A couple of weeks ago, on Canada Day, while LOLCat was proactively learning the pledge of allegiance (which LOLCat will need if Canadians re-elect Harper), Mr. Smith asked what were The Ten Commandments of Procurement that you adhered to that were absolutely, unarguably, true under all conditions.

To get your creative juices flowing, last week, Sourcing Innovation gave you Ten Commandments of Procurement, Christian Style. However, since the statistics say only 30% of you are Christian, SI is going to tackle a few other styles as well because everyone deserves equal opportunity. Today, we’re going to jump to the fifth most followed religion on the planet and give you five commandments, err, precepts, of Procurement, Buddhist Style.

5. I will abstain from being socially irresponsible.

Not only do I respect all people, but I respect the right of all living things to live and I will do my best to make sure that I do not endanger their lives in any way. Not only do I respect my coworkers and their rights and treat them fairly, but I will ensure all suppliers in my supply chain treat their workers the way I treat my coworkers. And I will make extra effort to ensure safe working conditions. I will also focus on minimizing harm to the environment, using renewable materials whenever possible, and doing my best to insure that those renewable materials are protected.

4. I will abstain from being driven by greed.

I realize that a business exists to make money and that my job is to find savings wherever possible, but I will not pursue savings at the expense of harm to my supplier, customers, or partners. Everyone deserves a fair profit. Suppliers should not be at risk of financial insolvency or have to borrow from the local mafia, putting themselves at risk of not only financial, but physical, harm to make payroll. I realize that there are other ways to extract value from the supply chain, such as joint innovation, bundled services, etc. and will pursue these instead of pursuing savings that are not sustainable.

3. I will abstain from collusion or back-room negotiations.

I will not collude with my competitors and form cartels with the intent of keeping prices down in my supply chain, nor will I mislead the supply base by holding an (e-)Auction when the intent is to simply collect market intelligence to renegotiate with the incumbent supplier regardless of the outcome of the auction. I will be open and transparent in my dealings with suppliers and partners at all time.

2. I will abstain from speaking falsely about any supplier or customer.

Even if a supplier performed poorly and cost the organization hard dollars, I will not overstate the poor performance, and be fair and factual in my discussions. Similarly, even if a supplier performs well and saves the organization more dollars than expected, I will not overstate the performance. And I will definitely not talk ill of a good performing supplier or good of a poor performing supplier. Integrity is integral to good procurement and I will aspire to be the best person I can be.

1. I will abstain from ego and vanity and be objective at all times.

While I know more about Procurement than my peers, because that’s my job and expertise, I respect that my peers know more about Marketing, Design, Sales, Risk Management, Compliance, etc. because that is their job and expertise. I will work with them and take into account all of their input when designing and executing an event, using the best ideas and data presented to me. In a true cross-cultural collaboration, the whole is greater than the part and the wisdom of the many will exceed the wisdom of the few, or one.