Category Archives: Miscellaneous

Running a Successful Meeting

As a supply chain professional, you’re probably in lots of meetings. Lots and lots of meetings. In fact, you’re probably in meetings all day multiple days a week. And many of these meetings are most likely a complete and utter waste of time. Why? Because, unfortunately, many people don’t know how to plan and execute a good meeting. That’s why I was glad to see this recent article in the McKinsey Quarterly on “Taking the Bias Out of Meetings” that had some great tips for planning and running an effective meeting. (It purported to help you take the bias out of meetings, but considering that the bias usually comes from the participants, that’s easier to say then do when you can’t just exclude the biased participants and usually have to deal with them one-on-one to get them to see past their biases. Nevertheless, from a meeting perspective, the tips were very good.)

The articled proffered the following five tips:

  1. Make Sure the Right People are InvolvedEveryone who has to be there must be there and anyone who does not need to be there shouldn’t be. This is even more important than ensuring a diversity of backgrounds, roles, risk aversion profiles, and interests. Failing to recognize this simple fact will either waste someone’s time (if someone is there who shouldn’t be) or waste everyone’s time (as you won’t be able to go forward if the key decision makers aren’t present).
  2. Assign HomeworkEveryone should come to the meeting prepared. Everyone should already have read the background materials and come prepared with the input they are expected to provide. Otherwise, everyone’s time is wasted.
  3. Create the Right AtmosphereEveryone should be encouraged to participate and asked to speak up by the moderator. Remember, everyone is there because they have something to offer. If they keep it to themselves, you are, again, wasting everyone’s time. (Plus, they might have the key piece of insight that can help you get past damaging biases.)
  4. Manage the DebateMake sure that everyone stays on topic, that the discussion does not disintegrate to juvenile heated arguments between two key proponents who have already made all of their valid points, and that consensus / majority decisions are made in a timely manner.
  5. Follow-UpThe end result of a successful meeting should be an action plan with action items for each attendee. Follow up to make sure the attendees are executing on their action items in a timely manner.

I’d also offer up the following tips:

  1. Run the meeting against a complete agenda with a timeline.This valuable tool helps you avoid tangential (and inconsequential) discussions and keeps the meeting focusses, as one of the keys to the success of any effort is a deadline. (Just ask Richard St. John.)
  2. Don’t go in with an end-decision in mind.Otherwise, you’re putting bias into the meeting that could prevent you, and others, with stumbling upon a much better decision through collaboration.

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An 11-Gun Salute for Brig. Gen. H. R. McMaster

I was thoroughly impressed when I saw this recent article in the New York Times on how we have met the enemy and he is PowerPoint which contained a quote from Gen. James N. Mattis that said that PowerPoint makes us stupid.The article pointed out that Brigadier General H. R. McMaster, who led the successful effort to secure the northern Iraqi city of Tal Afar in 2005, banned PowerPoint presentations in his campaign and, in a follow-up military conference in North Carolina, likened PowerPoint to an internal threat.

According to General McMaster, it’s dangerous because it can create the illusion of understanding and the illusion of control. Some problems in the world are not bullet-izable. According to General McMaster, PowerPoint’s worst offense is not the spaghetti graphics which are becoming increasingly common (like this graphic that tops the article), but rigid lists of bullet points that take no account of interconnected political, economic, and ethnic forces. If you divorce war from all of that, it becomes a targeting exercise. The program stifles discussion, critical thinking, and thoughtful decision making … and it ties up the junior officers — referred to as the PowerPoint Rangers — in the daily preparation of slides. Think of all the time that is wasted in slide production instead of on data gathering and analysis! It’s scary!

When we’re talking about PowerPoint, the only time it comes in handy is when the goal is not imparting information. In other words, the only time PowerPoint is useful is if you want to hide something … because there’s no possible way to disclose any information with the tool. (And that’s why the doctor has strict rules when it comes to PowerPoint. He has no interest in going dumb before his time.)

Thus, in my view, H.R. McMaster deserves an 11-gun salute* for leading the battle against what, in my view, is the biggest enemy the US Military has: PowerPoint. I hope it wins the battle before it costs them a war.

* The tradition in the United States is to give the President a 21-gun salute, a deputy head of state and five star general (of the army, airforce, or navy [fleet admiral]) a 19-gun salute, a four star general a 17-gun salute, a three star lieutenant general a 15-gun salute, a two star major general a 13-gun salute, and a one star brigadier general an 11-gun salute.

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Unnecessarily Overworked? Take the Worth-Your-Time Test and Find Out!

Do you have to get to the office early and stay late every day to get anything done? Do you work 60-80 hour weeks but yet feel like you accomplished nothing? Does work seem like a black hole?

Chances are you’re spending too much time in meetings, in your inbox, and, most importantly, in PowerPoint and Excel … and getting nothing for it. Collaboration is good … when you’re collaborating. But e-mail, spreadsheets, PowerPoints, and meetings where all you do is sit around while someone else takes 50 minutes to present a 50 slide PowerPoint deck that you could read in 5 minutes is not collaboration.

If you’re working 60+ hour weeks but, as far as you’re concerned, getting nothing done, chances are you’re wasting too much time on tasks that are not worth your time, and more importantly, not worth your company’s time. Before you do any task, take Peter Bregman’s Worth-Your-Time test, which consists of three simple questions:

  1. Am I the right person?
  2. Is this the right time?
  3. Do I have enough information?

If you answer “no” to any of these questions, move on to the next “priority” task. While this won’t get rid of all the time wasting activities that fill your day, it will get rid of a significant number, and it’s a great first step to getting your work life back in order.

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A Quick Guide to Crisis Management

A recent article in the CPO Agenda on what to do “when the CPO gets a request for quote” had a great guide on what you should to do when responding to a crisis that is worth a quick review. The five simple steps it put forth can mean the difference between a minor disruption and a major crisis. Simply put, these steps are:

  1. Consult the PlansSpecifically, consult the internal response plan and the external communications plan. Then contact the communications team, who should be clearly listed in the communications plan, to update them on the situation, even if their services might not be required (which will be the case if you can catch and fix an issue before the product reaches the customer).
  2. Arm Yourself with the Relevant FactsWhat really happened? When? Where? Why? and How? (Who is irrelevant as you will have to take full responsibility.) Investigate until you have the answers, don’t make any statements based on guesses or unconfirmed information, and don’t be emotional when you make your report.
  3. Don’t Comment Publicly Without Being Briefed FirstIf the products have reached the customer, or if the media has gotten wind of an internal issue and makes an inquiry, don’t respond without first reviewing the communications policy and contacting the communications team, and, if there are any legal implications, the legal team too. Even if you are the most qualified person to respond and have all the information, if you phrase something in a manner that could be misinterpreted, you could put your company in jeopardy.
  4. Assess the Situation for What it Really IsSometimes it will just be a boy crying wolf in your organization when all it is a utonagan. Furthermore, as Rod Clayton of Weber Shandwick notes, you could be in danger of attaching more significance to a situation or comment and making it worse if you can’t apply good judgment on whether it poses a substantial risk or threat.
  5. Takes Steps to Address the IssueWhen something does go wrong, the company needs to take strong, decisive and corrective action, the details of which will of course depend on what the problem is. And if the product has reached the consumer, the action needs to be quickly and clearly communicated to the stakeholders, media, and public. In doing so, the company will need to show leadership in facing up to a challenge and working to solve it. After all, the public will often forgive a company if they feel it has acted well in trying to address the issue.

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