Growing Tall Poppies

Excellence in Top New Zealanders

Michele Cox

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.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Michele Cox has represented New Zealand in soccer, and spent two years in Germany playing in front of crowds of up to 70,000 people. She achieved to a high level in a number of other sports, ran a soccer academy for top young female soccer players, and is now a board member for Sport Auckland and the YMCA. Michele has several degrees, including MA (Hons) in Psychology and a Diploma in Business (Marketing), which she put to good use in a prior role as a Senior Sponsorship Manager for ASB Bank.

Reviews

‘A book which challenges, inspires, motivates and encourages the reader. There is something in this book for every individual to latch onto and embrace.’ Suburban Newspapers

SPECIFICATIONS
Size: 234 x 153mm
Format: Paperback with flaps
Extent: 216 pages
Weight: 570 gms
First published: July 2004
ISBN: 978-0-908988-46-4

You might also be interested in ...

Doing Our Best

New Zealand Mothers Speak from the Heart
In this revealing book, over 100 New Zealand mothers speak from the heart about their real-life experiences of motherhood. Leanne McKenzie and Gail Thomas asked women from all over New Zealand to contribute to the book, and the response was impressive, from teenage mothers to grandmothers, and from a range of ethnic backgrounds.

AU $22.95
RRP (includes GST)