Growing tall poppies

Tall poppies. We love them, we hate them, we admire them, we envy them: people who excel in their chosen field. But do we encourage people to be winners in New Zealand? Do we support talent and reward success? And are we encouraging our children to participate or to win? Growing Tall Poppies is a motivational and inspirational book for New Zealanders who are not content with a culture of participation but wish to achieve excellence. Michele Cox has interviewed 21 remarkable New Zealanders for the book, from a wide variety of fields including sport, arts, business, military, education, law, media, farming and hospitality. Among them are basketball coach Tab Baldwin, fashion designer Trelise Cooper, cricketer Martin Crowe, Maori ‘social entrepreneur’ Dame Georgina Kirby, runner Allison Roe, businesswoman Lisa Er, television presenter Susan Wood, lawyer David Jones, secondary school principal John Morris and Major General Jerry Mateparae. In line with the theme of excellence, not all the subjects are high profile but all have admirable qualities and great stories. A key feature of the book is a question-and-answer section at the end of each chapter, in which the author asks her ‘tall poppies’ to define excellence and say whether it is encouraged in New Zealand. The answers are illuminating, offering valuable insights into the traits and strategies that can lead to excellence.