The Wider Strategic Significance to New Zealand of the Jetblack Challenge

Dr Lance Beath

From a strategy point of view the significance of the New Zealand Jetblack Challenge lies in what it has to say to New Zealanders about our ability to take on the world in one of the most iconic, difficult and aspirational challenges ever devised by mankind…the world landspeed record.

This record has traditionally been dominated by the British. And of course it is a British team led by Richard Noble who are currently building a car designed to be the first in the world to break the 1,000 mph barrier.

Richard Nowland’s aspiration to lead a successful New Zealand challenge for the World Land Speed Record, eclipsing current British record efforts in the process, is on a par with Hillary’s conquest of Everest and Team New Zealand’s successful bid for the America’s Cup.

For New Zealand, taking on the challenge of designing, building and driving a car that can successfully challenge current British dominance in world land speed records, is highly significant for one key reason.

It gives New Zealanders an aspirational goal that will demonstrate our ability to conceive of a target, create the scientific, technological, management and financial partnerships necessary to design and build a car with the capability to meet the target, and the leadership skills to focus and sustain the Jetblack Challenge over the 4-5 years that it will take to win the world land speed record.

As Richard Nowland has conceived it, the Jetblack Challenge is not just about winning the world land speed record for New Zealand. More importantly, it is about demonstrating to young New Zealanders our capacity for world class science and technology innovation. It is also about our capacity to build world beating international partnerships, and the capacity to maintain our focus long enough and relentlessly enough to achieve the goal.

The combination of aspiration, practicality and realism required to lead a challenge of this kind is what inspires me. As a teacher of strategy I need examples that I can put in front of my classes to illustrate good strategy in action. The Jetblack Challenge is just such an example.