Kono is a Māori owned food and beverage business headquartered in Nelson and Blenheim. It was clear from the start that this was going to be a special project – how many clients start with a 500 year intergenerational vision?
I was lucky enough to work with Rachel and her team over a period of months, to get to know them as people and the nuts and bolts of their business. The crux of the project was to get to the heart what mattered, particularly what mattered to Kono as a Māori business, to understand the linkages between the five intergenerational outcomes that were being sought for the families who own Kono, and what therefore a 10 year business strategy should look like.
It was at the same time an extremely challenging and rewarding project, very complex with lots of dynamics at play. Each of the businesses runs seperately and each has it’s quirks and challenges, yet the ask was for a strategy for Kono as a whole.
My most valuable learnings were about Te Ao Māori and how applying matauranga Māori changes how we think about what’s important in business, particularly in terms of thinking long-term about community and environmental outcomes.
