27 July 2006

CEO Reflects on AIM's 65th Anniversary

Sixty-five years is a long time on which to reflect. In fact there are relatively few organisations in Australia that have such a long term history from which to draw and gain perspective.

All those years ago, Australia’s leaders in business, government and commerce saw the need to create an “organisation of managers” that was a catalyst for ensuring relevancy, peer-to-peer networking, succession planning and skills transfer.

Interestingly in 2006, while the rules of engagement have changed, the central focus has not.

There is no doubt that AIM Qld & NT’s role within the network is that of innovator. By ensuring the business is nimble, flexible and strategically agile, 17 per cent annual growth has been delivered in this decade alone. Our membership is the strongest per capita in Australia and our commitment to regional Queensland and the Northern Territory is evidenced through a vibrant network of active Committees, peopled by business and government leaders in their respected regional centres.

In terms of AIM’s traditional heart land, we still continue to dominate in professional development courses in customer service, project management, human resources and general management. In fact a learner can enter at certificate level and exit at graduate level.

Learning and education through coaching is a more recent initiative and through that strategic focus this Division has built a significant executive coaching and mentoring business. In doing so we have developed the well respected AIM Coaching Model.

It’s a tall order living up to being “the voice of management”…there is a responsibility to reflect managers’ views and needs in a manner that enables them to grow as individuals and enhance their organisation’s capability.

Through a strong strategic focus, good management and governance and through the respect and support of its personal, corporate members and the wider management community, the Institute has pushed the agenda on the relationship between good strategic leadership, economic viability and bottom line performance.

We have often “discussed the undicussable” and introduced dialogue into the management community about trends and issues that are emerging in real time. At the moment the emphasis is on integrity, humanity and positive relationships in the workplace.

Since 2000, AIM Qld & NT has built a publishing business in the management, leadership, innovation and strategy space. As a result, a series of bestselling business books and web based communication forums have been introduced to the market.

The Institute’s subsidiary, TheCyberInstitute Pty Ltd, has earned its place in the rapidly growing online learning environment as a savvy provider of cutting edge content.

We live by the mantra that through contemporary learning, AIM exists to enhance an individual’s career. That’s why AIM a ctively positions itself as the “voice of management” and is not hesitant in finding ways to influence the leadership agenda.

Carolyn Barker AM FAIM
Chief Executive Officer
AIM - Qld & NT