23 July 2014

For immediate release

Expert tells local government conference that new is not always better

Jonar Nader, Principal of Australian company Logictivity, travels the world to advise executives and government officials on innovation, productivity and leading-edge management.

Mr Nader spoke to over 500 delegates at the annual Local Government New Zealand conference about innovation. He also presented at LGNZ’s 2013 conference and was so well regarded that he was asked back again to spread his wisdom and advice to local government leaders across the country.

He started his session by explaining that in the dictionary, the word 'innovation' refers to renewing that which already exists. However, turning something old into something new, does not necessarily mean that it is better.

“Organisations are drowning in newness. New bad habits. New bad behaviours. New bad customer service. All forced upon staff by new systems, new policies, and new technologies,” Mr Nader says.

“We arrive at the questions: How can we innovate towards success? How can we renew towards improvement? How can we refresh towards growth?”

Mr Nader that the answer requires a two-pronged approach that includes leaders and their staff – both must dovetail. Mr Nader revealed to his audience the result of four years of research. He outlined how organisations can learn to innovate and in particular how to overcome the obstacles in creating innovative workplaces.

He says that in life, being content is being happy – but in work, being content is being a sitting duck.

“Innovation is vital as it allows us to grow. Innovation and growth is not about opening another office, hiring more people or buying a brand new satellite as this is just expansion and purchasing. Innovation is not a thing we do or project we fund – is a way of life.”

A key take home message from Mr Nader is that people are stupid when they know but they don’t act on what they know, when the real desire and the real actions do not match. People cannot innovate if they suffer from knowing and not acting on what they know, he says.

The 2014 LGNZ Conference took place 20-22 July at Nelson, with more than 500 local government delegates attending to take part in master class sessions, hear presentations from high profile speakers about significant issues and opportunities facing the sector. The theme of the conference was Powering Local Economies, Building Vibrant Communities.

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