Tag: Meetings

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News You Can Use: 3/22/2017

  • How to Keep Kids, Pets, and Other Interruptions From Derailing Your Skype Meetings

    1. Take responsibility for what happened. Don’t pawn it off on other people.
    2. Explain why it happened as gracefully as you can. People find comfort in the “why” of things.
    3. Don’t make it a bigger deal than it is. Your reaction can make it more embarrassing than it already is.

    http://lifehacker.com/how-to-keep-kids-pets-and-other-interruptions-from-de-1793177092

  • How to Use Pocket Casts To Wrangle Your Horrible Podcast Addiction

    I know many visitors on the site listen to the podcast right in the browser, but if you want to take SourceCast with you on the go, and listen to other, much better content, use Pocket Casts – this is the Podcast app I personally use to keep up with the multitude of podcasts I follow.

    http://lifehacker.com/how-to-use-pocket-casts-to-wrangle-your-horrible-podcas-1793102283

  • Report: Why Merck turned to supply chain integration to save costs

    Many companies operate, for example, on an established safety stock or production level because that’s the way it has always been done. When it comes to contracting with suppliers and external manufacturers, changes in scale must be justified… a lack of data makes that process difficult.

    The case study suggests Merck & Co. realized this was a problem, and sought to integrate its systems into a single platform capable of both supply and demand planning. The change allowed the company global visibility for all of its finished goods, and segmentation of goods to better determine when exceptions are necessary, for example.

    http://www.biopharmadive.com/news/report-why-merck-turned-to-supply-chain-integration-to-save-costs/437290/

  • The Science of Style and Fashion for Entrepreneurs with Antonio Centeno

    Antonio Centeno of Real Men Real Style grew up in a trailer park, and that experience made him realize just how a person’s clothes can determine your expectations for them. You’d be more wary of trusting a doctor wearing a tye-dye shirt than one wearing a lab coat, and you’d be less likely to answer the door for a cable repair man who didn’t wear a uniform.

    https://www.entrepreneur.com/video/290171

    The host is somewhat annoying, but interesting information…

  • Maturity is the key to effective analytics

    Many supply chain professionals report that their organizations have increased their investment in analytics over the last three years, according to a recent APQC survey. This survey looked at the analytics practices of organizations, as well as the structure of these efforts. APQC surveyed supply chain professionals from a variety of organization sizes and regions and from 36 industries. APQC’s analysis found that organizations have several areas of focus for their supply chain analytics efforts, and that most organizations have a formal analytics structure. However, the payoff of these efforts may not be at the level organizations would expect.

    http://www.scmr.com/article/maturity_is_the_key_to_effective_analytics#When:15:16:00Z

Photo: Caroline Hernandez

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News You Can Use: 7/27/2016

sn_goldengate_Denys Nevozhai

  • What might Brexit mean for procurement?

    For example, if the UK followed the Norway model it would be a member of the European Economic Area (EEA) and remain bound by the EU procurement directives. By contrast, if the UK adopted something like the Swiss model of bilateral agreements with the EU (see here for more on the different models) then the EU procurement directives would not apply. However, the UK would very likely have an obligation under those bilateral agreements to put in place a similar regime.

    http://www.lexology.com/library/detail.aspx?g=d035f483-bccb-46dd-ae53-8858d4e8b222

  • How To Hold A Productive Meeting In Seven Minutes Or Less

    There’s no sitting down during these meetings; everyone stands up because it forces people to move and think a little faster, without the luxury of getting too comfortable. The best time of day to run these meetings is around 11:00 a.m. or 2:00 p.m., because this is when energy levels start to ebb. Part of your goal with a daily huddle is to boost those energy levels. You may even choose to run one from 10:55 a.m. to 11:02 a.m. and again from 1:55 p.m. to 2:02 p.m.

    Also:

    But there’s a formula that helps keep things brief and to the point. Every update is done the same way, and each business area answers the same questions:

    • What are you working on?
    • What were you working on last week?
    • What are you stuck on?
    • Is there anybody that you’re hiring?

    The next phase involves the team sharing any missing systems and venting their frustrations. This is a time for people to speak up about an area that’s apparently broken or where they’re stuck. Bear in mind, this is not the venue to solve the problem. This is the space for people to address the problems they face.

    http://www.fastcompany.com/3061605/your-most-productive-self/how-to-hold-a-productive-meeting-in-seven-minutes-or-less

  • One Googler’s Insider Guide To Using Google Docs At Work
    I didn’t know Google Docs could do Macros….#hyped

    TURBOCHARGE GOOGLE SHEETS WITH POWERFUL FUNCTIONS AND PIVOT TABLES
    Sheets is way more than just a way to throw a quick table or list together. It has over 340 powerful functions, including dozens that other spreadsheets don’t offer, such as Google Translate, which lets you automatically translate one language to another.

    We’ve also designed Sheets to offer advanced pivot table functionality, including the ability to define custom Calculated Fields. And Docs and Sheets both support custom scripting and advanced API functionality via Apps Script, which is Google’s equivalent of macros. Basically, if your job entails a lot of number crunching, Sheets can handle it.

    http://www.fastcompany.com/3061482/one-googlers-insider-guide-to-using-google-docs-at-work

    Yes.. the video is very wee (“let’s save the world!”), but the upvote question feature is on point.

  • Why this is a great time to be a supply chain professional

    Enterprise software that was traditionally installed, configured, and implemented behind the firewall resulted in a large amount of “shelf ware”. This was partly due to conflicting priorities on IT organizations wherein projects got deprioritized resulting in shelved software, and partly due to software vendors offering incentives towards bulk purchase of these modules which take years of implementation. This resulted in a significant gap between the capabilities vendors introduced to the market and the consumption of the same by the user community.

    However, “pay as you go” SaaS based delivery models are enabling companies to consume software in bite sizes and immediately start deriving value. SaaS delivery model is also easing the pain associated with upgrades. This goes a long way in ensuring user satisfaction. Satisfied users will demand and consume more innovation perpetuating a positive reinforcement cycle. This creates tremendous opportunities for supply chain professionals, especially those who like to explore newer frontiers.

    https://blog.kinaxis.com/2016/07/great-time-supply-chain-professional/

  • Strategically Discussing Strategy

    Strategy isn’t just doing more.
    Often, it means doing less. As Bob Shrum, Presidential campaign guru, once warned me “people in our business have a tendency to complicate common sense.” He was right. We throw in unnecessary processes, services that clients don’t need — all in the name of strategy. Harvard Business School’s Michael Porter said strategy is fundamentally about choices: You can’t be all things to all people.

    https://www.entrepreneur.com/article/278063

Photo: Denys Nevozhai

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News You Can Use: 6/22/2016

sn_horses_Isabella Jusková

  • Cable and telecom companies just lost a huge court battle on net neutrality

    The court verdict puts to rest — for now — a key question: Whether the Internet represents a vital communications platform that deserves to be regulated with the same scrutiny as the common networks of the past, such as the telephone system. Writing for the court, Judges David Tatel and Sri Srinivasan held that despite advances in technology, the underlying importance of the Internet to everyday communications and commerce makes it more similar to the phone system than not. Today, for example, consumers are accustomed to using not just the email accounts that their broadband provider gave them, but also using third-party services such as Gmail as well as Netflix, Amazon and Uber.

    https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/the-switch/wp/2016/06/14/the-fcc-just-won-a-sweeping-victory-on-net-neutrality-in-federal-court/

  • What’s going on with IT hiring?

    CompTIA, an industry group, said about 96,000 IT jobs were lost last month across all industries, not just the technology sector. That figure includes the impact of the approximately 37,000 telecommunications jobs sidelined by the Verizon strike, which was settled this month. But it was a rough month, by some estimates.

    Analysts have been generally cautious this year about IT hiring trends. Although the unemployment rate for IT professionals is about half the national average of 4.7%, said CompTIA, some analysts use terms ranging from “modest” to “pre-recession” to describe IT hiring.

    http://www.computerworld.com/article/3080825/it-careers/what-s-going-on-with-it-hiring.html?nsdr=true

  • The Psychology of Solitude: Being Alone Can Maximize Productivity, with Scott Barry Kaufman
  • 4 Steps to Avoid ‘Death by Meeting’

    Whether your meetings are derailed by the shiny object syndrome, or you get stuck in the weeds, the only person who can save you is you! That’s why, when I’m facilitating team events, I make sure that our agendas include business items as well as elements relevant to the team. That way, we weave in learning with business needs, giving team members an opportunity to practice and apply the skills they are learning.

    What often happens, when a team gets stuck in the weeds or off track, is that team members start making eye contact with me: raising an eyebrow, in effect begging me to, “Get us out of here — we are stuck!” It always strikes me that it’s me, the guest facilitator, who is asked to save the day.

    https://www.entrepreneur.com/article/275194

  • Doth thou protest too much?

    Many will applaud this effort to reign in what is seen as an out of control protest process. After all, the protest rate has grown some 45 percent during a period of time that total federal spending has dropped 25 percent. In 2001 there were about 700 individual protests filed with the GAO; in 2015 that number was over 2,500. Interestingly, of those protests on which GAO ultimately ruled, its “sustain rate” had dropped to 12 percent—from 18 percent just a few years earlier and 22 percent in 2001.

    https://washingtontechnology.com/articles/2016/06/03/insights-soloway-bid-protests.aspx

  • How Google killed Nest and why acquisitions fail

    I think the real problem is that when most companies do an acquisition they treat it almost like you and I would buy a car. They focus on the price and closing the deal after becoming interested in the firm’s products and/or services. But you don’t buy people, and a firm without the employees who made it a success is a failure in the making and worth a fraction of its assessed value. Part of the real cost of the acquisition is critical employee retention, and retention packages do a poor job of making people want to stay.

    http://www.cio.com/article/3082033/mergers-acquisitions/how-google-killed-nest-and-why-acquisitions-fail.html

  • Verizon to bid $3B for Yahoo’s core Internet business
    First Verizon buys AOL, and now they are looking into buying Yahoo. Verizon is where all of your old embarrasing email addresses like (mustang_guy_1972_xx@yahoo.com) go to die. 
    http://www.cio.com/article/3080025/verizon-to-bid-3b-for-yahoo-s-core-internet-business.html

Photo: Isabella Jusková

Posted on

News You Can Use: 3/9/2016

  • ‘CEOs’ to build on $2B in acquisition savings

    Rung named 11 category managers on Feb. 25 to bring 10 commodity buying areas under better control by conducting spend analysis, market research, financial and supply chain risk analysis, and using this information to develop strategic plans specific to the category with clear metrics and outcomes.

    http://federalnewsradio.com/acquisition-policy/2016/03/ceos-build-2b-acquisition-savings/

  • How to Advance In Your Career Without Becoming A Workaholic

    Getting involved in projects doesn’t mean you have to say yes to everything. “Successful professionals often fear saying no or not being seen as a team player,” says Sherwin. But the key to getting ahead is actually setting boundaries and being strategic about the things you say yes to. Saying yes to a project that may give you a leadership role, for example, may help you to hone your leadership skills that you don’t get a chance to use in your current role.

    http://www.fastcompany.com/3057356/lessons-learned/how-to-advance-in-your-career-without-becoming-a-workaholic

  • A Beginner’s Guide to Post-Merger Integration Sourcing

    Given time and resource limitations within the procurement organization, it is often preferable to phase sourcing efforts. Starting with Indirect initiatives can yield some quick wins. Requirements in this space tend to be similar across companies, and generally involve fewer constraints, simpler specs and qualification procedures, and greater opportunities from increased volumes. Indirect categories typically provide shorter time to realization, to the satisfaction of the c-suite and shareholders. This is why categories such as professional services, travel, or IT and telecom should be prioritized.

    http://spendmatters.com/2016/03/01/a-beginners-guide-to-post-merger-integration-sourcing/

  • Don’t let perfection be the enemy of the good…
  • Talk Isn’t Cheap: 8 Questions to Ask When You’re Booked as a Speaker

    Finally, the most important question is: What do the organizers want out of this? Are you there to solve a problem that you’re unaware of? It’s really important that they set the stage for you, so you can kill it on stage. You don’t have to change up your whole talk to cater to a specific audience. You can make tiny little tweaks that make your remarks feel more customized to the audience, and to the goals of the conference coordinator.

    http://www.entrepreneur.com/article/270091

  • 6 Ways to Encourage Autonomy With Your Employees

    The freedom of choice is a key element to autonomy, but too much choice can be detrimental. That’s why those who think autonomy means there are no boundaries are in error. In fact, firm boundaries — and a system to hold people accountable for results — are essential for autonomy to flourish. Within clear boundaries, people are empowered to determine how they will accomplish the tasks they are given.

    http://www.entrepreneur.com/article/254030

  • The Simple Thing That Can Totally Transform Time-Suck Meetings

    First and foremost, identify your objective, says Neal Hartman, management senior lecturer at the MIT Sloan School of Management. “Be critical about paring your agenda,” he says. “List key items that need discussion, a vote, or whatever other action is appropriate.”

    http://www.fastcompany.com/3057361/how-to-be-a-success-at-everything/the-simple-thing-that-can-totally-transform-time-suck-meet

Photo: Daria Nepriakhina