Tell us about your current occupation/company:

I am a diversely experienced energy professional working on programs to manage customer side energy demand in one of the most demanding cities in the world. I have been with Con Edison for 5 years focusing on deregulation and new technology solutions. I came to the US when my previous firm transferred me from Sydney to New York in 2003 to run a national team of energy consultants. The plan was to stay in the US for 3 years but I met my American wife and now, quite sensibly, do what I am told!

What does your current role entail?

I am responsible for the development and management of all demand response programs offer by Con Edison. Con Edison delivers the electricity, natural gas and steam to New York City. Demand Response, sometimes called the Smart Grid in action, is considered the “new energy” and is where customers are incentivized to reduce electricity consumption at key times to respond to system emergency events or for economic reasons. In New York City this involves considerable focus on new techniques remotely controlling building management systems and residential air-conditioning.

Very exciting to be on the cutting edge of energy solutions in such an exciting city.

What was the defining moment in your career? And why?

Being offered and accepting the offer to move to the US. I love Sydney and was not looking to leave but it is only when you are scaring yourself a little that you know you are pushing your boundaries and enabling growth. Testing myself against top performers has made me push hard and has given me the confidence to know that I can face and meet considerable challenges.

Everyone has experienced failure in their career at some point – how did failure affect you and how did you deal with it?

The only people who have not experienced failure are those who have not tried anything. The irony is that not trying anything in life is the ultimate failure. I have been very fortunate to have had a personal life which has involved challenges (4th country and counting), a diverse sporting career involving finals in different sports and a professional career which has involved innovation and change. I have been very fortunate in all of these contexts by people who have supported me to succeed. Most of them have seen times when I have fallen flat on my face but I think people inherently like people who keep trying. (“It is not how many times you get knocked down that counts, but how many times you get up!”) That said you have to get a good win/lose rate as quickly as you can and you can only do this by learning from your failures and being honest with yourself. Remember, denial is a river in Egypt!

What is the biggest lesson you’ve learnt throughout your career?

There are so many lessons, and I am very happy about that. I will focus on a couple of people skills issues. I have learnt to complement my team not to try to compete with team members. When I take over a new team I look at the skills and see where I can add to the team. Competing with your own team members is redundant and is about ego, not outcomes.

Leadership is a visual art. You have to walk the talk and communicate honestly for better or worse. People know frauds, be authentic. Fortunately these are all good Kiwi traits.

What do you think is the key to success for high achievers in business?

Joy! Seriously you have to like what you are doing. Maybe terms like driven and determined may be preferred but you can only keep hard work going so long if you have no level of joy in what you are doing. You must enjoy and have an interest in the subject matter. Otherwise you will miss those great innovations that come when you are miles from your office and talking with someone who does something seemingly completely unrelated to your area.

The power of networking is more vital for New Zealand businesses as we are more isolated – do you agree and why?

I would argue with the word “more”. In business networking is vital for everyone. Every person, business, country has its own challenges and advantages. Lets say you are a New Zealand company competing with a business in Mexico for US business. Mexico is close and on the same time zone. Hmmm, the Kiwis speak English, have a great education base and the Americans actually like Kiwis – oh boo hoo, poor us.  We have a great many advantages in New Zealand but we don’t do a great job of promoting these advantages. How other nations perceive us is up to us. As a Canterbury boy I love the Southern Alps but I would also love to see us advertise our great schools and practical innovation. Many young Americans want to do a semester of school overseas. We have to use all channels possible to motivate them to put New Zealand on the list of destinations. Innovative companies go where the best minds are. If we effectively promote our educational centres, in a great learning environment, we might just find some of those companies popping up in New Zealand. Lets get on the front foot and play offense with the networking, not defence. We have a significant advantage as most of the folks we meet overseas are interested in New Zealand – lets start using this competitive advantage to talk about our great strengths.

As a small contribution to this end, we have recently established Kea – Energy, Automation, Innovation. Please visit our LinkedIn group page and be part of the network.

What business attributes do you think new Zealanders need to succeed on the World stage and why?

Preparation, preparation, preparation! You need to know the market and culture of the environment in which you are competing. You cannot just know how you value your product, you need to know how the product will make sense to your potential customer. By association, this means you have to put as much time into understanding the customers business as you do your own.

I also find it helps to visualize rucking a South African for a bit of motivation, but that may just be me!