētā Workshop, Atkins Ranch, Alpine Energy, Squirrel and the energy-transition body Ara Ake, and she was the first independent director of Beef + Lamb New Zealand and former deputy chair of Radio New Zealand. She teaches strategy and disruption for the Institute of Directors.

What I Asked Melissa
What are NZ boardrooms really talking about behind closed doors right now?
Am I investing in the customer I have, or the one I will have in 10 years?
Are CEOs wrong about how much AI will actually lift productivity?
What will New Zealand look like in 2040?
How do I train myself to think 10 years ahead?

Follow Melissa
LinkedIn
Website
FutureCentre

Timestamps
0:00 - what is a street smart futurist
1:24 - sponsor: AcademyEx for NZ business owners
2:04 - what does planning for the next 10 years actually mean
3:19 - what are NZ boardrooms really talking about right now
4:58 - where should I invest spare cash for the next 10 years
10:45 - how does a futurist decide where a business spends money
11:53 - am I building my business for today instead of the future
13:00 - what is agent to agent AI and why does it matter
17:50 - are CEOs wrong about how much AI will boost productivity
19:34 - sponsor: AcademyEx AI software programme and free podcasts
22:00 - why is AI just giving me the average answer
26:08 - should boards let AI do their thinking
28:20 - who will my customers be in 10 years
30:47 - why do boards keep getting blindsided by shocks
36:49 - why do we keep building for the past not the future
41:10 - how do I train my team to think 10 years ahead
49:44 - how do I make decisions when the future is uncertain
54:10 - what happens when you are 30 years too early
56:00 - how do you lose a $190 million business overnight
1:07:18 - what will New Zealand look like in 2040
1:19:46 - is New Zealand's low debt actually hurting the economy
1:23:00 - what does high tech farming look like in New Zealand
1:26:34 - the one thing every business owner should do now

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Stanley Henry is the founder and managing director of The Attention Seeker, an Auckland-born organic social agency that works with 200+ brands across New Zealand, Australia, the US, the UK and the UAE with a zero-ad-spend model. He spent about 12 years in hospitality around the world before returning to New Zealand in late 2019 to build the agency, and also founded The Nesian Network for Māori and Pasifika business owners.

In this episode he breaks down how he used Claude Code to build a "context brain" of his whole business and turn it into ten digital products, including a $150 workshop he says brought in $95,000 and, by his account, around half a million dollars in 11 weeks.

What I Asked Stanley
How do I actually make money with AI instead of just chatting to it?
Do I need to be technical to set up an AI system for my business?
Why do most New Zealand business owners waste their ad budget?
How do I sell a low-ticket product without talking to every customer?
Why does trying to be "the best" actually stop you growing?

Follow Stanley
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Time Stamps
0:00 - Intro
1:26 - Sponsor: AcademyEx intro for NZ business owners
2:14 - How most people use AI vs. how Stanley uses Claude Code
2:56 - Building a "business brain" folder that ingests all company context
3:53 - Packaging agency expertise into digital products for small businesses
7:05 - Using Claude to design workshops and validate offers with Reddit & social data
9:53 - Auto-updating AI brain from emails, chats, and meeting transcripts
11:24 - Why webinars over courses & the product ladder strategy
15:06 - Social "TV show" content series & $20k vs $900 offer for small businesses
17:37 - What makes a great workshop: transforming thinking, not teaching tactics
20:00 - Sponsor: AcademyEx 12-week hands-on AI software program
21:00 - Why one repeatable content idea beats constant new ideas (Friends analogy)
24:29 - Workshop structure based on debunking misconceptions (Veritasium method)
28:30 - Claude builds the sales stack: Stripe, Klaviyo, Meta ads & ad scripts
31:12 - Pricing the webinar at $150 and doing $75k in 2 hours
33:39 - Low, mid, and high-ticket offers (Apple, retainers, and volume)
35:17 - Why they only run Meta (FB/IG) ads and how much they spend
39:12 - 3:1 return on ad spend, scaling ad budget, and advice for business owners

<p>Is New Zealand quietly getting poorer while we tell ourselves we punch above our weight?</p>
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<p>Phil O'Reilly is one of the most connected business figures New Zealand has. He is the former chief executive of BusinessNZ and has chaired Business at the OECD, the OECD's official business advisory body.</p>
<p>He has sat on the governing body of the International Labour Organisation in Geneva, worked through the B20 and G20 process, and served on New Zealand government review groups including welfare and child poverty. He now runs his own advisory firm.</p>
<p>His sharpest argument in this episode: the "we punch above our weight" story is a comfortable lie that gives New Zealand an excuse not to try harder, at exactly the moment we are getting poorer.</p>
<p><strong>What I Asked Phil</strong><br>Why do you think New Zealand is quietly getting poorer<br>What is the myth Kiwi business owners need to stop believing<br>Has Australia stopped taking New Zealand seriously<br>Why won't a capital gains tax fix what people think it will<br>What should a NZ business owner actually do in the next six months</p>
<p><strong>Chapters</strong><br>00:00 What global business leaders are worried about<br>04:54 Re-globalisation and where NZ fits<br>07:55 Why the world ignores New Zealand<br>10:33 Selling more than food to Europe<br>13:22 Why NZ service businesses get stuck going global<br>18:53 Does the OECD help everyday owners<br>24:22 The case against a capital gains tax<br>25:52 Why the NZ stock market is so weak<br>27:05 Why NZ must invest in science<br>30:47 Is New Zealand going broke<br>39:53 The myths holding NZ business back<br>42:57 What to do in the next six months</p>
<p><strong>Follow Phil</strong><br>LinkedIn: search Phil O'Reilly [verify URL before publishing]</p>
<p><strong>Follow Me</strong><br>YouTube <a href="https://www.youtube.com/@NotesFromTheExecutivePodcast">https://www.youtube.com/@NotesFromTheExecutivePodcast</a><br>Spotify <a href="https://open.spotify.com/show/4QgZGJdrnfjZ1sEm6MeGcp">https://open.spotify.com/show/4QgZGJdrnfjZ1sEm6MeGcp</a><br>Apple <a href="https://podcasts.apple.com/nz/podcast/notes-from-the-executive-podcast/id1586953812">https://podcasts.apple.com/nz/podcast/notes-from-the-executive-podcast/id1586953812</a><br>Instagram <a href="https://www.instagram.com/minaamso/">https://www.instagram.com/minaamso/</a><br>LinkedIn <a href="https://www.linkedin.com/in/minaamso">https://www.linkedin.com/in/minaamso</a></p>
<p>Notes From The Executive is New Zealand's no-BS business podcast for Auckland owners running established companies.</p>
<p>I sat down with Phil O'Reilly, former BusinessNZ chief executive, on whether New Zealand is really going broke, why he thinks a capital gains tax is the wrong fix, why we underinvest in science, and why Australia is quietly taking us for granted. If you run a New Zealand business and you want the honest read on the economy, trade, and where the country is actually headed, this one is for you. Grab my free list of NZ podcasts to get booked on: <a href="https://pwrfully.com/freepodcasts?utm_source=podcast&utm_medium=shownotes&utm_campaign=freelist">https://pwrfully.com/freepodcasts?utm_source=podcast&utm_medium=shownotes&utm_campaign=freelist</a></p>