In a previous post I talked about how you can’t drive forward by always looking into the rear view mirror. However, I also want to stress that there are times that you need to look back and celebrate how far you’ve come, or question what is not working. In this Forbes post, Steve Denning reminds us why it is […]
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You Can’t Drive Your Car with Your Rear View Mirror
While safe driving tips usually say you should check your mirrors frequently, there’s a good reason why the rear-view mirror covers only three percent of the size of your windshield: if it is too large it’s a distraction that obscures the view ahead. If this is such good advice why do so many companies spend […]
Never Too Late to Learn!
I came across an interesting post from Lance Stewart, supply chain manager for Genera Energy. Lance wrote, “I firmly believe that staying current in any profession requires constant education so I have been attending several of the University of Tennessee’s Global Supply Chain Management courses to keep on the forefront of our global economy’s rapidly evolving supply chain.” He shared […]
A Lesson in Maintaining Supply in the Wake of a Key Supplier Scandal
OSI Group LLC, a leading supplier of beef to fast food giants McDonald’s, KFC, and Starbucks – fell under scandal when production at a Shanghai Husi plant was suspended by Chinese officials in July after workers were caught repackaging and selling chicken and beef past their ‘sell-by’ date. No health issues were reported due to […]
Agreements Need Champions
Paul V. Weinstein’s recent post on the HBR Blog Network underscores the importance of having a deal “champion” to guide companies to a successful and lasting result. He invokes Greek mythology as an example: Charon, the ferryman who guides souls across the river Styx to the Underworld. Those who do not use his services are forced […]
High-level collaboration and micromanagement don’t mix
Ever wonder why your collaboration effort has stalled out? Or why your supplier is lacking innovation? I’d hypothesize it might be micromanagement. In fact, micromanagement lurks at the heart of several of the most common ailments that plague or destroy business relationships, including the Outsourcing Paradox, the Activity Trap, Measurement Minutiae, and the Junkyard Dog Factor. Jessica Marie’s article on LinkedIn’s […]
The Vested Way eBook and the Power of WIIFWe
We’ve re-released The Vested Way eBook this week while making it easy—and free—to download it in various formats so you can read it however and wherever you like. The Vested Way explores how and why the “What’s in it for We” mindset is revolutionizing business relationships through anecdotes and real life success stories. You’ll learn why the Vested mindset is […]
Taking Care with OPM
It sounds like a great situation—playing with other people’s money (OPM). In gambling parlance it’s called playing with house money. However attractive that OPM sounds, it can be very risky business, even when most of the risk is shifted to the person or company with the deep pockets. There are several factors about OPM that […]
Go for the Cooperative Advantage
In previous posts (here and here) I’ve delved into Steven Johnson’s insights on innovation in his book, Where Good Ideas Come From: The Natural History of Innovation. I’m again returning to Johnson’s outstanding book, briefly, because I was struck by an idea—“cooperative advantage”—that he addresses in his chapter on creating online platforms, specifically APIs, or application programming interfaces. […]
Outsource Planning 3Es: Experience, Essentials and Empathy
In my previous post I talked about maturity in outsource planning and wanted to follow up with a little more color from research by CORE, Deloitte and Ryerson University’s Ted Rogers School of Management on their survey report, “The 3 Es of Effective Outsourcing Governance.” The 3Es are experience, essentials and empathy. Parties involved in […]
