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environment, the middle class worldwide were
the “big losers”. He echoed Roy Scranton at
Princeton University and Robert B. Reich at the
University of California, Berkeley in concluding
that “this civilisation is already dead”, and
humans had to radically search for different,
better strategies and values, and to work out
new relationships among ecology, economy and
ethics in order for them to live in harmony with
nature and to “save capitalism” for the many
rather than the few.
On the prospects of how New Zealand might
answer these daunting challenges, Rod
expressed optimism because of the growth in
public awareness of the urgent need to build
a sustainable future. In his opinion, this was
exemplified by a group of young professionals
from leading Kiwi firms, who developed the NZ
Vision 2050 for the NZ Sustainable Business
Council’s Future Leaders programme. He
felt hopeful about “local solutions to global
problems” also because New Zealand was the
only country in which the indigenous people
signed a treaty in 1840 with a colonial power
on the ownership and governance of its land;
a hundred years later, New Zealand became a
founding member of the United Nations and
had played an important role ever since; and
Auckland was today the 4th most immigrant-
intensive city in the world, with more than 40%
of its population born overseas but working with
the locals and each other to realise their career
and life aspirations.
To leverage New Zealand’s uniqueness in
building better connections with Asia and
the world, Rod believed that Kiwi businesses
should not “go cheap”, but try to convince their
overseas counterparts of their merits through
demonstrating their originality, smart strategy,
astute management, multi-tasking skills,
confidence, and willingness to collaborate.
He particularly highlighted the importance
of CQ, or cultural intelligence, in developing
relationships and dealing with complex issues.