A Month of Fun-Days!

Posted on November 14, 2013 by Andrew Frame

Looks a bit quiet, eh?

Inner-city Napier sadly lacks activity and public events. There is a citywide sale in the slowest, coldest time of the retail year, one day of the year when you’re supposed to be randomly kind to one-another (just one?) and a prolonged picnic on Napier’s Marine Parade, which draws people to the CBD’s periphery, away from the retailers and taking custom away from its own cafes.

Cumulatively it amounts to just over a dozen days of activities, covering less than 5{3919f50c199a8627c147b24d329ff0de8aa05e3a462fa3330e11cd9ea56ed948} of the year.

The CBD marketing association ladies will claim that it costs a lot (of council / retailer funding) to run their organizations and provide the same handful of events each year. But you’ve got to admit, the region’s central city businesses don’t appear to be getting much bang for their buck and our CBD needs both bang and buck urgently!

I get sick of cost being an excuse for inactivity. What about passion, creativity and imagination? Just use Youtube as an example. A couple of people with an idea and a camera can create something for nothing that millions of people around the world can view, enjoy or be inspired by.

Last year I took to Twitter with some ideas for getting action back into Napier’s CBD. We need preferably free (or very cheap) events that both enliven Napier’s city centre and encourage more spending. I tried to think outside the square as much as possible and involve local organizations, schools, groups etc. or develop ideas that involve partnerships with local or national companies giving them event naming rights in return for their logistical or financial input and the subsequent advertising.

The companies I mention below are mentioned merely a guideline – they are ones that I follow or vice versa on Twitter. As is the order of events – I started from a Monday and went from there.

Week 1: Your Brand Here!

#1: More FM Monday: Live broadcasts, sausage sizzles, fun & games with the local radio station!

#2: Hawke’s Bay Today Tuesday: Special feature section on Central Napier: History, Then and Now pictorials, stories etc. in the paper with perhaps a pull-out coupon selection for CDB businesses combined with displays throughout town, public interactivity with editors, reporters etc.!

#3: Whittaker’s Wide & Walk to Work Wednesday: Leave the car at home, ride or walk to work and get rewarded with CHOCOLATE!

#4: TV Thursday: New Zealand TV networks love doing live crosses, so the networks can broadcast their breakfast shows from Napier! Imagine TV One’s Breakfast broadcast from cafés and shops throughout Emerson Street, or TV3’s Firstline being presented from the balcony of ‘The Dome’ with the sun rising over Hawke Bay and Marine Parade behind it!

#5: Thank Grabaseat it’s Friday: Air NZ (who, let’s face it haven’t been the most generous to Hawke’s Bay in terms of flight prices) discounts their airfares to our region; Napier puts on a city-wide party to celebrate, attract and welcome the visitors!

#6: Suzuki Swift Saturday: BMW is launching its latest X5 in Napier next week, which is pretty awesome. So why not other marques? The Suzuki Swift has become the small car of choice in NZ for quick, stylie, around-town commuting. So why not launch their next generation car in a stylie city centre like Napier?

#7: Subway Soundshell Sessions: Free / gold coin donation to see live music at the Soundshell!

Week 2: Community Involvement!

#8: Musical Monday: Buskers & school bands / orchestras play throughout Napier’s CBD! I have had a concept in my head for some time of a combined Napier high schools orchestra / band / choir / variety show at the Municipal Theatre that this could tie in with.

#9: It Takes Two to Tango Tuesday: Cafes & shops open onto the street to music & dancing lessons / demonstrations!

#10: Awareness Wednesday: Napier’s community groups, clubs, etc. stage an outdoor expo along the paved areas of Emerson and Market Street. Raising awareness of what can be done in and for this beautiful city!

#11: Theatrical Thursday: Schools and local theatre groups take to the streets to perform!

#12: Fashion Friday: Napier’s clothing stores host a combined fashion parade and use Emerson Street as the catwalk! EIT fashion / theatre / media students can assist in the production, aiding their studies!

#13: School’s Out Saturday: Activities specials & events for the young ones throughout town!

#14: Sport Hawke’s Bay Sundays: Plenty of green grass along Marine Parade and empty spaces not being used, so let’s use it for interactive sport demonstrations!

Multi-Media Week

#15: Make Some News Monday: Hawke’s Bay Today, the Dominion Post etc. open up to Napier people for them to submit their CBD stories & pics. (Also gives any thin editions a bit more bulk!)

#16: Twitter Tuesday: Encourage the public to utilise the CBD’s free Wifi coverage by sending Tweets, pictures & video broadcasting Napier to the Twitterverse! Get #Napier trending internationally on Twitter!

#17: Wifi Wednesday: Encourage the city’s people and businesses out onto the streets with the CBD’s free Wifi network!

#18: Youtube Thursday: Expose the world-wide interweb to virtual guided tours of Napier people’s favourite places and things? Create some interest and make people want to visit and check them out for themselves!

#19: Facebook Friday: Encourage the public to utilise the CBD’s free Wifi coverage by sending pictures & video broadcasting Napier onto Facebook! Get #Napier trending internationally!

#20: Snapshot Saturday: Post pics of central Napier onto sites such as Flickr, Instagram and Pintrest. Prizes for the most “liked” or creative photos!

#21: Open-air Cinema Sunday: The Soundshell doubles as an outdoor cinema for the evening!

Commercial Week

#22: Makeover Monday: Central Napier’s proliferation of women’s clothing stores, hairdressers, beauty therapists and masseuses take the fore to make Napier people look and feel wonderful!

#23: Tax-free Tuesday: A city-wide 15{3919f50c199a8627c147b24d329ff0de8aa05e3a462fa3330e11cd9ea56ed948} off Sale!

#24: Midweek Market Wednesday: Napier’s Farmers’ Market comes to town a few days early in the evening, while Inner-city shops have stalls outside during the day.

#25: Themed Thursday: City-wide storefront displays and promotions based around an event or a local / visiting national sporting team etc. Public votes on best display, specials on anything black and white (for a Magpies theme)!

#26: Alfresco Feast Friday: For an evening Emerson Street becomes Napier’s biggest outdoor restaurant, as the CBD’s eateries put on an outdoor serving to put the “Great Long Lunch” to shame!

#27: Special Someone Saturday: Treat your special someone to breakfast, shopping & more! Spend $20 or more in a store city-wide to be in the draw to win a night at The Dome / County Hotel etc.!

#28: Slow, Summery Sunday: Take a stroll through town, have a shop, have some lunch at a café and then wander up to the parade for a leisurely walk, or relaxed concert at the Soundshell!

“If All Else Fails” Week

#29: Music Video Monday: Why has Napier never featured in a music video? Let’s make one!
If No bands are forthcoming, then it could become “Manufactured Pop Monday”, evolving into a reality TV series featuring a search for local talent. How could NZ on Air refuse to fund it?

#30: Tug of War Tuesday: With so much rhetoric and spin over the amalgamation debate, let’s settle it the old fashioned way – a NCC vs. HDC / HBRC / WDC / CHBC / A Better Hawke’s Bay tug of war down Emerson Street. Winner takes all (or status quo)!

#31: “Wipe-out” Wednesday: Create a fun, crazy obstacle course in Emerson Street and invite people, individuals, companies and schools to take it on!

There are my ideas. What do you think?
• A month FULL of activities?
• 31 weeks with one event per week?
• Or can central Napier stay alive with the weak pulse and mere 5{3919f50c199a8627c147b24d329ff0de8aa05e3a462fa3330e11cd9ea56ed948} activity it currently exhibits.

Incidentally, the earliest chance of doing all the events, in order, would be September or December 2014, whose 31 days start on a Monday.

But why wait? I love my city and want to see it busy and prosperous.

Let’s get these ideas into fruition NOW!

Mission the Mark Again

Posted on November 13, 2013 by Andrew Frame

If it was a joke, it would start with “Hey, Mission Concert, the nineties called!” And that’s how we got this year’s “big”, “surprise” acts.

Each member of the “UK Invasion Party” (they’ve already had to do an emergency rebranding – see below), comprising of Ronan Keating, Melanie C of the Spice Girls, Billy Ocean, Leo Sayer and Sharon Corr of the Corrs will perform for around 20 minutes at Mission Concert in February next year.

It all sounds pretty luke-warm to me:
Ronan Keating is ok, but his recent gigs on “reality” singing shows have diluted his credibility for me.
‘Sporty Spice’ was, at least, one of the Spice Girls who could actually sing (lord help our ears if they’d snared Victoria Beckham!)
Sharon Corr was the violinist, back-up singer and 1/3rd of the ¾ sensationally attractive (sorry Brother Corr) siblings that made up “The Corrs”.
Billy Ocean got out of my ears, into his car and drove off into the sunset years ago.
And I had to Google “Leo Sayer” before I could even recognise any of his songs.

As is the way with this age of technology, I immediately jumped online to gauge reaction to the announcement

The Hawke’s Bay Today website’s announcement was a bit drab and “regurgitated press release-ish”, but the comments section was, as always, good for a laugh.

I get very amused by comments vilifying or “knocking” the “knockers.” Everyone is entitled to their opinion. So what is wrong with someone voicing their displeasure at what they consider is another sub-standard Mission line-up?

Hawke’s Bay Today has done a better job of getting wider opinions this year.

Finding a terribly amateur mistake (organisers failed to recognise that Keating and Corr are from the Republic of Ireland and Ocean was born in the Caribbean – not the “United Kingdom” and a very quick way to get into a fight apparently) in Mission Concert organisers’ marketing (or proof-reading / sub-editing) restored a bit of my faith in balanced journalism too.

Getting the basics wrong this year isn’t a Mission Concert first, after a series of wine bottles were printed up for Eric Clapton’s (a recovering alcoholic) show six years ago.

A truer litmus test is the reactions from a wider audience – tourists who come from out of town for Napier’s events, the likes of these Stuff.co.nz commenters.

Online reactions did bring up a very good point.

When Dame Kiri Te Kanawa performed at the inaugural Mission Concert in 1993, it was new, special and spectacular. It set a standard that many other wineries and venues followed.

Now virtually every winery and its dog stages “Mission-esque” concerts and events each year. Many smaller, newer vineyards, parks and venues attract much more up-to-date acts than the Mission has over its 20 year history. Meanwhile Mission acts seem, with a few exceptions, to be getting older and less recognised.

After a spate of less than impressive acts in recent years, Napier’s Mission Concert was becoming more unflatteringly recognised for its drinking and related less-than-world-class attendee behaviour. They could have released DVDs of the concerts under the brand “Baby-Boomers Gone Wild” or the like, but I don’t think sales would have been too flash.

After starting with a hiss and a roar (or rather, a Soprano and some very high notes) two decades ago it feels like the quality of Mission Concerts has dawdled off a bit. Organisers have either lost interest, or lost the plot as to what our gorgeous venue and city deserves.

We are constantly told what a modern and vibrant city Napier is and how “world class” the Mission Concert is supposed to be. But for the same price as a Mission Concert ticket, you can see the likes of Beyonce, Taylor Swift or U2. All massive draw-cards, so why waste your time or money on anything less?

Surely if the Mission Concert is such a “World class” event, it deserves world class acts – as in the biggest artists RIGHT NOW, rather than largely forgotten acts from decades ago.

The Mission, Napier and its visitors deserve far better than what they are currently getting.

Delightful, Delicious Diwali!

Posted on October 15, 2013 by Andrew Frame

Diwali , or the “Festival of Lights” is an Indian festival celebrating the triumph of good over evil, light over darkness. Hawke’s Bay’s Indian community has been celebrating it at Napier’s Sound Shell for several years now.

It’s a free event and has a great, friendly, family atmosphere that easily attracts hundreds and hundreds of people – young and old of all ethnicities each year. It’s the sort of event that Napier has been so sadly missing out on in recent years.

There’s dancing, great music (so good, you’ll probably recognize riffs and beats that most main-stream rap musicians have flogged and hoped no-one (aside from maybe one billion Indians) would notice) and FOOD!

Lots and lots of delicious samosas, satays and curries are served from a number of stalls. This year Napier’s Indigo Restaurant, had the consistently longest queue.

It took about half an hour to reach the business-end of dinner, but when you got there it was certainly worth it – $10 for a traditional Indian meal in such a great open-air environment with free entertainment! Try and beat that, “Great Long Lunch”!

I happened to see Napier’s Inner City Marketing Manager at the event. I certainly hope she was taking notes, because NICM could learn a heck of a lot from a great family festival like this. Napier needs and deserves a lot more like it!

Dickensian Dickens Street

Posted on October 14, 2013 by Andrew Frame

What Would Charles Dickens Make of the Napier Street named after him?

Is Napier’s Dickens Street becoming literally more and more Dickensian?

There were Great Expectations for Dickens Street after its revitalisation a few years ago, but it appears to be going through some Hard Times.

At its Hastings Street end we have a noisy, smelly and dusty industrial revolution of construction and destruction.

At the other end we have the squalor of the still half-empty and abandoned Mid City Plaza – a Bleak House going mouldy on the outside and crumbling inside, while across the road a store sells “legal” highs to local street urchins.

Now I see a giant “$2 Shop”-type store opening in the middle of Dickens Street (there are already around three such stores in close proximity).

This is no Old Curiosity Shop – rather an immense purveyor of too-cheap goods – the sort poor little Oliver Twist had to make for a pittance.

Another of these ‘bargain’ stores is not encouraging for central Napier’s growth, retail quality or the region’s reputation for low wages. You have to wonder who let it get in this state?

With festive season fast approaching, we can only hope those letting our CBD down hear an inspirational Christmas Carol or have a life-changing dream and stop being such Scrooges!

Price Does Not Equal Luxury

Posted on September 11, 2013 by Andrew Frame

“See Naples and die.” Pompeii tourist brochure circa 79AD

“See Napier and Spit*” Mark Twain, Napier’s Masonic Hotel 1895

Napier’s tourism industry has been struggling for some years now.

Some blame too much focus on cruise ships for the decline. Others blame Napier City Council for not doing enough to Marine Parade, or the uncooperative relationship that exists between Hawke’s Bay’s many councils. HB Inc. / Venture HB / HB Tourism (if you’re new to the region they’re all the same organisation with mainly the same staff, just under different names after years of reorganisation or failure) have also faced their share of criticism. As has Air New Zealand (have you tried finding a cheap flight to or from Hawke’s Bay – one of New Zealand’s busiest regional airports?).

I feel most of these criticisms have their merits. But I have seen a theme run through a lot of Hawke’s Bay tourism schemes and advertising in recent years that may be doing even more damage: Luxury.

When times are tough and money is sparse (as it is currently), what is the first thing you usually give up? The “luxuries”! So why is that such a feature of so many HB tourism ventures recently? Sure they are attractive to a select few for their exclusivity (“ponce-pulling-power”?), but as a result they also cater to only a very small portion of the market for only a small amount of time.

From an accommodation perspective, take the likes of the Kidnappers resort (scarily expensive to mere mortals like myself), or closer to home The Dome in central Napier (don’t even get me started on how our Art Deco-mad rulers let them build a modern addition atop one of Napier’s most iconic buildings…). Both make a point of being exclusive and luxurious. But, at even their cheapest winter rates, how many people will ever get to know precisely how luxurious they are? They also appear geared towards just individuals or couples too. The typical middle-income-earning Kiwi family holidaymakers, surely Hawke’s Bay’s biggest and most lucrative domestic market, don’t get much of a look-in. But I guess that’s the whole point, right? It’s a case of the money versus the many.

Case in point: Kidnappers hosted an event with international celebrity chef, Heston Blumenthal, a few years ago. For the price of a ticket to this event (a night or two’s accommodation and accompanying meals) you could have flown to England, dined at Heston’s original restaurant, The Fat Duck, spent a few more days seeing the sights and still had change for duty free on the return to New Zealand! Somehow the event still sold out. I’m guessing not many locals bought tickets.

I wonder how long these types of venture usually last (I think at least one of the two examples I mentioned above has changed owners at some stage)? If one night’s accommodation is that pricey, and guest nights must be pretty slim as a result, imagine what their running costs must be.

I make this point about longevity, because two of Napier’s most popular and longest standing holiday accommodation providers, Kennedy Park Camp Grounds and the iconic central Napier Criterion Backpackers hostel are not only some of the city’s oldest establishments (Kennedy Park celebrated a whopping 75 years of operation recently and “The Cri” was built after the 1931 Earthquake, ironically, as a luxury hotel), but also some of the cheapest!

Accommodation providers are stuck between a rock and a hard place, though. The less people staying with them, the more they have to charge to make ends meet. But the more they charge, the fewer customers are inclined to spend the night. It’s a vicious cycle.

One of the cosiest hotel beds I have ever slept in was at the Jucy Hotel / Hostel, just 200 meters from Queen Street in Auckland. The rooms were quiet, bright and modern. They had great new facilities, a flat screen TV, a modern stylish bathroom and cost just over $100 including a carpark for the night. Where else could you find value for money like that in New Zealand’s biggest city, or even Napier for that matter?

The popularity and longevity of Kennedy Park and the Cri Backpackers and my experience at Jucy prove that money can’t always buy you a good night’s place to rest.

A high price does not equal luxury!

Rather than go for the ‘vanity factor’ and charging accordingly, ultimately scaring potential clients off, I think Napier Hoteliers / Moteliers need to go back to the basics. Provide a comfortable, family-orientated place to stay at an attractive price. The reduction in individual price will pay off in spades, as more guests stay for longer.

With the summer tourist season fast approaching, I wonder how many operators will try it?

*The “Spit” Mr Twain refers to is now the area we call “Westshore”. Pre-1931 earthquake, it was a long, thin spit of land at the entrance to the then harbour, now Ahuriri fishing port.

My Vision for Napier

Posted on August 14, 2013 by Andrew Frame

I would have loved to run for Napier City Council this election, but I just can’t afford to.

There is a limit put on how much you can spend on a local body election campaign. As an “at large” candidate (what I would have gone for), I would have been able to spend up to $30,000. I don’t have that sort of cash to spare. EVER. That’s a crazy amount of expenditure to me – it’s around ¾ of my annual household income. Heck, with rent, bills and all the rest, I couldn’t even afford the $200 nomination fee!

If I REALLY wanted it, I was told, I would have hustled, borrowed and begged to get the money. But that’s not my style. As I’ve said before, I’m not keen on owing money, especially when it can lead to potential influences on matters further down the road. Politics is riddled with such cases. Idealist, I know, but I’d like to do be in council for the many, not the money.

It’s a shame, really. Not only does the council miss out on my wisdom, ideas and youth (three concepts completely foreign to the current mob), but it also leaves the door open to these silently sycophantic incumbents. A council should be an accurate reflection of its constituents – old and young, white and brown, rich and poor. It’s a shame that just the old, rich and white options have held power over Napier for so long. I think this lack of representation has taken its toll on our city.

Contemplating running for council has given me some good ideas for blog topics and did spark some great debates on Twitter.

A Twitter friends kept asking me for my vision for Napier, so here you go:

If elected would have aimed to:

• At 35 I would have brought a younger viewpoint to Napier City Council, with fresh ideas and solutions to issues facing our city based on a life born and bred in Napier.

• Bring more council focus onto Napier’s youth. Each year hundreds of young, talented people leave Napier for education or work, often never to return. We need to not only retain these youth, but make Napier a more attractive option to other younger generations for living, learning and working in.

• Move the promotion of Napier beyond the Art Deco obsession of the past. Our city has so many wonderful, diverse aspects. Why focus on just one?

• Focus less on tourism and more on Napier residents. Cruise ship passengers visit our city for only a day in summer months, while Napier’s residents are here all year round. Let’s celebrate them and create events and activities for their benefit!

• Make Napier a more attractive location for high value, well-paying businesses to set up operations in. The current agricultural and tourism / hospitality-based employment focus has not helped our economy with its low wages and will not help the region’s moral through the flow-on effects of low incomes. Hawke’s Bay needs to work smarter, not harder.

• Work to ensure a greater transparency in council operations and decision making. Currently too many meetings are held behind closed doors and feature the words “Public Excluded”, keeping those who ultimately pay for the results out of the process.

• Make council decision making and processes more available and open to the general public by web-streaming council and committee meetings, so those who can’t attend can still keep an eye on matters that interest them.

• You can’t have transparency without accountability. Currently, elected councilors are not allowed to publicly criticize, or interact too much with council-employed staff. You can vote out an underperforming, long-standing councilor, but you can’t vote out a similarly entrenched manager. All sections of Napier’s City Council need to be held accountable for their actions (or inactions as the case may be).

For now, all I can do is hope that some fresh blood gets elected into NCC in October and they can institute at least some of the ideas I expressed above.

In related election news, I was disappointed to read that two more too-long-standing councilors are once again seeking re-election:

Hastings Deputy Mayor, Cynthia Bowers is seeking a 7th term, yes, you read correctly, SEVEN TERMS! If successful, she will have been a HDC councilor for 21 years! That’s longer than your average university student has been alive!

In Napier, Councilor Faye White is seeking a fifth term, not quite as bad as councilor Bowers , but can anyone tell me what Faye has achieved in her 12 years on NCC? Because I don’t know! I’m not sure if any of the general voting public does. Four terms in power is a heck of a long time to gift to someone for no major or obvious results.

The downside of such nominations, is once you are nominated you can’t withdraw, except for serious medical reasons. Knowing the poor track-record of local body election voting in Napier (less than 50 percent of registered voters actually voted in the last three elections!) It’s highly likely these councilors will retain their seats.

It’s enough to make me wish I had the money again…

Oh, No! Oh, No! It’s Off to Work I Go!

Posted on August 8, 2013 by Andrew Frame

“He said ‘Son, I think this is killing me’ as the smile ran away from his face. ‘I’m sure I could be a movie star, if I could get out of this place!’”
“The Piano Man” by Billy Joel.

How many people reading this post LOVE their current job? If you do, you are very lucky.

Over a decade ago, I worked in a bookshop. I loved it. I worked a Friday – Tuesday week, so with shorter weekend hours, I was never going to make much money from it (this was in the days when $10 per hour was a “good” retail wage – unthinkably low today). But my fellow staff and customers were awesome and almost every day I’d get to open a box of newly delivered books – it was like Christmas! There was not a single day I woke up thinking “I have to go to work today.”

How times change. Back then I believed that doing a job just for the money was the worst possible reason to ever have a job. These days, for thousands of people, it’s become a way of life.

An article I read on LinkedIn today reported a mere 19% of workers in the United States and Canada were “satisfied” with their job. That’s a pretty dire figure!

Dissatisfaction at work can become a bit of a vicious cycle. You are unhappy, so you stop putting your all into your job. You stop backing your own abilities. You stop looking for career possibilities when you get overlooked for advancement. You lose focus on what you REALLY want to do with your working life. But you still need the money, so you keep working till something better comes along. You hope. If it doesn’t, you become even more dissatisfied.

It reminds me of a song from the stage show and movie “The Producers”.

People say “Well, just leave!” But they must know it’s not that easy. There is rent and bills to pay, mouths to feed. Those things won’t happen if you “just leave”. Besides, where would you go?

Stuff reported today that New Zealand’s unemployment rate rose to 6.4% last month. It might not sound too much, but that works out to over 150,000 (give or take 10,000) New Zealanders out of work. Sure, some of them don’t actually want to work, but large numbers do. The news is full of reports where hundreds of this type of people applied for a single, minimum-wage position. That’s far from encouraging.

Having being burned myself, I’m also dubious about investing too much time and money in further education or training, as it adds even further expense (or student debt) into a venture that may not get you a return on your investment.

Even for those who stick with their job just for the money, the threat of redundancy or restructuring is ever-present. The government went on a state services slaying spree a couple years ago (and then they wondered why “Wellington is dying”) and New Zealand Post appears to be laying off staff faster than they can deliver actual mail. In some of the most heartless corporate cases, even when companies are making record profits, they are still laying off staff.

Is it any wonder growing numbers of people are feeling unhappy and insecure in their jobs?

I dearly wish I had an answer to this problem. But I don’t. Fortunately Ilya Pozin, the author of the first article I cited, has some suggestions on how to improve your outlook:

“Get to the root of the problem.
Simply hating your job isn’t enough of a reason to throw in the towel. What’s really keeping you from feeling positive and engaged at work? Find where the problem (or problems) lie and begin to establish a solution. For example, if you’re feeling underutilized and bored in your position, ask yourself how you would feel more challenged. Set up a meeting with your manager, present the situation, and ask to cross-train or take on some work more closely aligned with your interests.

Leave your misery at work.
One of the simplest ways to encourage a cycle of continued distaste for your job — and ultimately your entire life — is to bring your on-the-job negativity home with you. This can be especially challenging if you have a family. Try to create the mythical element of work-life balance by leaving your work mindset in the office. Consider heading to the gym or a fitness class as soon as you get off work, playing recreational sports, or even making time every night for your hobbies. This will keep your mind focused on other positive aspects of your life and refresh you for the next day.

Block out negativity.
Misery loves company, and this holds especially true when it comes to complaining about hating your job. But it’s best to avoid venting your frustrations to your coworkers because it may leave everyone feeling even worse than before. Instead, try to actively find a way to improve things. If there’s one process taking place in the office that you know is annoying everyone — unnecessarily long meetings, for example — come up with a few different solutions and present them to your team. This will drive engagement through reactivity rather than negativity.

Be better.
When your job sucks, you may start to think you suck, too. Remember: You aren’t your job. Keep from wallowing and look for ways to improve yourself professionally. Begin attending networking events, seminars, and conferences within your industry to gain traction and stay up on the latest trends. You may also consider taking online classes or participating in professional development offered through your company. This will allow you to develop new skills and expand your resume, making you feel more fulfilled. Your boss may even take notice of this and put your new skills to use.

Bond with your co-workers.
Increase your on-the-job engagement by making time to get to know your co-workers better. According to a recent Jobsite survey, 70 percent of respondents said having friends at work is the most crucial element to a happy working life. Your negativity may have been causing you to distance yourself from co-workers without even realizing you were doing so. If you truly come to like those you work with, you can gain a new appreciation for your position and the company as a whole.

Manage your bad days.
Everyone has bad days, but having several in a row can be especially challenging. A bad day often starts out with a number of problems or unlucky happenings, then by lunchtime you’ve classified it as being altogether awful. One small event doesn’t have to setback your entire day.
Break this bad habit by regularly taking a step back to assess situations before you jump to conclusions. If you’ve had a number of setbacks, consider taking a short walk outside or even breaking for lunch earlier. Giving yourself a moment to leave the situation for a short time to realize you might be overreacting.

Know why you’re sticking around.
If leaving isn’t an option, ask yourself why exactly you’ve got to tough it out. This may be in regard to your pay grade or the fact that it’s a necessary step in your career. Keep your reasoning at the forefront of your mind to make working your crappy job just a little easier. Whenever you’re feeling down about your job, remember that it’s paying your bills and filling your resume for the time being.

Your job may suck, but you should still be actively attempting to stay engaged and manage your own happiness.”

PS: I promise my next blog will be much more positive, cheerier or contain cute pictures of cats. AF

Can’t See the Resurgence for all the Empty Shops

Posted on August 7, 2013 by Andrew Frame

You may remember my previous blog post about Taradale looking a bit worse for wear after its recent upgrade. I must have had a point, as someone wrote to the Napier Courier voicing the same opinion. But I couldn’t decide whether to laugh or moan at the Taradale Marketing Association’s response to this letter in last week’s edition:

Napier Courier Letters to the Editor Wednesday 31 June 2013

Let’s look at a couple of points T.M.A. raises:

“Taradale is having a resurgence, the town is abuzz and the sun is out”
To paraphrase Meatloaf: “One out of three IS bad” Yes, the sun is out, but no the town isn’t abuzz, unless you count tumbleweeds and how could anyone let alone Taradale’s own promotions group think it’s “resurgent” when there are a dozen empty shops in their main street?

“Our parking situation is helped by friendly retailers who might just slip you a dollar”
You wanna’ bet? With retailers struggling for survival due to the parking meters scaring shoppers away, how many of them would be willing to GIVE AWAY money?

The rest of the letter descends into the usual terminally optimistic fluff that far too many Hawke’s Bay marketers have fallen back on rather than engaging in fixing the negative issues they face over past decades.

Reading Taradale Marketing Association’s response reminds me of three old sayings:

“The first step on the way to recovery is admitting you have a problem.”

“If you do what you’ve always done, you get what you’ve always gotten.”

“Those who chose to ignore the past are doomed to relive it.”
I think these are adages that too many of Napier’s older; retail precinct focussed “marketers” have been guilty of ignoring for too long. You will all too often read or hear that, according to them, things are just fine and dandy. When in reality a wheel may have already fallen off and others look decidedly shaky.

My EIT Diploma in Marketing may not have turned out to be worth the paper it was printed on, but it at least taught me a few key points on the subject. One of those things was that one of marketing’s cornerstones is “S.W.O.T.” analysis. It stands for “Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats” and is a core starting point for any project, outlining what they are good at, what they are bad at, what they can do to be better and what can get in the way of them achieving their goals. The “terminal optimism” as I call it expressed in such press releases flies in the face of such sensible practices as “S.W.O.T.”.

I may not be one of the cheeriest people on the planet, but at least my “realist” (some would say “pessimist”) outlook allows me to recognise problems, come up with possible solutions and truly appreciate and celebrate the successes when the problems are fixed and things are better than ever.

I like Taradale shopping centre and wish its retailers all the best as I feel they’ve been given a bit of a raw deal since their town centre upgrade. I just wish the promoters they doubtlessly pay a reasonable fee to would wake up to, or at least acknowledge the fact things aren’t all that great and take serious actions to remedy the problems they face. Otherwise people will not be able to see the Taradale’s “resurgence” for all the empty shops.

Bertie’s Buses Budget Burden Bulges

Posted on July 29, 2013 by Andrew Frame

For all those who don’t receive or read the Hawke’s Bay Today, this is the original, unabridged version of my letter that appears in today’s (Monday 29 July) “Letters to the Editor”:

“I was shocked and stunned the other day. I saw one of Napier City Council’s controversial Art Deco “Bertie’s Buses” with a passenger on board. Yes, an actual passenger!

Since their arrival they have been a bit of a joke around town. With Marine Parade closed due to the stormwater system upgrade, they were forced to trundle along Hastings Street devoid of passengers time after time. The poor drivers must have been beside themselves, because no-one else was!

A Council spokesman said he expected passenger numbers to increase with the reopening of Marine Parade. Yeah, right. It appears, however, that my shock was caused by fares on the buses being reduced by up to 50 percent for the school holidays.

Finally, Napier’s ratepayers may get some money back on the buses they got no say in purchasing and the subsequent $165,000 repair bill (those were some very expensive loose wires and belts that needed fixing, CEO Taylor) to get them roadworthy, you may say. Alas, no.

A quiet rebranding exercise had taken place at the Council. Gone was any trace of the word, voice or image of “Bertie” in relation to the buses. The website had to be revised, hundreds of tickets had to be redesigned and printed and even the taped commentary that narrates the buses’ journey (the drivers have to stick to the same route and speed to make sure the commentary matches the scenery, even when they are constantly and completely passenger-less) voiced by “Bertie” had to be re-recorded. Everything now strictly refers to the service as the “Deco City Discoverer”. It almost sounds like something out of George Orwell’s “1984”, with the Ministry of Truth revising history, doesn’t it?

The reason for all the revisions and even more expense on the buses? “Bertie” is standing for mayor. It was thought it could be seen as influencing voters if his image was pasted everywhere other than on official election hoardings. Then again, he could just be trying to increase his chances of election by distancing himself from these wheeled albatrosses (‘turkeys’?) around the council’s neck. (This is the part they abridged)

That might be a bit of a tough task for any incumbent Napier City Councilor wishing to stand again in this year’s election. As the publicly available council minutes would indicate all current councilors had a say in their purchase and all the troubles that followed.

Use you votes wisely, Napier. You deserve far better!”

Napier In Frame

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