I remember when I first started coaching 20 years ago I was lucky to often have the confidence of both parties to disagreements within the team.
One person asserting their truth.
The other their own.
Since then a new word has emerged to describe what I observed - false news.
And then acting as if that news, our assumptions, are the truth of a situation.
It’s something we all do.
Every day.
Not the media.
You
And I.
False news that says a situation is as we judge it to be.
Someone does or says something and without any further questioning we are sure in our own assessment.
That reaction means this.
This behaviour means that.
That word said with that tone means the other.
How soon relationships can degenerate based on such assumptions.
No listening.
No clarifying.
No questioning.
Simply an assumption in our own rightness with no communication.
“How do you know that? What evidence have you got to support your judgement and assumptions ?” are questions I often ask in coaching sessions.
Judgement and Assumptions are two of the 26 ZIGs I’ve identified that Inhibit our Growth and stop us flourishing.
“How do I know that?” is therefore a great question to ask yourself to start the journey of awareness and start zagging.
“I’m not paying £6 for a small cup of hot chocolate” said my friend.
As a procurement professional of many years I could have chosen to take the conversation in many directions - after all the other drinks on the menu were comparatively priced with other local cafes, and we were in a chocolate shop.
Instead I responded “what does that say about how people should react to your own prices?”
I’m not suggesting we pay what ever is asked without consideration of the going rate for that product or service.
I am however suggesting we also pay attention to our own energy around payment to others.
It can’t be true that we are always worth what we ask for payment and others are definitely not.
It can’t be true that we are worth what we are paid to do our job and yet others should provide theirs for free.
It can’t be true
When you’re next begrudging paying someone you may want to spend a few moments exploring the beliefs that are driving that reaction.
hashtag
As author & speaker Caroline Myss would say “words have power” because, whilst often used unconsciously, the words we use can be the source of the problem or the hint of the solution.
Over the years of facilitating procurement workshops it would seem for example that everyone wants to be working with a ‘strategic’ category or ‘strategic’ supplier.
This mystical word conjures up something more important, of value & of higher status than those other seemingly lesser or lower categories or suppliers.
It’s as if we lose connection with the detail of the model, the strategy, that suggests different priorities & activities for different segments of the categories we buy or suppliers we contract with.
We want our category or supplier to have the prized nomenclature, without connecting it to the set of actions that accompany that segmentation, & differentiate it from other segments.
We ignore THE strategy that ensures we maximise value for each unique segment; and use our time, & the time of our stakeholders, wisely.
No one shoe fits all.
Next time you suggest you’ve a coveted ‘strategic’ supplier or category on your hands think about what strategy you really need for dealing with them.
hashtag#strategy hashtag#procurement hashtag#strategicsourcing hashtag#wordshavepower
