What do you do if your strategic thinking skills in vendor relations aren't driving innovation?

1 Assess your current situation

The first step to improve your strategic thinking skills in vendor relations is to assess your current situation. How do you approach your vendor relationships? What are your goals, challenges, and expectations? How do you measure your results and feedback? How do you communicate and collaborate with your vendors? How do you handle conflicts and risks? By asking yourself these questions, you can identify your strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats in your vendor relations strategy.

2 Learn from your vendors

The second step to improve your strategic thinking skills in vendor relations is to learn from your vendors. Your vendors are not just suppliers or service providers, they are also sources of knowledge, insights, and ideas. They have different perspectives, experiences, and expertise that can help you improve your processes, products, and solutions. By listening to your vendors, asking them questions, and soliciting their feedback, you can gain valuable information and inspiration that can spark your innovation.

3 Explore new possibilities

The third step to improve your strategic thinking skills in vendor relations is to explore new possibilities. Instead of sticking to the same methods, assumptions, and outcomes, you can challenge yourself to think outside the box and experiment with different scenarios, options, and alternatives. You can use tools such as brainstorming, mind mapping, SWOT analysis, and scenario planning to generate and evaluate new ideas. You can also involve your vendors in the ideation process and seek their input and suggestions.

4 Implement and test your ideas

The fourth step to improve your strategic thinking skills in vendor relations is to implement and test your ideas. Once you have some promising ideas, you need to put them into action and see how they work. You can use methods such as prototyping, piloting, and feedback loops to test and refine your ideas. You can also collaborate with your vendors to co-create and co-deliver your ideas and measure their impact and value.

5 Learn from your results

The fifth step to improve your strategic thinking skills in vendor relations is to learn from your results. Whether your ideas succeed or fail, you can always learn something from them. You can use tools such as after-action reviews, lessons learned, and case studies to analyze and document your results. You can also share your results with your vendors and celebrate your achievements or address your challenges. By learning from your results, you can improve your strategic thinking skills and foster a culture of innovation.

6 Here’s what else to consider

This is a space to share examples, stories, or insights that don’t fit into any of the previous sections. What else would you like to add?