Daily Archives: February 23, 2010

Purchasing Magazine should hire Geraint John as Editor-in-Chief

Rather than rant about yet another article from Purchasing.com that had me foaming at the mouth, I thought that, for a change, I’d offer Purchasing some constructive feedback and free advice. Hire Geraint John as Editor-in-Chief. For the past few years, I had tremendous respect for two supply management publications that consistently delivered high quality supply management content month-in and month-out. One is the Supply Chain Management Review, which has Robert Rudzki as one of its lead bloggers. The other is CPO Agenda, at which Geraint was Editor-in-Chief until May 2009.

To be honest, I used to think that Purchasing was a good magazine. But then again, 5 years ago, Doug Smock, who co-wrote the book (Straight to the Bottom Line), used to be the Editor-in-Chief. And ever since he left, as far as I’m concerned, it’s been a slow and steady decline for Purchasing Magazine. We’ve gone from creme brulee telling us “What Supply Chain Management Is” and that we need to “Think Like a CPO” to gruel that tells us that “spend analysis is good, but expensive” and that “it is good to be a tweeting Twit”. Sure you can live on gruel, but after eating creme brulee, do you really want to?

That’s why I’m recommending Geraint John for Editor in Chief. He did great work at CPO Agenda, has what it takes to return Purchasing to the glory days they experienced back when Doug Smock was in charge, and, to the best of my knowledge, isn’t attached to any publications. If Purchasing really wants to reach Purchasing 3.0, they’re going to need someone like him running the show. They might have good editors, but, as we’ve seen, good editors only make a great publication under great leadership. Time to bring some back. (Otherwise, I would bet that Purchasing can continue to kiss its web-traffic goodbye, as I predict that such traffic will continue to migrate to blogs like Metal Miner, Transformation Leadership, Supply Chain Matters, and Sourcing Innovation as long as Purchasing maintains the status quo.)

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Disclaimer: The opinions expressed in this post are solely the opinions of the doctor. Furthermore, Geraint John had no prior knowledge of this post or the doctor‘s opinions.

Three Answers Every Supply Chain Executive Should Give Themselves This Year

A recent post over on the Harvard Business Review Blogs pointed out “Three Questions Executives Should Ask for the New Year” based upon eight characteristics of top performers and four characteristics of under-achievers identified by Melissa Raffoni of Raffoni Ceo Consulting and author of “Managing Time” in the HBR Pocket Mentor Series.

According to Raffoni, who identified the following eight characteristics of top performers:

  • they set clear measurable goals
  • they seek feedback
  • they communicate thoughtfully
  • they act thoughtfully
  • they are decisive
  • they have integrity
  • they have ego-less confidence
  • they study to make themselves smarter

and the following four characteristics of underachievers:

  • they don’t set goals with leverage in mind
  • they don’t get enough out of the people around them
  • they don’t listen well
  • they lack the energy and boldness to try new things

executives should ask themselves the following three questions before setting their goals for 2010:

  • If there was only one thing I could do to improve my business, what would it be and how would I make it happen?
  • If there was only one thing I could focus on to improve my personal performance, what would that be and how would I make it happen?
  • What messages am I not listening to or refusing to confront in my business and personal performance and how am I going to overcome that this year?

I agree. But even more importantly, I think supply chain executives (CPOs, CSCOs, etc.) should start with these three answers:

  • I’m going to improve my organization’s technology platform.
    Supply management is too complex, and the opportunity costs associated with continuing to use antiquated spreadsheet technology (which never fit in the first place), are too great not to have the right tools. I’m going to get the right platform for the job, make my people more productive, and watch the savings go Straight to the Bottom Line as efficiency soars and my people are able to strategically source more categories than they were able to in the past.
  • I’m going to get training.
    I’m going to learn what I’m missing, fill the holes in my vision, understand what my team needs to be the best they can be, and then get them the right training.
  • I’m going to say “uncertainty be damned”.
    “I’m not one of the lemmings“. “If my brethren want to jump off the cliff into the ocean, that’s their choice”. “I’m going to forge ahead and be successful, economy be damned”. “I’ll make the tough choices”. “And I’ll win”.

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