The Good Oil * by Rod Brown
The tears and retribution continue among the Coalition. The truth of the matter is that the Australian electorate got it right. People sensed the arrogance creeping in. And the Australian electorate does not like this. In my view, there were two critical factors.
- ideology overtook common sense. Industrial relations was a classic example. And Howard was relying on Abbott and Downer as sounding boards! Other ideologues such as Jackie Kelly’s supporters put the icing on the cake.
- the Budget surplus strategy backfired spectacularly. You could sense the long buildup of a war chest for this election. But it came too late.
Looking forward, Rudd must engage with the Australian Public Service to address some of the big national issues. It has become very sclerotic in recent years.
I also sense a real buzz at the State Government level due to the collaborative Federal–State possibilities. Local Government must catch the same wave.
Australia’s new industry policy
Major changes are afoot in the industry policy field. Senator Kim Carr is the new Minister, and his pre-election manifesto emphasised the four per cent decline under the Howard Government of public investment in education, when the average OECD investment increased by 49 per cent, as well as our poor broadband performance. His statement actually contained quite a bit to interest for local Councils and others at the regional level.
For example:
- seed funding to support region specific strategies, such as business clusters and networks (food, renewable energy or engineering perhaps?)
- creative Industries Innovation Centre ($17 million) – drawing together a critical mass of arts practitioners, cultural entrepreneurs and researchers. (Adelaide or Melbourne might be well positioned?)
- Remote Enterprise Centre ($10 million) – to help SMEs in remote areas (surely a collaborative
network of remote towns). - Innovative Regions Centre ($20 million) – for hands on support for SMEs (Geelong has been ticked).
- Trades Training Centres ($2.5 billion investment over 10 years) – for each of Australia’s secondary schools (virtually everywhere).
- $4.7 billion for a National Broadband Network.
Strategic networking is the key, says INSEAD
Managers today juggle more responsibilities than ever, and for many of them networking becomes an afterthought.
Herminia Ibarra, Professor of Organisational Behaviour at INSEAD (north of Paris) says that is a potentially fatal career mistake.
“What you know is who you know,” she said, and warns that managers who neglect to build their networks risk failing or remaining stuck in middle management. Other things being equal, what is going to give you an edge? It’s the relationships that you have that allow you to augment what you know and allow you to take the ‘what you know’ and to translate it into practice, into something the organisation can use. It makes all the difference.”
There are three types of networks that are important:
- operational networking – cultivating the relationships with people you need to accomplish your job. Some managers don’t reach out widely enough
to build the relationships they need. - personal networking – an afterthought for many busy managers. These networks allow you to meet a diverse group of like minded professionals.
- strategic networking – most essential if managers want to become business leaders. Contact with peers and senior executives is vital.
To see Ibarra’s article called ‘How Leaders Create and Use Networks’, go to www.hbr.org
Queensland’s 12 investment hubs
Last month I sketched some ideas on how Queensland’s regions might position themselves as ten or so investment hubs. We received some excellent feedback, including the following:
Gavin Finch, Mayor of Rockhampton City Council, writes:
“Having just read your FOCUS column, I am quite surprised to not see one of Queensland’s fastest growing centres mentioned in your overview. Tourism is one of the biggest economic drivers with the Capricorn Coast and associated tourist destinations; Rockhampton International Airport has some 600,000 people movements per year; land and industrial development has huge growth and Rockhampton has been named one of the top ten growth areas in Australia; Stanwell Power Station supplies to some 30 per cent of Queensland; the largest military training base in Australia; two of the biggest meat producers in Australia. This is just a short summary!”
Glen Graham, City Development Officer, Mount Isa City Council, writes:
“Congratulations on keeping up the ‘Good Oil’. I wish to comment on your recent article regarding the focus you intend to do on Queensland hot spots for investment.
I was disappointed that you overlooked Mount Isa as a stand alone hub. You really should come out and see what is happening here and the investment opportunities…the city is bursting at the seams. Exploration geologists are everywhere and the Northern Economic Triangle Strategy identifies priority infrastructure requirements and plans to concentrate on these over the next five years for the Mount Isa region to realise its potential.”
Postscript: OK, OK! How could anyone disagree with such good arguments and passion? And we have held our assessment of NSW investment hubs over until next month.
*Rod Brown is a Canberra-based consultant specialising in industry/regional development, investment attraction, clusters and accessing Federal grants. He can be contacted at apd@orac.net.au or phone (02) 6231 7261.
