Ross Laidlaw says he can not directly help the Highlanders win on the paddock.
But he believes he can help do things off the paddock which will hopefully aid the franchise on the field.
"I see it as a bit of a facilitator. I guess a bit like a coach - making sure everybody else in the team, meaning the board and the management, are pulling together. Know where we are trucking and knowing the best way to get there," Laidlaw said.
"You've got to give it 100% and then if it isn't working you think again and go to plan B."
Laidlaw said it was premature to talk about exact ways of how to get things done, given he had only had the job for less than 24 hours.
"But I think one task that is really critical is to have the three provincial unions shoulder to shoulder behind the Highlanders. I do not know if that has been done beforehand.
"But if you look at the Crusaders, that is something they have done really well."
He spent much of yesterday ringing around rugby people in the Highlanders franchise, introducing himself, and chewing a few ears.
He was to sit down with Highlanders chief executive Richard Reid this weekend to discuss all and sundry about the franchise.
Laidlaw had spent two years on the Otago board, mainly centred on solvency and stadium issues.
He said selling Carisbrook and getting rid of the union's high debt levels gave him confidence over accepting his new role.
"We were up against opposition that was bigger, stronger and fitter than us but we managed to get it through . . . and that has given me confidence. It is like two stars aligning. We need the stadium and the stadium needs us."
Laidlaw was approached by the New Zealand Rugby Union (NZRU) to take on the chairman's position, and with the stadium issue dying down with the Otago board, he had time to take on the new role.
"It is a hard road to hoe for all franchises, to record a satisfactory result from a financial point of view. But with the population we have, compared to something like the Blues, it does make it difficult when your sole income is relying on gate money and sponsorship. It may or may not be fair but it is a fact."
The Highlanders are being underwritten for the next two years by the NZRU but Laidlaw said that did not mean the franchise had a two-year grace period to get things right.
"We ought to be on a daily watch. The Highlanders are owned by the NZRU and they can do whatever they want. One of the jobs of the directors, independent or not, is to act as a bridge between the owner and the region."
He admitted the Super 14 was not a great watch at times, and felt confusing rule changes have not helped the competition.
Laidlaw himself was no great player on the paddock. At Otago Boys High School he never made the First XV, getting only as far as the Second XV, as a skinny 11st (70kg) lock.
He played for Pirates after leaving school but injured his shoulder and limited himself then to playing social rugby at University with the likes of author Greg McGee.
He then moved away from Dunedin for his law career but always followed Otago rugby.
A distant relative of Otago and All Black halfback Chris Laidlaw - their fathers were cousins - he joked Chris got most of the rugby talent in the family.
He moved to Central Otago abut four years ago, first living in Cardrona before "moving into town" to Wanaka a couple of years ago.
"It is a beautiful place and I won't be shifting to Dunedin for the job.
"But I am excited about the role. Obviously there are some challenges there but if they were not challenging then I would not have sought the position.
"I only do things I would want to do now. My eyes are fairly wide open in what I am getting myself into."
• ROSS LAIDLAW
Highlanders chairman
- Age: 59
- Married to Paulette, four children (two sons, two daughters)
- Born in Dunedin
- Attended Otago Boys High School Played for Pirates
- Trained as a lawyer at the University Of Otago
- Masters degree in law from Yale University, where he was also a post-graduate fellow
- Worked for law firms in Invercargill, Auckland and London
- Involved in bloodstock, energy and commercial property sectors
- Now retired and living in Wanaka
