20th April IPWEAvic Business Luncheon was held at the Whitehorse Centre Nunawading with guest speaker Tony Kelly. The audince was very privileged to gain an insight into Tony’s leadership style, hints and tips.
The Major challenge in his role at Yarra Valley Water MD was the drought:-
- Tony was the media spokesperson throughout the drought which bought added pressure to his role
- Drought made all focused on liveability of the city
- As a consequence of the drought the N-S pipeline and desal plant were built
- As a consequence of the drought audits were undertaken on the water authority, regulators were scrutinising the business operations, the organisation was accused of under delivering and over planning
- The drought created debate on a number of levels
- 2006 was a very dry year and if 207 had been as dry then Melbourne would have had brown outs
But the drought broke and now YVW is back to business as usual!
Other challenges Tony has had as MD YVW are to do with
- Productivity
- Culture
- Business transformation (putting in place a billing process, then other new IT systems
- Environmental achievements
Attributes of Leaders:
- Have the raw horse power
- Understand the industry
- Be confident and relaxed
- Self aware
- Leaders are held to account
- Be a great coach – make others powerful and give the big picture
- Be generous and grateful (Tony is only 1 of 600 in his organisation)
Doors opened to Tony when he became MD and he felt broader responsibilities taking up positions of Chair of several nfp Boards
Basic attributes of a leader are to think ahead, know the big picture and show others how to work through the ambiguity.
A big part of leadership is to set the organisations Culture (why we do things) and Strategy. Your culture is your competitive advantage as you can find strategies and processes everywhere
Human Synergistic culture is used by YVW with an empasis on circumplex. Strategy gives culture purpose.
One “trick” Tony learnt from his days at Harvard for longer term strategy is to raise the level of D (dis-satisfaction). For monopolies such as YVW this is very relevant
- look at customer satisfaction – use comparative performance (eg against SE water or a municipality)
- how to motivate staff (eg SE water doing something better)
Tony rounded his converstation with the point that there are two types of Future – The one We create and The one we Can’t control with a reminder of Yogi Bear’s saying that “future ain’t what it used to be”! Tony then outlined some of the amazing innovations that YVW is pursuing at present.
Thankyou Tony for addressing the IPWEAvic business luncheon on 20 April.
Thankyou to Phil Warner of City of Whitehorse for organistation of the excellent venue and service at the Whitehorse Centre.
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The South West Regional Group with meet in conjunction with IPWEAvic Geelong Regional Group and MWOA South West Regional Group on 4th May in Warrnambool. Speaker will be Minister for Roads and Transport – Terry Mulder.
Details and registration available here
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There is a General Meeting scheduled for the Municipal Works Officers Association & Institute of Public Works Engineering Australia Vic, South Western Branch on Friday 4 May 2012 in Warrnambool.
Download flyer and details here
The guest speaker at this event will be The Hon Terry Mulder MP – Minister for Public Transport and Minister for Roads.
Sorry about the short notice of this event, RSVP is required today to Mandy Van Den Nouwland on 0419 105 788.
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The first group of IPWEAvic Regional Forums on Effective Road Maintenance with Limited Budgets will be held at three centres in May.
Effective road maintenance is a significant issue for the state and local government industry. IPWEAvic has designed a series of Regional Forums around the issue to be held in three regional locations during early May 2012.
These forums provide an opportunity for you to :
- Gain some tips to maintaining roads on limited budgets
- Learn from case studies
- Share your experiences and solutions
- Influence the industry by helping IPWEAvic develop its policy position
- Track trends and future funding directions in the road industry
The three forums will be held at:
- Western Region: Thursday 3rd May at Robert Clarke Centre, Ballarat Botanical Gardens, Ballarat Download Flyer
- Northern Region: Tuesday 8th May at The Connection, Shepparton Download Flyer
- Eastern Region: Tuesday 15th May at West Gippsland Arts Centre, Civic Precinct, Warragul Download Flyer
The forums run from 9:30 till 12:30 with a light lunch provided courtesy of AustStab. The Regional Director of VicRoads will assist in setting the scene with respect to current challenges in road maintenance followed by a regional council technical director in the region. A short workshop will enable sharing of solutions and a local council will present a case study for your consideration. Speakers from AAPA, ARRB, AustStab will give some tips on road maintenance for you to take away.
Registration is required for each forum and details are provided in the flyers fund by clicking the relevant location above.
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The next Business Luncheon in the IPWEAvic Leadership Series will be held on Friday 20th April 12noon til 2:30pm at the Whitehorse Centre, Nunawading.
At this lunch, Tony is going to share some of his thoughts on the key challenges facing the public works professionals in the coming years in Victoria and provide some tips on how you can improve your leadership style in your organisation.
Cost is $65 for members and $80 for non members.
Download registration details and brochure here
Reserve your seat by calling Mandy on 0419105788
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Engineers Australia Fellows Luncheon is to be held on 24th April 12 – 2pm at Crown Palladium
Dr John Daley, CEO, Grattan Institute will be delivering the key note address which focuses on the impact of the changes to the Australian economy and to stay competitive internationally the need to focus on true innovation for infrastructure and infrastructure services. With the Prime Minister in Melbourne last week chairing the Manufacturing Task force – this is a critical topic.
Register through the Engineers Australia Website.
Download flyer here
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The Centre for Water Sensitive Cities has released the Stormwater Management in a Water Sensitive City: Blue Print 2012. The purpose of this blueprint is to foster discussion and innovation in harnessing the potential of
stormwater to overcome water shortages, reduce urban temperatures, and improve waterway health and the landscape of Australian Cities. The bluprint can be accessed from the Cetnre for Water Sensistive Cities website http://www.watersensitivecities.org.au/resources/publications/blueprint2012/
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Powercor will be briefing the Engineers Australia South West Regional Group and the IPEWA South West group, at a social and networking evening at Rowan’s Lane Winery, Warrnambool. Powercor will be providing an overview of the following topics and their relevance to the South West.
– Smart meters and grid management. – Grid reliability and future demand strategies.
- Power supply issues relating to connection of generators.
- Bushfire risk mitigation.
Rowan’s Lane Winery is located at Farnham Road, Dennington. During the course of the evening Rowans Lane will provide tastings and information about their history. A two course meal and nibbles will be provided. With some major users in the south west and new generating facilities coming on line this is sure to be an informative evening with plenty of debate about growth in the South West.
Where: Rowans Lane Winery 40 Farnham Road Dennington Vic 3280
Date: Fri 27th April 2012
Time: 6:00pm –10.00pm
RSVP: Fri 20th April 2012 to Peter Robertson.
Cost: Drinks at Own Cost
IE Aust Members – Meal Provided
Non Members – At Meal Cost $50
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Engineers Australia have organised a dinner event on Thursday 19th April 6:15 till 8:30 pm at Century Inn 5 Airfield Road, Traralgon. The Guest Speaker will be Graeme Offer.
After an extensive career at both a technical and senior management level in the Power Generation industry, Graeme made a switch to Local Government, where he was involved in the rapidly emerging Asset Management field at a high-growth Queensland regional city.
Graeme will share some observations on the different approaches to Asset Management in the two industries, and will share some of his experiences in implementing Asset Management in a local government environment.
Your registration includes a two course meal at the Century Inn.
More details and registration can be found at http://www.engineersaustralia.org.au/events/asset-management-power-generation-industry-and-local-government
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Did you attend the 2012 IPWEAvic Public Works Conference on 28 and 29 March 2012?
If you, have you particiapted in the post conference survey?
If, not, please take 5 minutes to give the IPWEAvic Events Committee some feedback about the event to assist us in planning future such events.
Access the post conference survey by clicking here
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