Page 52 Thursday, 11 May, 2017
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Casey Cardinia Business Breakfast function special guest speaker, Graeme Joy asked business leaders if they knew where their North Pole was?
Special guest speaker Graeme Joy delighted the Casey Cardinia Business Breakfast with his parallels between the success in expeditions and success in business. Picture: ROB CAREW
Casey and Cardinia business leaders gathered to share business ideas and listen to guest speaker Graeme Joy.
Casey Cardinia Business Awards
By Rebecca Skilton
Final call for applications! Applications for the Casey Cardinia Business Awards closing 31 May 2017 Category Awards • Agriculture and Food • Business and Professional Services • Health, Education and Wellbeing • Home-based Business • Hospitality • Manufacturer • New Business
• • • • • •
Retailer Social Enterprise Trades and Construction Tourism Environmental Sustainability People’s Choice Award
Judges Award •
Casey Cardinia Business of the Year
The City of Casey and Cardinia Shire Council are pleased to present the 2016 Casey Cardinia Business Awards and appreciate the support of the following sponsors:
For more information visit www.caseycardinia.com.au/businessawards
North Pole of success
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Applications close 31 May 2017. 12351833-KC19-17
Whether you're on the ice or in the office, it's the construction of your team that will get you home. That's what the first Australian to ski to the North Pole told a Casey Cardinia Business Breakfast function on Wednesday 10 May. Graeme Joy drew remarkable parallels between success in frozen expeditions and success in business. Described by Saxton Speakers Bureau as ‘one of the most focused, effective and highly ranked motivational speakers in Australasia’, Graeme drew from his experience as a joint leader and navigator of his international North Pole expedition, as well as a number of other treks to Tanzania’s Mount Kilimanjaro, Alaska’s Mount Denali and his Kayaking trip in Greenland. Speaking of team, leadership and independent participation, Graeme’s outdoor expeditions cast a strikingly similar reflection of the interior workings of a professional working environment, the similarities beginning from the conception of the expedition’s vision. “We wanted arrive at the North Pole on the first attempt with all our team members something that 95 per cent of groups fail to do,” Graeme explained. “We had to be willing to push our goals and beware of idea assassins. They make expeditions fail; we had to take
them on without losing our vision.” In order to achieve that vision, the expedition team required a recruitment process, setting a list of criteria, skills and experience they were looking for within a candidate. As a form of outsourcing, Graeme and his team spoke to expedition clubs and asked for their best applicants. Much like the business world, Graeme admitted the task was both intense and tactical. “We needed to know how they were going to fit into our team’s culture,” Graeme explained. “It was brutal and strategic.” Brutal yet essential, Graeme identified that the right people were “the fabric of making a team operate well.” Using examples of past team members, Graeme highlighted the need for an analytical type of person who dealt with facts and logic, the driver of the group who took charge and led, the amiable individual who coached, counselled and supported team members, as well as the expressive type who provided excitement and involvement. “If you have the same type of people, you will burn out,” Graeme said. “Getting the right people for your culture and team is the key to success.” With a wealth of the region’s business leaders in his audience, Graeme emphasised that a team required a frontrunner who was ambitious, a good listener, consistent and was both
familiar with and trusted their fellow team-mates. Also tapping into the leaders of the group, Graeme reminded the audience that whether in the middle of the arctic or the office, the need for training was vital. Dealing with frostbite, lifethreatening polar bears, intense terrain and severe injuries, Graeme stressed that preparation along with each member’s individual expertise and knowledge aided the completion of the expedition. “You have to trust your good people and empower them to do their best,” Graeme said. “(Because when something goes wrong you) need to know you can survive and keep travelling forward ... If you haven’t put (unforeseen circumstances) into your equation you are going to fail.” Graeme and his expedition team were in the five per cent of groups that make it to the North Pole on the first attempt with all their team members. While they had collected injuries and faced a number of challenging circumstances, each team member worked and made it there together, something that, whether you’re on the ice or in the office, is a determining factor in acquiring success. “Ask your people; where is our North Pole? Do they know where you’re headed?” Graeme asked. “(Because) it’s what you set up in the culture of your team that will matter.”