How are highly effective supply chain managers so successful?
I have been thinking about a recent panel discussion I was invited to participate in with supply chain management trainees on mentorship. During the panel discussion, and in almost all my conversations with people I mentor, I am asked how I deal with stress, how I stay organized, and how I prioritize my work. What I tell people always, it comes down to effective planning to increase productivity and effectiveness.
Plan first! You need to create space for your priorities.
I prioritize the people I need to reach my goals for the day, week or month first.
When you plan, you also need to identify those people with whom you need to cultivate strong relationships to enable your success, and actively plan time to spend with them. At the heart of the matter, success depends on strong relationships and this requires planning for success.
As Supply Chain Managers, we are always dealing with constraints, whether it is capacity, inventory, capital, or material supply.
However, the biggest constraint is on our time.
As supply chain managers are continually asked to do more with less, it is extremely important to stay laser focused on those activities that will deliver the biggest value and impact to the business and to our personal lives. To deliver the biggest impact both at work and at home you need to plan and stay organized so you can crush your goals!
I have made a habit of creating goals for myself every year just before New Year’s, not resolutions but goals, both personal and professional. Finding the right goal management system is important. I have used all kinds of planners over the years and have tried all modes of e-tools, from Outlook to Google, Evernote, and OneNote.
For me, the most effective method is still pen and paper for planning purposes. A recent article in Fast Company cites support for ditching the smartphone in favor of paper and pen. My calendar is on Outlook and my iPhone, however, there is something very cathartic about writing things down, especially goals. Somehow when written down they seem to stick.
This year I discovered the Panda Planner through a friend. I have been using it every day since the start of 2017, and I have found it to be one of the best tools I have used in a long time.
There are a lot of calendar and planner options out there, but this system is about boosting your productivity AND your happiness and well-being. After a full quarter plus of using it, I am finding it to be very helpful and I have become a huge fan. The Panda Planner is one of the few planners that offers you a monthly, weekly AND daily view. With plenty of space to set priorities, evaluate progress, and plan, this compact planner packs an amazing amount of information into 5 x 8 notebook.
With so many competing priorities and demands on our time, how do supply chain managers create headroom to add value? I always knew that I needed to write down my goals and plans and track them so that I could constantly assess my progress and make any necessary changes to help me reach them. Did you know that writing down your goals significantly increases the likelihood you will achieve them?
The 5P’s of Productivity
I start every New Year by identifying my big goals and to achieve them I have a plan for the month, the week and the day. My Panda Planner has made this process much easier. Over time I have created my own version of the 5P’s of Productivity:
- Purpose
- Plan
- Priorities
- People
- Projects
Every day I take 30 minutes at the start of the day and at the end of the day to address my 5P’s. It is very important that you take the time to create headroom to think and plan. Take the 30 minutes twice a day to focus uninterrupted and without distraction. I try and avoid anything with a screen… no phones, tablets, computers, and no social media!
PURPOSE: What will Your Obituary Say?
It all starts with your passion and purpose. Every year and every month write down what drives you, what motivates you, what compels you to do what you do. We all strive to love what we do and do what we love. But it starts with our purpose and everything else flows from there. Whether it’s ‘I want to make a difference, contribute to society or leave a better world for the next generation,’ decide what makes your heart soar. I often ask the people I mentor to write down their obituary. After their initial shock, I ask them to visualize someone writing their obituary or eulogizing them at their funeral. What would be said? How do you want to be remembered in death? Now, what must you do in life to be that person? The question forces us to define our purpose. When I review my day, I ask myself did I make a difference today, did I have an impact?
PLAN:
I am a planner. Always have been. I even planned my wedding using Microsoft Project! Having a plan is the most crucial thing above all else to drive success. When I write down all my goals – in yearly, monthly, weekly and daily buckets – I get more granular as my time horizon is nearer. I then focus on the ‘what’ and the ‘how’ of achieving them. Goals need to be very specific and measurable. How else will you track success? Setting S.M.A.R.T. goals – Specific, Measurable, Attainable, Realistic, Time-sensitive – is key, however, I want to add two more attributes. Goals must be Shared and Known. Share your goals with people around you so that you can be held accountable for achieving them. If others know your goals you are much more likely to stick to them.
PRIORITIES:
I have found the key to success is focus and discipline. To have both you need a limited number of clear priorities. Try to never have more than 3 priorities to work on in a day or week. Focus on the most important things that need to get done and gun for those. Use and apply the 5W1H method (who, what, where, when, why, how) to each one and jot down the details for each. Once those 3 priorities are successfully completed move on to the next set. Don’t get sucked into reactive email mode.
Don’t be a Slave to Email!
Email management is a full topic unto itself but let me make a couple of comments here about managing email for supply chain managers. If I reacted to every email I receive I would get crushed by the weight of my bottomless inbox! I have found reasonable success in doing the following things.
I have set up rules in Outlook, my email client, so that my bosses, my key stakeholders, and my team members are flagged as a priority. Those emails get read and answered first. I use the ‘preview’ setting to quickly glance through emails to ensure I don’t miss anything important. I read emails in conversations so that I can go see all related correspondence about a certain subject in a grouping. Finally, I have my ‘Clutter’ folder activated and I read those less important emails biweekly. And if there is anything else which I haven’t replied to… well, if it’s important enough they will call or send another email.
PEOPLE:
With every planning and priority setting exercise, list all the people you need to contact to complete your priority actions. You need to also list those people whom you are waiting on for information. Before you speak to anyone else these are the people you contact first. Once you have determined whom you need to contact to drive your agenda, this is how you prioritize reading or writing email or scheduling calls. Start first with the emails I need to send out followed by searching for the emails from people you are waiting on for information.
PROJECTS:
Sticking to that rule of 3 focus on no more than 3 projects at a time. When those are successfully completed go to the next thing. These could be work projects or personal projects. Each project should have 4 or 5 critical milestones. For each milestone list out the 4 or 5 big things, you must do to move the project forward. Holding yourself and others accountable for achieving the critical milestones is the key to successful project management. Of course, effective project management is also a topic unto itself.
It’s not all about goals, priorities, and projects. It’s also about managing our well being. How do you manage your well-being?
The 10 Habits of Highly Effective Supply Chain Managers
In addition to the 5P’s, it is important to recharge throughout the day. Here are a few keys things to keep in mind.
- Get enough sleep! Make sure your body is fully rested. I know…easier said than done!
- Make your bed as soon as you get up. Getting this minor task done gives you an immediate sense of accomplishment first thing in the morning. If everything else goes awry you can at least say you accomplished something at the end of the day. And besides… there’s nothing more satisfying than getting into a neatly made bed at night.
- Start early… the early bird gets the worm. Getting things knocked off the list before the hustle and bustle of the day will set your day on the right path.
- Remember the Rule of 50. Every 50 minutes get up and take a break. Move around and stretch for a few minutes.
- If you’re on conference calls a lot, wear a wireless headset and walk around your desk or your office.
- Block time in your calendar to work. Call it Block Time, Work Time or whatever, but schedule time to do actual work, and stick to it! It is not a time to be wasted or given away.
- Stop scheduling 1-hour meetings. Meetings are a waste of time unless they are used to drive action and take decisions. Plan 30-minute or 45-minute meetings instead. Send out pre-reading materials, plan a proper agenda for the meeting with a) a stated purpose, b) decisions required, c) the expected outcome. Wrap up each meeting with a recap of key decisions made and next steps with key actions assigned to specific owners. Follow up the meeting immediately with meeting minutes with actions, action owners, and due dates.
- Be sure to eat breakfast and lunch away from your desk. Eat healthy snacks and drink plenty of water throughout the day.
- Get moving! Exercise in manageable time chunks. You don’t need 2 hours at the gym. Getting exercise in 10-minute increments several times a day is an effective way to keep your body nice and fit. Take a 30-minute walk. Use weights when you walk. Keep resistance bands in your bag or your desk and schedule 10-minute chunks to use them. Go to a conference room and do a 20-minute Yoga video.
- Finally, have fun! Life is too short. If you’re not having fun doing what you do, do something else!
In the end, how do you crush your goals? Plan, plan, and plan some more! Once you’ve finished planning, stick to the plan!
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