We had nine inches of snow in Chicago this week. What do you do when you are buried under a pile of snow? What else – get ready for Spring! Get organized and be ready to hit the ground running by March 20th, by identifying all that “stuff”…
Spring is still a month away, but looking ahead seems to make the winter go so much faster. January or February is the perfect time for companies to make improvements that will have a major impact on the current fiscal year. Instead of adding new staff, buying new technology or introducing a new business process, I would recommend “shopping your closet”. This is the third post in a series where I discussed the dilemma many companies face – they have a “closet” full of stuff (capable people, processes, tools, technology, etc.) but never seem to have anything to “wear”. A few weeks ago I suggested that there is a process to “Shop your Closet” which is methodical and time tested.
I was recently invited to speak to the Board of FSMA on an issue that has them totally perplexed. FSMA is an organization of large food manufacturers and their agents which has been experiencing the following: longer sales cycles, lower margins, demand for additional services, challenges to prove their value add, etc., etc. And lo and behold – they thought they had found what was causing them all this angst – it was this new thing called Category Management (CM). For those of you not familiar with the retail sector, this is an integrated process to manage the entire lifecycle of a category of consumer goods. What it is not, is the category management (cm) process that people in sourcing and supply chain use. And this is where the confusion and tension arises.
I recently read a Forbes’ article, “America’s Most Disliked Athletes”, after reading this I came away disillusioned with people we put on pedestals. I am one of those “baby boomers” who continues to shake his head upon hearing of so many “admired” sports heroes who have fallen from grace. Just in the last few years we have been stunned to hear about baseball players using illegal drugs…..Tour de France winner, Lance Armstrong. Lance is likely the poster child for our societies fall from basic principles I grew up with, Honesty, Trust, Accountability and Respect.
Yes, January is almost over! There is no better feeling than a fresh start, whether it is starting a new semester, a new job, moving into a new home OR looking at your business through a new lens, it is all good! This is a follow up post from early December where I discussed the dilemma many companies face – they have a “closet” full of stuff (capable people, processes, tools, technology, etc.) but never seem to have anything to “wear”. A few weeks ago I suggested that there is a process to “Shop your Closet” which is methodical and time tested.
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