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Master Procurement with Kindness

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There I was, sitting in my manager’s office, having recently been promoted to a Purchasing Manager position being told, If you want to be successful in Procurement, you will need to be less nice and more aggressive. Dumbfounded, I couldn’t help but think his statement was absurd. My view on business has always been about building…


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Advice for Emerging Professionals in Supply Chain/Procurement Function

Do you love going to work every day?….ok well how about most days? First off, if you aren’t happy at what you’re doing, you need to re-think your approach, whether it be a new project, or role within your current company, a completely new opportunity, career change, additional schooling, the options go on and on,…


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Three Simple Steps to Creating a Culture of Recognition

When it comes to retaining top talent, best-in-class companies are realizing the need for employee recognition. One of the most effective ways of reducing turnover and increasing engagement is simply recognizing employees and their contributions. Bersin by Deloitte research indicates that effective recognition lowers turnover rates by 31%. Additionally, recognition is considered an employee engagement…


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Formula for Successful Leadership in Procurement

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I would like to share the leadership philosophies that I believe to be most effective in leading a strategic function such as Procurement: Build a winning team Set clear strategic direction Empower team to deliver outstanding results Identify, mentor, grow and develop top talent Establish results orientated, meritocratic culture Implementing these formulas seems simple; however,…


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Ignore Your Performance Evaluation

One of the more ubiquitous rituals in Corporate America is the performance review process. Having gone through this at several companies, I’d like to share my varying experiences at places like RR Donnelley, Navistar International Truck & Engine, Ariba (FreeMarkets) and others. I’ll refer to the places I’ve worked at as Company A, Company B, Company C,…


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Procurement Interview Best Practices

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Having managed recruitment at a procurement services consulting firm, I’ve seen all types of interview behavior: the good, the excellent, and the not-so-sterling. From my perspective, procurement is a unique line of work that requires an interview candidate to be both analytical and creative. Of course all the common interview etiquette is essential, but with…


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When Is It Right to Write?

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What does it mean to write ? It used to be easy. You took a pen and put words on paper. You were writing. Then along came the typewriter and things changed. A little. You put words on paper by pushing keys. The pen was gone but the paper remained. And whether you used the…


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5 Tips to Improve Your Resume

If you are an active job seeker, the resume can be the most important part of your job search. Even for the candidate sought by recruiters, an updated resume can still be a blessing or a curse in obtaining that new opportunity. Every day, we receive resumes upon resumes upon resumes… and the thing they…


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Talent Management Series

Supply Management executives routinely and consistently cite top grading, transforming or building out their teams as an important priority. All this is necessary to keep pace with their dynamic business requirements and the constantly shifting talent landscape. Regardless of industry, company or geography, the challenges remain the same. How do we find, attract and retain…


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