What does Five NZ do?

Five NZ is a management consulting firm that helps NZ executive teams align leadership, culture, people and technology to deliver strategy with certainty, speed and ROI.

Is Five NZ a WalkMe partner in New Zealand?

Yes. Five NZ is New Zealand's most experienced WalkMe delivery partner, specialising in digital adoption to maximise software ROI and transformation outcomes.

What services does Five NZ offer?

Five NZ offers consulting in Strategy & Leadership, Performance, Culture, People development, and Technology including WalkMe digital adoption and AI Compass.

Nick Mackeson-Smith - Chief Curiosity Officer, Founder and Director

Nick is an expert in leadership development, executive coaching, learning strategy design and implementation, culture change and employee engagement. He's led transformative programmes in agile, technology implementation, diversity and inclusion, mental health and wellbeing, mindset and behaviour change, ways of working and learning enablement, and is very interested in building great employee experiences to drive great customer experiences which drive great business outcomes. He's a highly skilled facilitator and public speaker, and has a knack for spotting and unleashing the potential in those around him. He's got over 20 years of experience in doing the small stuff and the very big stuff at some of the world's and NZ's leading organisations - in financial services with Barclays Capital, Barclays Wealth Schroders, Lloyd's of London, and Goldman Sachs. In consulting services with Deloitte. In the public sector with Auckland Council, and most recently in digital services and telecommunications with Spark New Zealand.

I've recently written about:

Technology

Te anga whakamua i mua i te tino: Te mīharo o te AI ki te whakatutuki i ngā mea kāore i taea

This week is te wiki o te Reo Māori – a reminder that progress matters more than perfection. For many of us, te reo can feel like it sits in the “too hard” basket, yet AI tools are helping shift that. From translation to live conversation features, AI makes it easier to learn, use and celebrate te reo every day. This isn’t about replacing human effort or expertise. It’s about enabling participation, celebrating culture, and opening doors that once seemed closed.

Technology

Why most people technology RFPs fail before they even start

Organisations are investing in HRIS, payroll, onboarding, and time and attendance platforms, but too often, the results disappoint. The reason? Traditional RFPs focus on feature lists and vendor promises, while ignoring the foundations that determine success: strong processes, cultural alignment, capable people, and reliable data. This article explores why many RFPs go wrong, the questions to ask before committing, and how Five’s vendor-agnostic approach helps organisations choose technology that actually works.

Culture

What happens when leaders wear their tradition with pride

What does it take to build a workplace where everyone feels safe and proud to bring their full heritage to work - not just during language weeks, but every day? This short piece reflects on a conversation with a leader who showed up to a meeting in Tongan dress, and discusses what leaders can do to support visible, everyday cultural expression at work. It covers practical advice, evidence-based insights, and why it matters for engagement, retention and performance.

Performance

Clarity counts - why goals and measures matter

With everything that's going on aroun them, it's easy for teams to lose sight of what success really looks like. Clear goals and meaningful measures matter more than ever. It isn't just about tracking performance, but about creating focus, building alignment and supporting learning. You will find practical advice on how leaders and teams can build clarity around outcomes, make progress visible and create a shared understanding of what good looks like. Whether you use OKRs, KPIs or something simpler, this piece will help you make measurement meaningful in real organisational life.

People

Executives looking concerned about their gaps in strategy execution capability

The strategic lever most organisations are missing

Many organisations invest heavily in strategy, but overlook the most critical enabler of delivery: people. In this article, we explore why human capability and experience should be considered from the outset – not as an afterthought – and how mapping these needs early can drive better decisions around investment, structure, systems and workforce planning. Learn how capability-led design can turn strategic ambition into practical, people-powered execution.

Performance

You can do anything, but not everything all at once: how to be smarter with your yes

The pressure to “do more with less” is unrelenting. But overcommitting time, people, and budget leads to burnout, poor delivery, and declining quality. In this article, we explore two powerful perspectives: how leaders can make better strategic choices using the iron triangle of time, cost and scope — and how teams can protect quality and wellbeing by shifting from automatic “yes” to more thoughtful responses like “yes, if” and “yes, when.”

Nick Mackeson-Smith

I've recently written about:

Te anga whakamua i mua i te tino: Te mīharo o te AI ki te whakatutuki i ngā mea kāore i taea

Why most people technology RFPs fail before they even start

What happens when leaders wear their tradition with pride

Clarity counts - why goals and measures matter

The strategic lever most organisations are missing

You can do anything, but not everything all at once: how to be smarter with your yes

You can talk to me about:

Leadership Development Programme

Leadership Lab

Learning Programmes

Organisational Design

Outplacement Support

Pendo consulting and implementation