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Paul Martin Chartered Accountant Ltd :: Accounting, Taxation and Business Advisory :: Auckland, New Zealand
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The Man on the Moon Principle

Paul Martin • June 21, 2021

In 1961, President John F Kennedy famously announced his goal of landing a man on the moon and returning him safely to Earth before the decade was out. As we know, in July 1969, Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin became the first people to walk on the moon, and were brought back to Earth safely, achieving JFK's goal.

At a time when most people hadn't even been on an aeroplane, landing on the moon would've felt unachievable and overwhelming. However, such a massive goal united people with a purpose; the story goes that even a cleaner mopping the floor at the space station said his job was to help put a man on the moon. 

So, how did they make the goal achievable? They broke it down into milestones, with each one taking them closer and closer to achieving their ultimate goal.

The first milestone was to achieve lift off. So, they set about resolving this challenge. The next milestone was to reach orbit, so they had a team working on this milestone. Then, they had to reach the moon's atmosphere, land safely on the moon, take off from the moon, enter Earth's atmosphere and land safely back down to Earth. 

You can see how breaking the goal down into milestones gave everyone a more achievable objective to focus on which was less overwhelming. Those milestones were then broken down into the actions which needed to be completed. Each action was essentially a small step towards reaching the ultimate goal.

We can use this principle in our business planning.

Start with a 12-month goal, then break this into milestones on your way to achieving the goal. What milestones will you reach in the next 90 days? What actions do you need to complete each week to reach them? 

You might have a longer-term goal you'd like to achieve within 5-10 years. Follow the same process of identifying the milestones and the actions you need to get there. What's an important goal that will unite your team in a common purpose? When you've identified your goal, break it down into milestones and actions. Don't forget to celebrate when each milestone has been reached.

If you need help making a plan for your business or breaking your goals down into milestones, please contact us. I regularly work with a range of business and individuals to map out their goals and how to achieve them.

"The journey of a thousand miles begins with one step." - Lao Tzu

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How the new Government and coalition agreements might affect owners of residential rental properties

By Paul Martin • December 4, 2023
There were some key takeouts of interest to many of our clients from the recently signed coalition agreements between National, ACT and New Zealand First and the formation of the new Government. In particular there are a number of policies which will likely benefit landlord clients who own residential rentals. I have summarised some of these below. 1. Return of Interest deductibility for residential rental properties Interest deductibility for residential rental property owners will return. It will be phased back in over three tax years: • 2023/24 tax year: 60% of interest cost will be deductible. • 2024/25 tax year: 80% of interest cost will be deductible. • 2025/26 tax year: 100% of interest cost will be deductible. 2. Reduction in bright-line period National signalled in their pre-election campaign that the bright-line period for residential rental property sales would reduce from 10-years to 2-years. While the exact implementation of this policy is not yet known, it is good news on the horizon for residential property investors. 3. Reinstatement of 90-day no-cause termination notices The new government will reinstate 90-day no-cause tenancy termination notices. This will avoid many unnecessary disputes in the Tenancy Tribunal and gives landlords more confidence in letting to possibly “marginal tenants". Many landlords have avoided what they considered to be risky tenants because eviction for anti-social behaviour was so difficult. With this reinstatement, landlords might be more inclined to give a marginal tenant a chance because they know that if the tenant misbehaves, they won’t be stuck with them. If you would like more information on how these changes might affect your personal circumstances, please feel free to contact us to discuss further.
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