– By Marc Sibbald –
After the lead up to one of the most heavily promoted conferences in memory I was still pouring over the conference schedule on the opening morning to plan my day. There were so many topics being covered in two days. I wasn’t sure how I was going to get to all of them and still have time to visit suppliers in the exhibition space.
But as the day rolled on I realised the best part was seeing friends and former colleagues. The topics covered in the conference sessions were important, and relevant, but the networking was the best part.
Having a conversation with people you haven’t seen for 12 months can generate some exciting situations. A new job; a sales lead; or a prediction for the AFL Grand Final.
By the conference date last year North Melbourne had won eight straight and were on their way to a top four finish. I found a group of supporters discussing how it was their year so I got a lesson on the history of their football club which was fantastic (and it helped me negotiate a deal later in the year with a Roos tragic). BTW, the Western Bulldogs took the title.
This year I learnt about the work on fleet education being done by Swinburne University, and caught up two people I had dealt with more than 10 years ago but hadn’t spoken to since. It was great to talk about the projects we had worked on together that were still going strong.
The fleet industry is like any other; a close nit group of peers that move across different organisations but remain within the circle. People do come and go as the years pass but there’s a core group of experienced professionals that drive innovation and excellence. Some are more visible than others, like the sales people, though there are MDs and CEOs in the crowd as well who’ll keep the profession steady through the good and bad years.
And that’s why I love the AfMA conference!
