IPM 2006

My goodness it has been a long time since i have posted on my blog. Good news is that i have seriously reconsidered some of the priorities in my life and as such, have freed up a significant portion of my time. So here's to more blogging over the next little while, since it is something that i identified i need to be doing more of as a part of personal reflection.

What triggered this re-prioritisation? International President's Meeting 2006 of course. For those of you that dont know, IPM is a meeting of all the current and newly elected presidents of AIESEC's member countries. There, presidents recieve leadership and management training, participate in global strategy development and planning and elect the members of AIESEC International, the body responsible for the global management of AIESEC (94 countries atm and still growing).

Elections


AI elections, particularly PAI elections, are an intense affair. Imagine standing up in front of 200 people who represent 94 countries and telling them that YOU deserve to lead them, that YOU know how to make their countries great, that YOU are the best person in the entire world for this job! We'll that's what these three guys, Dey, Marty (Taco) and Peter did when they stood for PAI, and they all did a bloody awesome job. In the end, Dey was the winner by a sizable margain. He performed well and while he has my full support, it truly broke my heart to see someone that i know and love, that i have learnt from and aspired to, not get that which he wanted most. Marty, Taco, did Australia proud as he ran for PAI, but in the end it just wasnt enough to win over crowd. I am sure that he will go on to do great things in his life, and i know that i will stay in touch with him for many years to come.

Also elected were the directors and VPs who all seem like competant people, even if a few of the elected directors were a bit of a surprise. AI is nearly complete- all that remains now is the ER team and other support roles.

Leadership and management training
I can honestly say that i never expected any AIESEC conference (at this point in my AIESEC career) to seriously challenege my concepts surrounding leadership and management. After years of boring L&M sessions and a few leadership positions under my belt, i thought that experiential learning was going to be the only form of learning to pay worthwhile dividends- i have never been happier to admit that i was wrong. IPM challenged every notion i held close to me about what i means to be a leaders and how it is done well. Through a mixture of spiritual exploration, meeting truly amazing leaders, worshops, simulations and personal reflection, i gained a tremendous amount of clarity on the topic of leadership- things that will affect me not only this year as MCP but for the rest of my life. I really cant go into too much detail about it now, but rest assured i will be dealing with the topics many times this year through my blog.

Global strategy development and planning
Despite the cynical approach of many MCPs to the global planning processes of the past, a vast majority of them were very satisfied with the way the planning process worked this year, and i was one of them. Shantanu, strategy director this year on AI, is a simply amazing guy who has pulled of something great with the introduction of the new balanced scorecard and the global focus areas. It really feels as though this plan is achievable, and that i can see the role that each individual member of AIESEC Australia will play in contributing to this plan. Im excited...

General Thoughts....
Back to reality- it always hits hard, but i am feeling confident and centred to meet the challenges that lie ahead for me. I need to continue to evaluate how i am spending my time and develop a routine that will make the most out of this year- that will be my focus over the next few weeks, getting that routine and developing the disciplne to follow it. Times ahead are tough, but i am honestly looking forward to the challenge. I remember coming home on the plane yesterday and being at one point simply overwhelmed, emotionly overwhelemed at the opportunities that i have this year to develop myself and AIESEC Australia- i think that realisation was a turning point for me that has set me on a new road. I look forward to seeing where that road leads.

Ralph