It’s historical precedent that the loudest voice gets all the attention. This is true in all endeavours unless there is a conscious and deliberate act to counteract it.
This also holds true for geographic focus for business - and consulting organisations are no different. In New Zealand, Auckland gets the corporate focus, Wellington gets the Government focus, and other centres are less catered for.
The last two years of our lives have been overshadowed by Covid. It has had a significant and lasting impact on the way we run our lives and businesses. It jump-started and accelerated the remote working capability, from a nice to have to a pure necessity. Now as a ‘normal’ starts to settle on the world, businesses are struggling with what this remote working is going to mean going forward.
Remote working itself has become a mainstay of the way we do things - Zoom, Teams, Miro are now all common parts of our language to describe our work days.
There has also been another interesting byproduct of the efficacy of remote working. The people themselves are leaving the ‘big’ centres. Whether they move for lifestyle, money or just plain because - it means that our community of clients and consultants alike is being spread. The centres of loudest voice are now everywhere.
But this ubiquity of connection is very unidirectional. Whilst the resource might be out of the big centres there is still this singular attraction on big centres - where the work and the loudest voices are.
This still needs to change. As a business service, consulting needs to realise that the clients we serve are now spread far and wide. The delivery mechanisms and support we need to provide has moved beyond the core regions, and we now need to create a community that isn’t about where you live but where your services are needed.
Auckland and Wellington get all the consulting ink. It’s time to focus on the remainder of our country and ensure that organisations everywhere can get the same benefits.
Cyma may have started its journey as an Auckland based organisation, and I would be lying if I didn’t state that a significant proportion of our clients are in Auckland. While we cannot ignore the clients we have and the areas already established - it’s time for a shake up.
We are actively thinking and acting differently; innovation isn’t and shouldn’t be about geography. By leveraging remote capabilities Cyma is engaging resource and clients across New Zealand - taking the Cyma revolution on the road.
