{"id":21830,"date":"2025-11-06T21:09:50","date_gmt":"2025-11-06T21:09:50","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/nzsda.org.nz\/?p=21830"},"modified":"2026-02-10T19:41:51","modified_gmt":"2026-02-10T19:41:51","slug":"presidents-post-november-2025-2","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/nzsda.org.nz\/index.php\/2025\/11\/06\/presidents-post-november-2025-2\/","title":{"rendered":"President’s Post – November 2025"},"content":{"rendered":"\t\t
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President's Post - November 2025<\/h2>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t
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Hello everyone,<\/p>

The sunshine has finally broken through what feels like an endless stretch of rain. If your experience has been anything like mine in Taranaki, you\u2019ll know the rhythm: machines idle, the workshop gets a few extra sweeps, and even the simplest install feels like it\u2019s forever waiting for a break in the skies.<\/p>

Well, that break is here, and with it comes the reality that we\u2019re entering the busiest time of the year. I hope your schedule is full, your team\u2019s energised, and things are humming along.<\/p>

N3 Update<\/h4>

Since launching N3 in September, 64 NZSDA\u202fmembers have activated their accounts, with 57 using them regularly. That\u2019s great, but it also means plenty of you haven\u2019t yet jumped on board.<\/p>

Here\u2019s the standout stat: in just one month, our members made over $20,000 worth of purchases through N3, with a total saving of $6,804. That\u2019s an average of 25%. This is money literally left on the table if you\u2019ve not jumped on board.<\/p>

For me personally, I\u2019ve already seen the extra dollars in my pocket. It\u2019s so easy to start, so if you haven\u2019t yet, make it a priority. Your business (and your bottom line) will thank you.<\/p>

Master Signmaker Accreditation (MSM)<\/h4>

We\u2019ve had a great run of new members signing up recently, which is always encouraging to see. But part of the real value in the NZSDA sits with existing members who continue to raise the bar.<\/p>

One of the best ways to do that is through the Master Signmaker Accreditation. I\u2019ve spoken with a few of you over the last month who are keen to get started, or who just need a nudge to finish your application.<\/p>

If that\u2019s you – keep going! This accreditation is one of the best things you can do for your business and for the future of this amazing industry. The craft matters. The standards matter. Your legacy matters.<\/p>

When It All Goes Wrong: Owning and Learning from Mistakes<\/h4>

Let\u2019s talk about mistakes. Because in this trade, where we juggle design, production, installs, site variables, deadlines, and materials – mistakes are part of the game.<\/p>

Let me start with a story.<\/p>

Back in 2012, Mainfreight New Plymouth were moving into a new purpose-built depot. We were awarded the job, which included a massive 25m wide painted logo on the fa\u00e7ade. This was without a doubt the largest physical sign we\u2019d tackled.<\/p>

We finished the job, sent through the photos as instructed, and invoiced the work.<\/p>

The next day, the phone rang. \u201cYou\u2019ve painted the wrong logo on the building.\u201d<\/p>

\u201cHaha\u201d, I laughed in response \u2013 \u201cI haven\u2019t head that one before\u201d I said.
The silence on the end of the line was deafening. He wasn\u2019t joking.<\/p>

Turns out, we\u2019d used an old logo that we had on file. The company had updated their branding a year earlier, and it was subtle, the font was a bit thicker, the angle slightly different. No one had sent us the new logo, but worse – I hadn\u2019t asked. I\u2019d simply used the drawings and artist impression and never even submitted a proof.<\/p>

We repainted the wall and then we repainted the logo. It was days of work and extra product and all at our cost.<\/p>

Then we got to work building a new process around the mistake to ensure it never happened again. (As I\u2019m writing this, I\u2019m thinking I need to remind our team of why we have this process, and this story that many of them don\u2019t know!)<\/p>

That was a hard but valuable lesson.<\/p>

So here\u2019s what I\u2019ve learned, and what the a recent I listened to reminded me of:<\/p>

1. It\u2019s not the mistake, but how we respond that matters most.<\/strong><\/p>

Especially in small shops, even minor issues can create major ripples. But your response is everything. Don\u2019t bury it. Don\u2019t deflect. Don\u2019t blame. Own it.
Then, prioritise fixing it.<\/p>

With the Mainfreight job, we fronted up. We took responsibility. We acted fast.
That preserved the relationship and protected our reputation.<\/p>

2. Fix it in three phases: customer, team, system.<\/strong><\/p>

  • Customer:<\/strong> Respond fast. Make it right. Let them know they\u2019re your priority. The longer you leave it the bigger the problem becomes for everyone.<\/li>
  • Team:<\/strong> Look into how it happened. Don\u2019t assign blame, look for gaps in communication, training, clarity, or process. Remember people don\u2019t know what they don\u2019t know.<\/li>
  • System:<\/strong> Do a \u201cpost-mortem.\u201d Ask yourself and your team: Where did this fall through? And what do we need to change so it doesn\u2019t happen again?<\/li><\/ul>

    In our case, that was pretty simple \u2013 we needed a signed off proof for every job, and we needed to make sure that proof pointed out our clients responsibilities.<\/p>

    Small fix. Big impact.<\/p>

    3. Know when to sweat it, and when to let it go.<\/strong><\/p>

    Not every mistake needs a full repaint. We\u2019re not brain surgeons.<\/p>

    One shop owner on the podcast I listened to shared how a wall mural went slightly off alignment, and they panicked, until they saw it from 10 metres away and realised it didn\u2019t matter.<\/p>

    Learn the difference between a 1-metre problem and a 10-metre problem.
    Perfection has its place, but so does perspective.<\/p>

    Your Monthly Takeaway<\/h3>

    Mistakes aren\u2019t the problem. Repeated, un-owned, or un-learned mistakes are.<\/p>

    That\u2019s the difference between reactive and resilient businesses. The strongest teams aren\u2019t mistake-free, they\u2019re just better at learning from them, adjusting systems, and moving forward stronger.<\/p>

    This month, I\u2019m inviting you to:<\/p>

    • Pick one recent job where something went off-track.<\/li>
    • Ask: How did we respond? What did we learn?<\/li>
    • Choose one checklist, template, or system to improve.<\/li>
    • And finally, celebrate a win. A job that did<\/em> go well. A process that worked perfectly. We often move on too quickly. Don\u2019t forget to acknowledge what\u2019s going right, too.<\/li><\/ul>

      \u00a0<\/p>

      Thanks for being part of this community. Let\u2019s finish the year strong, and when things do go wrong (because they will), let\u2019s keep owning it, fixing it, and learning from it.<\/p>

      See you out there!<\/p>

      Logan Sutton
      Creative Director \u2013 Future Grafix
      President \u2013 NZ Sign & Display Association<\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

      The sunshine has finally broken through what feels like an endless stretch of rain. If your experience has been anything like mine in Taranaki, you\u2019ll know the rhythm: machines idle, the workshop gets a few extra sweeps, and even the simplest install feels like it\u2019s forever waiting for a break in the skies.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":21191,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[24],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-21830","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-nzsda-updates"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/nzsda.org.nz\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/21830","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/nzsda.org.nz\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/nzsda.org.nz\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/nzsda.org.nz\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/nzsda.org.nz\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=21830"}],"version-history":[{"count":4,"href":"https:\/\/nzsda.org.nz\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/21830\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":21834,"href":"https:\/\/nzsda.org.nz\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/21830\/revisions\/21834"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/nzsda.org.nz\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/21191"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/nzsda.org.nz\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=21830"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/nzsda.org.nz\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=21830"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/nzsda.org.nz\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=21830"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}