For me, Christmas was spent at home trying to get into a long list of things that we needed to get done and had been left for way too long. Earlier last year, we moved house and we still had a room full of boxes that we hadn’t managed to get to since the move. The to-do list simply said “Sort out moving boxes” so how hard could it be? Famous last words as we got stuck into it. Do we just pile them up in the loft or do we work through them? We could tick the box on the to-do list very quickly by just pushing them up the loft ladder or do we go all “Marie Kondo” on them?
My first mistake was not having a well thought through outcome agreed with my wife as I pulled the packing tape off and opened the first box, just to have a look. That “look” turned into a journey of discovering forgotten memories with lots of “Awwwww, remember this?” and “Oh look what I have found!”. As that journey continued, the previously neatly organised piles of boxes slowly spilled their contents out taking over any and every clear space around the house. That one apparently simple item on the to-do list took on a life of its own, consuming time and attention at an astonishing rate. Opening one box in particular was especially devastating as it contained my old music collection.
For some strange reason, I connect certain music with certain events or memories which means that when I recall events, they usually come with a song and when I hear certain songs they bring back specific memories so opening that box was bad news for time management and productivity. As I looked through my collection, all sorts of memories and events flooded back and my wife and I spent untold hours reliving them. One thing lead to another and took a turn for the worse as we decided to start playing some of the songs.
As I reflect back on that time, there is one song in particular that springs to mind. I may well be showing my age here but in 1985 Billy Ocean released ‘When the going gets tough, the tough get going.” This became the theme song for film ‘The Jewel of the Nile” starring Michael Douglas, Kathleen Turner and Danny Devito, all of whom then starred in the official music video for the song. Naturally hearing that song then lead to us watching the movie, further distracting us from the to-do list.
When I look at what we are facing as we start 2022, the title of this song seems so relevant. The going is certainly getting tough. 2021 was a tough year and 2022 took it to a whole new level with Omicron stretching its reach around the world and discovering Aotearoa. On Sunday 23rd at 11:00am, the Prime Minister took the whole motu into the Red setting of the traffic light system from 11:59pm that night as Omicron broke through the border and out into the community. In addition the Prime Minister announced the Government’s intention to adjust settings as the anticipated rapid spread of Omicron ramped up.
Life was already tough for us as the ever increasing compliance in the ECE sector has presented ever increasing challenges to our special character. We were unable to open under Level 3 lockdown when other ECEs could. The uncertainty that alone created was tough to bear and now we had even more uncertainty as all the various elements of the traffic light system may or may not change for Omicron and if we believe the modelling forecasts, a huge percentage of our population will be forced into self-isolation, challenging our ability to remain open. It would be so understandable and so easy for us to just, well, quite frankly give up.
However, this is where the second part of the title of that song comes into play. When the going gets tough, the tough get going. The question then is “are we tough?”.
I have been with Playcentre for a total of 82 days since 1st November. Take out 11 weekends and two weeks for Christmas/New Year and that means about 46 working days during which I have visited as many centres as I can, as many Regional Offices as possible and spoken to as many people on the phone, in meetings or via Zoom as I could. Even in this short time, the answer to the question “are we tough?” is blatantly obvious to me. A resounding YES! When I consider the pioneering nature of our organisation, the bold decisions taken to acknowledge and recognise the partnership within Te Tiriti o Waitangi as the founding document of Aotearoa and the courageous amalgamation, the evidence is clear. Historically we have shown a resilience that further proves that toughness.
In my experience, resilient organisations have the ability to survive a crisis, and thrive in a world of uncertainty. It isn’t just about getting through a crisis, it’s also about the ability to turn a crisis into a source of strategic opportunity. That is what I see ahead of us in 2022, turning any crisis we face into strategic opportunity. That motivates me massively and I hope it does the same for you. As I work with our new Trustee Board, I am already beginning to see a number of strategic opportunities emerging from the various crises we have been managing. It is likely that these opportunities will spring out and spread themselves out taking over any and every clear space around us.
As they do I am in no doubt that we will find some real taonga just as I have at home but that is another story for another day.
David Moger
Chief Executive