S2 EP3: David Mair, CEO of Skellerup, on How to Grow Your NZ Business Using Japanese Business Practices

David Mair is the CEO of iconic South Island brand Skellerup and Deloitte Top 200 ‘CEO of the Year 2021’. As a part of the team at Panasonic in Japan, he developed a deep understanding of Kaizen / Kaikaku and Product Development that has helped him develop rapid ways of improving businesses regardless of size.

We all know of the famous Red Band gumboots. But how does one take rubber products and turn them into a symbol? David shares how 10 years in Japan and a lifelong commitment to judo have introduced him to a revolutionary way of doing business and helped shape his leadership style to what it is today. He also talks about three essential learnings in his career. The first one is learning by doing, then focusing on structure, then people, then process. And finally the ability to deal when things go wrong, as David says: “It's not people that fail. It's the process”

He told Ryan about the kaikaku and kaizen concepts in Japanese production philosophy, which focuses on continuous self-improvement. Kaikaku means a radical change, during a limited time. Kaizen, on the other hand, is a system of incremental system changes.

Links

Check out Who Stole My Customer?: Winning Strategies for Creating and Sustaining Customer Loyalty

Connect with David through his LinkedIn here

You can find us here

Website: https://thebreakthrough.co

LinkedIn: http://www.linkedin.com/company/the-breakthrough-company

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/thebreakthroughco/

Podcast: https://thebreakthrough.co/podcast/