Enduring Smarter: Inside the Christchurch CEO Table. Surviving, and Leading, Through Shallow Waters.
Let’s call it what it is: the Christchurch market feels different.
At our latest CEO Table, hosted by Flux in late August, a cross-industry group of leaders came together to talk about what it takes to lead, sell, and grow in a market that’s not only quiet, but hollowing out.
The room was real. Less optimistic than Auckland, but also more aware of the wider issues facing NZ - particularly our fading edge in innovation. There was less focus on scale, more on survival, but in a different way… leaders are making hard calls while starting to see green shoots of growth emerging, especially off the back of construction and agriculture. It was practical, grounded, and a clear picture of endurance leadership in action.
Here’s what we heard.
Same Cycle, Tougher Start
Sales cycles haven’t changed. But getting into the room has.
As one CEO put it, “They’re not buying something new, they’re buying a new relationship.” And building that relationship now takes years, not quarters. Multiple attendees echoed the same shift - outbound lead generation has slowed, but once a prospect is engaged, the buying journey hasn’t shortened.
That’s forcing a mindset shift. Less about conversion. More about visibility and proximity. Less urgency. More trust. It’s not a pipeline funnel anymore, it’s a patience game.
“The average cost to get a customer is $25,000. So it has to be the right customer.”
Market Shallowing. The Churn Nobody’s Talking About
Every leader in the room had a story of churn. Not just clients, but people.
In sales especially, capability is thinning. Experienced people are moving on and being replaced with cheaper, less seasoned talent. Net migration may be flowing south, but holding on to good people still depends on culture. As one leader put it, “I’ve had to be the rock, build culture, and hold the team steady.” The challenge wasn’t the numbers, it’s in the know-how. Losing hard-won experience and replacing it with shallow expertise creates a strategy problem, a trust problem, a delivery problem.
What’s making it worse is the AI hype, short-term contracts, and post-Covid reshuffles. As capability leaves, context disappears. “You get to the building site and the spec doesn’t work,” said one CEO. “There’s no one left who knows how to fix it.”
This just isn't a hiring problem. It’s a strategy problem. A trust problem. A delivery problem.
Short-Termism Is Eating Strategy
The consensus was that cost has overtaken value.
Even in government tenders, where non-price attributes like longevity, capability, and brand used to matter, those criteria are being quietly ignored. One leader put it bluntly: “It used to be weighted to experience. Now it’s all price.”
This means innovation is stalled, margins are squeezed, and buyers are making short-sighted decisions they’ll pay for in a few years.
“We need the earthquake before we change the building code. That’s how we operate.”
Start-Up Mentality Has Gone Missing
Despite its reputation for innovation, there was a feeling that CHCH has lost the knack for thinking and acting like a start-up, like an entrepreneur. The networks are disconnected. The incentives are unclear. And even within established businesses, the experimental mindset has faded. There was also speculation that this was not just a Christchurch challenge.
But some are rebuilding it. One CEO shared how they carved out time and talent from their team specifically for future-focused innovation, not BAU.
“Our innovation squad is mixed, big brains, young guns, older heads. But we’ve had to deliberately protect the space so it doesn’t get swallowed by operations.”
The hypothesis was clear. When businesses stop making space for innovation, the entire regional economy starts to calcify. And if regions stall, the whole country loses momentum.
Leadership as Anchor, Not Hero
In a world of noise, uncertainty, and chaos the role of the CEO is changing. Fast.
What we saw in Christchurch was a different kind of leadership. Less swagger. More ballast. These leaders aren’t chasing “next.” They are holding their teams steady in the now.
That means knowing your people. Deeply. Understanding their families, cultures, dreams, and fears. A few CEOs shared the direct link between emotional safety and team resilience and how retention soared when they focused on it.
“I know my engineers’ kids’ birthdays, their parents’ cancer diagnoses, their dreams.
And they trust me to have their back.”
“We rent cultural fit over dollar fit. We only work with clients who treat our people right.”
This is the real work of leadership now: building trust inside, so the business can hold steady outside. One CEO summed it up perfectly: “When everything else is falling apart, your team needs a rock.”
Another CEO shared a simple framework his team uses to build those relationships, both internally and externally. It’s called FORD: Family, Occupation, Recreation, Dreams. Where every conversation becomes a chance to listen for small cues, note what matters, and come back to it later.
“You don’t have to dig, people give away these clues naturally.
You just have to train your team to listen.”
We loved this simple reminder that behind every client, colleague, or contractor is a human story. And when change is constant, those stories become anchors.
Productivity Isn’t a Metric. It’s a Mindset.
New Zealand’s productivity gap came up more than once. But instead of blaming infrastructure or policy, the group pointed to mindset.
The challenge is not just economic, it’s cultural. We don’t resource innovation. We don’t back our own talent. We underutilise our neurodiverse thinkers, our immigrant talent, and our internal capability.
“One in five people are neurodiverse. That’s a strategic advantage, not a liability.
But we’re traumatising them into silence.”
The hypothesis here was: productivity doesn’t start with tech. It starts with how we build teams, how we design systems, and how we value thinking that doesn’t fit the norm.
Adaptability as Culture
In a market that’s constantly shifting, adaptability can’t just live in strategy decks. It has to be lived. One founder shared how they embedded adaptability into company values, then walked their team through what that actually means.
“Change is part of your job. That’s the story. That’s the narrative we tell.
And it’s made a huge difference in how our people respond.”
Another CEO talked about hiring older team members because younger staff were struggling with constant change, even though they grew up with it. The resilience gap is generational. And it’s cultural.
The message ultimately shared was to stop assuming people will adapt. Teach them how.
Choosing Clients, Not Just Winning Them
In a tough market, it’s tempting to take any deal. But Christchurch CEOs were adamant, just walk away from bad revenue.
Multiple leaders shared how they’ve turned down tenders, fired agencies, or stopped working with clients who didn’t align to culture. The cost of servicing the wrong client is too high for margin and for morale.
“They might chase us for the price. But if they didn’t get the invite,
they won’t get the job.”
“Sales dropped. Stress dropped more.”
(after dropping 200 customers where the cost to serve was too high)
This is a recurring theme across both Auckland and Christchurch - relevance, not revenue.
So What’s the Play Now?
If Auckland was asking “How do we scale smarter?”, Christchurch was asking “How do we endure smarter?”
This isn’t a cosmetic difference. It reflects structural divides in NZ’s economy. Metro CEOs have more access to capital, talent, and global networks. Regional leaders carry a heavier personal load, with thinner margins for error.
And yet, the Christchurch table held something Auckland didn’t… a lived, hard-won understanding of what makes a business truly resilient.
This is a voice we need to hear more of. Across regions. Across industries. Across board tables.
Where We Go From Here
At Flux, we’re planning to launch a national, invite-only CEO Pulse Survey to deepen the insights from both tables. A few of the themes we’ll be exploring:
• Confidence & Risk Appetite: Is it fear, capital, or clarity that’s holding leaders back?
• Talent & Market Depth: How is churn affecting capability and sales quality?
• Cost vs Vision: Are short-term decisions undermining long-term value?
• Signals & Systems: How well are teams picking up market feedback?
• Scaling Pathways: Are regional CEOs struggling to think beyond their patch?
• Leadership Load: Where are leaders deploying their scarce time and energy?
Let us know if you’d like to be involved, and we’ll reach out with the survey link.
Final Word
“Change is constant. But humans need stability.
As leaders, we have to be the ones who hold both.”
This CEO Table reminded us that leadership isn’t just about growth at all costs. Sometimes, it’s about grit and endurance. Holding the culture. Reading the signals. Making the calls no one else can or dates to.
We’re grateful to the Christchurch leaders who showed up with such honesty, insight, and the kind of grounded leadership this moment really demands.
