- Enhance your thinking with Socratic questions:
http://www.umich.edu/~elements/probsolv/strategy/cthinking.htm - With news of all these data breaches (ala Sony), here is an interactive report on the biggest ones over the last few years:
http://www.informationisbeautiful.net/visualizations/worlds-biggest-data-breaches-hacks/ - Life Lessons from the Pixar Team:
http://www.makeuseof.com/tag/6-lessons-pixar-will-set-success/ - Show expertise via stories, not with statements:
…demonstrate your expertise with stories, not words. Saying “I’m great at pitching investors” sounds pretty egotistical. But sharing a compelling tale of how you rounded up seed funding allows others to deduce your skill without having to make it explicit.
https://hbr.org/2014/12/how-to-promote-yourself-without-looking-like-a-jerk
- The 50 happiest companies to work for: (this one kind of stinks of BS)
http://www.careerbliss.com/facts-and-figures/careerbliss-50-happiest-companies-in-america-for-2015/ - Read this one: Open Offices are not more productive:
I 100% agree with this write up. Many of the “benefits” about open office design are examined:Meanwhile, “ease of interaction” with colleagues — the problem that open offices profess to fix — was cited as a problem by fewer than 10 percent of workers in any type of office setting. In fact, those with private offices were least likely to identify their ability to communicate with colleagues as an issue. In a previous study, researchers concluded that “the loss of productivity due to noise distraction … was doubled in open-plan offices compared to private offices.”
- Actually… there is an even better article (lots of references to even more material) about how open offices don’t work:
Regardless of age, when we’re exposed to too many inputs at once—a computer screen, music, a colleague’s conversation, the ping of an instant message—our senses become overloaded, and it requires more work to achieve a given result.
http://www.newyorker.com/business/currency/the-open-office-trap
Video: How to Develop Your Charisma and Become More Likable
Video: T-Mobile CEO on customer focus
This company is trying really hard to win market share. As a customer, they keep adding more value for me to stay. To win business, you must delight the customer.
The Supply Chain: 12/29/2014
- How Pratt & Whitney selects suppliers in their supply chain:
A prospective supplier needs to know two things to be considered as a P&W supplier, Albertelli says. First, she advises that manufacturing processes would-be suppliers have traditionally done by hand – welding, for example – need to be automated as much as possible. Second, a company should have the flexibility to understand that it might not be the only provider of a part, which can be important if a company needs to invest in new equipment, such as robots.
http://www.onlineamd.com/becoming-tier-supplier-pratt-whitney-122614.aspx
- Why BI is key for (manufacturing) supply chain during the holidays:
Clearly applicable to our own usage as well…
http://smartdatacollective.com/sian-davies/287241/why-manufacturing-industry-needs-business-intelligence-badly-christmas-story - The top IT Health Mergers of 2014:
This post can fit in a few places, but it showed up in my procurement feed, so it will go on this post. Lots of familiar names on the list…
http://www.healthdatamanagement.com/news/Top-2014-Health-IT-Mergers-and-Acquisitions-49497-1.html - Companies not auditing their suppliers for corruption and ethics violations (61% surveyed):
businesses need to dive deeper than their first tier of suppliers, to make sure their suppliers’ suppliers are driving through their systems the desired ethical and social policies, he said. “It is more difficult to get information on the second line because companies concentrate on that first line” of suppliers, said Mr. Chamberlain. “They’ve got to get first tier to do it.”
http://blogs.wsj.com/riskandcompliance/2014/12/23/companies-turning-a-blind-eye-to-supply-chains/
Supplier Report: 12/27/2014
IBM
- IBM is planning to buy back $50B in their own stock over the next 5 years….
http://www.fool.com/investing/general/2014/12/27/why-warren-buffett-is-excited-he-lost-1-billion.aspx - SoftLayer opening cloud hosting center in Japan
http://finchannel.com/index.php/technology/item/39833-ibm-opened-first-cloud-data-center-with-softlayer-in-japan - IBM supporting biometrics for BYOD use
While the article acknowledges potential security problems inherent to biometric technology, it argues that biometrics is best used as part of a multi-factor authentication security solution. The article notes that “adding mobile device biometrics to BYOD provides another layer to security, and the more security methods a device provides means a better chance at safer data.”
http://www.biometricupdate.com/201412/ibm-supports-biometrics-for-corporate-byod-use
- IBM cloud service had “breakthrough year”:
IBM is expected to $94B in total revenue this year. In 2013, cloud services equated to $4.4B in sales, they are expecting to beat that number this year by 50%
http://www.brecorder.com/it-a-computers/206/1254914/
Oracle
- Oracle’s cloud service sales rise 45% over previous year (on track to sell $1B in cloud subscriptions this year)
http://www.washingtonpost.com/business/on-it/it-digest-oracles-cloud-sales-rise-45percent-from-previous-year/2014/12/19/36051b84-860e-11e4-b9b7-b8632ae73d25_story.html - Oracle acquires DataLogix:
Oracle announced it has acquired Datalogix, a data corporation specializing in audience tracking, for an undisclosed amount. Datalogix focuses on “information as a service,” and works with businesses including Ford, Kraft, Facebook and Twitter.
http://www.macroinsider.com/technology/oracle-acquires-data-tracking-firm-datalogix-h5148.html
HP
Not really related to supplier management, but I found this interesting (and HP news was light this week). HP released a new 14-chromebook the same week they released a $200 dollar Windows machine (a Chromebook competitor). So they are essentially competing with themselves….
http://www.bidnessetc.com/31452-hp-rolls-out-google-chromebook-14-laptop-with-touchscreen-and-hd-resolution/
Other
- More on China ousting foreign IT suppliers:
http://thediplomat.com/2014/12/chinas-quest-to-oust-foreign-tech-firms/ - Top 10 BI trends for 2015 (from Tableau)
We are starting to see an age when data is accessible and interactive enough that it can become the backbone of a conversation. Now that people have flexible, speed-of-thought analytical tools, they can quickly analyze data, mash it up with other data and redesign it to create a new perspective. Meetings can become more engaging as people explore data together rather than plod through a set of slides and take down actions for later. And as a result of this collaboration, organizations will get more insight from their data.
http://www.techradar.com/news/internet/web/10-top-trends-for-bi-in-2015-1278352