Welcome to the most memorable quotes and advice from BusinessDesk’s My Net Worth series in 2024. We’ve combed through all our revealing conversations with New Zealand’s top business and legal minds and chosen the standout thoughts.
"Farming is a complicated business. There are all sorts of things that happen, and often at the most inconvenient time. I suppose the common thread would be problem-solving and resilience." – John Small, chair of the Commerce Commission
"I learnt two things. The first is it might be great as a theory or in a book, but does it actually pass the sniff test? The other thing is if you do stuff something up, rather than push on, you need to reject the sunk cost bias and stop it. Where did that learning play out at the port? Automation." – Roger Gray, CEO, Port of Auckland
"My parents taught me to grab opportunities with two hands. When a door opens, run through it. That it's all about attitude and how you turn up. To always do your best was a motto in our house, and then you know that if you don't succeed, you gave it your all anyway." – Nicola Willis, minister of finance
"I never aspired to be CEO. I just always wanted the next job; I just always wanted to do better, be better and achieve more." – Jodi O’Donnell, TVNZ chief executive
"Parliament is full of people from different parts of our society, and having that diversity is a good thing. So, if you're thinking of becoming an MP, start off by being good at whatever you're doing now. The second thing is being able to say that you’ve served your community." – Barbara Edmonds, Labour's finance spokesperson
"School and I didn’t get on very well. It’s very important to learn maths and reading and what not, but calculus and algebra didn’t do a lot for me. I’d rather learn about life, how to deal with people, how to run a business. Why don't we teach kids that?" – Quin Henderson, Southbase Group CEO
