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NEW! WORLD CONGRESS 2012 SESSION WRAP-UPS
Did you miss a keynote presentation or general session panel? Are you not at World Congress altogether? Check out our session wrap-ups. They are new this year and provide you with a takeaway from each of the general sessions! Check back as they will be added below each day.
Sunday, July 29, 2012
Following a warm welcome and introduction from NCMA President Elliott B. Branch, Fellow, and Board of Directors member Larry Trowel, World Congress 2012 began with a keynote address by Tom Ridge, former Governor of Pennsylvania and First Secretary of Homeland Security. He began by expressing appreciation for the professionalism and dedication of America’s contract managers. He then spoke about America’s brand, what that means in the global context, and what form it will take as America strives to influence the world in the 21st Century. His vision of America’s brand is explained in the seven-minute excerpt available for download from the link below. Ridge concluded his remarks with an assertion that isolation, either military or economic, is not the answer; America needs to be engaged with the rest of the world. Our security depends on it, global leadership is a key component of America’s brand, and our greatest challenges and opportunities lie ahead in a closely interconnected world.
TOM RIDGE KEYNOTE—America's Brand
Monday, July 30, 2012
Day two of World Congress 2012 began with a presentation by Dov Seidman, author of HOW: Why HOW We Do Anything Means Everything. He explored the topic of leadership, starting with the concepts of engaged leadership vs. inspired leadership, and the importance of behavior in differentiating between the two. The audio file you can download from the first link below focuses on resilience and growth behaviors, and the second file focuses on compliance, self-governing corporate culture, and a systematic approach to leadership behavior. His conclusion is that we are on a journey from WHAT to HOW, and that HOW is not just a question—it is also the answer.
DOV SEIDMAN KEYNOTE—HOW (1)
DOV SEIDMAN KEYNOTE—HOW (2)
Following Dov Seidman was a general session panel discussion titled Bringing Leadership to the Business of Public Procurement, which addressed leadership issues as they pertain to public procurement. The first audio file you can download below features Blaise J. Durante, Deputy Assistant Secretary for Acquisition Integration, Office of the Assistant Secretary of the Air Force for Acquisition, explaining the difference between management and leadership. The second file includes commentary by Steve Schooner, CPCM, Fellow, Co-Director of the Government Procurement Law Program, George Washington University, and Nick Nayak, PdD, Chief Procurement Officer, Department of Homeland Security, on the topic of value vs. LPTA contracting.
MONDAY PANEL DISCUSSION (1)
MONDAY PANEL DISCUSSION (2)
Tuesday, July 31, 2012
Elizabeth A. McGrath, Deputy Chief Management Officer at the Department of Defense, opened the third day of the conference with a keynote speech elucidating the need for strategic leadership for the process of creating a standardized DoD contracting system. In the audio file available from the first link below, she discusses the importance of strategy and visionary leadership in the process of organizational innovation. In the second file, she returns to her opening remarks about how the focus of World Congress—efficiency, transparency, and accountability—reflects the necessary focus of federal government agencies in tough times.
ELIZABETH MCGRATH KEYNOTE (1)
ELIZABETH MCGRATH KEYNOTE (2)
The general session panel that followed today’s keynote focused on how current acquisition practices and policies align with the need for austerity. The first audio file below includes a discussion of the necessity of principled, courageous, and visionary leadership in questioning and changing processes that may have worked in good times, but not in times of austerity. The second file follows a discussion about the role of NCMA in finding new ways to mentor and develop new leaders to carry the profession forward.
TUESDAY PANEL DISCUSSION (1)
TUESDAY PANEL DISCUSSION (2)
Wednesday, August 1, 2012
The final day of World Congress 2012 began with a presentation by Robert Fogarty, founder of Dear World, a photographic experiment whose subjects tell their stories a few words at a time. Fogarty spent two afternoons in the NCMA exhibit hall inviting our members to participate; the results were sometimes humorous, sometimes moving, and always meaningful. In the audio clip below, Robert Fogarty talks about his vision for the project.
ROBERT FOGARTY KEYNOTE (1)
Following Fogarty was Les Brown, an author and speaker whose message is that everyone has a story, and every story has power. It is impossible to summarize his big ideas in one paragraph, but here are some highlights to give you a taste:
- If you do what is easy, your life will be hard; if you do what is hard, your life will be easy;
- At any time, we can create a new reality for ourselves;
- People do business with people they know, like, and trust; and
- Sometimes you have to believe in someone’s belief in you until your belief kicks in.
LES BROWN KEYNOTE (1)
The last event of the day was a senior-level panel discussion on the topic of leading the profession forward on a path to success and excellence. Each panelist described in detail what success and excellence means in his or her organization, and talked about their strategies for achieving their goals. In the two audio files that follow, Shay Assad asserts that the “good old days” are happening right now, how opportunities in the field of contract management have never been greater, and he describes his vision of risk vs. the kind of empowered, thoughtful decision making that should be the hallmark of government procurement programs.
WEDNESDAY PANEL DISCUSSION (1)
WEDNESDAY PANEL DISCUSSION (2)
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