I've written a blog on that part 2

I've just had one of those great months full of what I'm passionate about.

Just in case you're not sure what I do, therefore, I thought I'd summarise why I'm so enthused, and then share a few posts that I've mentioned to people recently in a "I've written a blog on that" sort of way.  

Over recent months I've been busy with:

• Category management / procurement workshops - including stakeholder engagement, value levers, and creativity. Keeping the energy up, minds open and constantly looking for new ways to bring the 'theory and process' alive.
• 1:1 Coaching - OMG - I love the diversity of challenges we explore, and real difference it can make. Always searching for those powerful questions that unlock people's potential - in procurement, business and personally.
• Vlogging - thanks Tina for reminding me how much I enjoy exploring ideas this way  - even if I'm rarely in front of the camera :-). (see my YouTube channel for more)
• Writing - more very soon on this - with great things planned for 2018. 

And if that's not enough I'm still managing to open water swim here in Scotland which all adds to the high. (This picture was taken at 0745 one November morning just before sunrise with frost on the ground and an air temperature of 3 degrees. We think the sea will have been about 8 or 9!)

 

After a busy few months of workshops I've a number of new followers for this blog, and as I've also mentioned a few posts during those workshops I thought I'd provide an index of them here.

But first, a few indexes of posts any new followers might also find helpful:

• I've written a blog on that - part 1 - an index from 2 years ago of posts covering the softer skills covered on the workshops at that time (I'll add any additional ones written since then and mentioned on the workshops below) 
• The Top 10 Purchasing Coach posts - written in February this year 
• Purchasing coach's year (2016) in posts - a great insight into what I'm passionate about
• Applying unconventional tools to some of procurement's biggest challenges (those who have attended the workshops won't be surprised where this goes.)

Posts written since the last index, and mentioned either in conversation or whilst facilitating include:

• Don't leave your humanity at the door 
• Building Confidence - which for me is one of the 7 keys for optimal performance
• 10 things to remember when communicating
• Standing in the shoes of your internal stakeholders
• We see people through our own lenses
• Are you searching for 'solutions' or 'answers' - because words have power
• Is your language getting in the way of you solving your problem?
• The language of change and transformation.
• What to do when you're going around in circles 
• Where has convention ever got us? 
• How could pipe cleaners have the answer?
• When did you last have a walking meeting?
• Do you have all the information? 
• Getting on the same page as stakeholders
• A Pinterest board of examples of procurement gone wrong - because they didn't think it would happen to them
• You may also like the advent series of posts sharing more about 25 unconventional tools used in coaching, facilitation, problem solving and innovative thinking. 

And for anyone interested in reading more about the subject of the book I'm writing then do see my Landscaping Your Life blog.

I have also written a number of more procurementy posts for Future Purchasing (even if with an Alisony twist), including:

• The critical success factors of Category Management 
• Marry in haste and repent at leisure - in life and in category management 
• The similarities between Category Management and elections
• Sustainable training - getting learning to stick 
• The similarities between parenting and category management 
• Have you taken your eye off the ball on coaching?
• Inspiring creativity and innovation in your category and supplier management 
• How you can gets the most from attending workshops
• How managers can ensure their teams get the most from attending workshops
• Do you want adaptive of generative learning from your teams?
• Communicating business requirements differently.
• Do procurement find it easy to be creative? 
• Processes that drive wrong behaviour
• Procurement's sat nav
• Relationship forecasters
• Channel hopping stakeholders

I hope something here will have had you exploring a post or two, and a nugget of insight obtained as a result.

Topics for future posts always welcome (please be kind :-)). 

Discussions about opportunities to make a difference with your team most welcome too +44 (0)7770 538159 alison@alisonsmith.eu

Alison Smith

The Purchasing Coach

Unlocking personal and procurement potential - with a smidgen of unconventional tools thrown in for good measure

The Critical Success Factors of Category Management

You may like this post written for Future Purchasing on the critical success factors of procurement.

I've written a blog on that!

When delivering Category Management or Supplier Management training I can often be heard saying "I've written a blog on that". Not so much about the procurement theories and models - more often about learning, influencing, communication and perhaps the softer skills that enable effective best practice procurement to take place and deliver real value to the organisation.

Often those attending the workshop ask for details of a blog I mention. So here's an index of blogs mentioned on a recent  3 day category management workshop (I'm updating these after each subsequent workshop. This mean it's becoming quite a long list, which I apologise if it only
makes more sense to those who attended rather than those looking to understand what we might cover in such a workshop.)

• Unconscious incompetence through to unconscious competence (how we learn)
• Standing in the shoes of your stakeholders
• What motivates your stakeholders
• We see others through our own lenses
• Creative thinking, creative environments and use of the Creative Whack Pack
• Problem Reversal (a great tool for problem solving)
• Why do I have to adapt my style when dealing with stakeholders?
• Implementing change 
• The subtleties of influencing
• Communication planning
• Rapport
• How to deal with a tricky stakeholder
• Time to take responsibility, and use I or we instead of 'they'
• Emotional intelligence - although the blog is more a summary of notes from attendance of a conference on the subject
• Being in the right state of mind and body to start the meeting 
• Having a chocolate moment 
• How our values impact our relationship with others
• Start with the end in mind (when running and attending meetings)
• Walking meetings - such a great addition to a recent workshop
• Doing something different every day 
• Is your head in the sand - what is hidden to you about yourself, and yet obvious to everyone else
• Do you play games - at work or with suppliers

Blogs on more procurementy topics have covered:

• The difference between buying, purchasing and procurement (using gardening as a metaphor)
• The cost of getting procurement wrong
• Strategies need evidence 
• How attractive are you to suppliers? Always an interesting subject to discuss. 
• Winning together, or are your suppliers the losers
• Are you getting the business requirements right?
• Not just cost reduction
• If the Earth was a supplier
• Procurement: Mr Wolf or enlightened?
• Will you change the buyer supplier archetype?
• Don't turn a blind eye to unacceptable behaviour

Well-being also crops up, perhaps more over lunch or in the evening. Here's a few blogs covering topics discussed, not at every workshop, but occasionally:

• Adrenaline junkie
• Priorities
• My prescription for positivity 
• Are you unhappy at work?
• Brian Gym - the book that demonstrates the exercises I have used very occasionally when people are flagging and low in energy (often after a heavy lunch). There's also a brain gym for business book.

Have a great week.

Alison Smith
The Purchasing Coach
Inspiring change inside and out (more here on why that's important)

PS: See this link for a similar index for a supplier management workshop I ran recently, and another on effective team building. Although over time these lists are starting to contain very similar blogs.