Seriously - you can't make this stuff up.

I mentioned in this week's episode of Dial P for Procurement that business is my favorite sport. It has all of the unpredictability and down to the wire moments that sports fans live for.

Once I cover a story - whether for Buyers Meeting Point, Art of Procurement, or Dial P - I stay with it. There is nothing better than getting a breaking news notification that one of my stories has taken another step forward.

But I think I'm getting spoiled. In looking at my notes from this week, there is so much drama going on right now that we must have reached the playoffs. And the nail biting moments seem to be happening across the stories we're been following.

For instance:

• I covered Unilever's social/environmental mission mandate on Dial P this week, expressing concern that Hellmann's mayonnaise spent $6.5 million on a Superbowl ad rather than marketing their actual product in a competitive, cost driven industry. Now they have an activist investor on the Board (Nelson Peltz) who is questioning CEO Alan Jope's approach... I just hope he hasn't been wasting food! (See the aforementioned Superbowl commercial if that doesn't make sense!)
• Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen made major news this week by admitting she was wrong in her previous statements about inflation. It is apparently NOT transitory, something that has been apparent to businesses and consumers for some time now. (Listen to my inflation coverage here.) The Biden administration is now scrambling to address the problem - but gently... lest they cause a recession with their cure for inflation. And yet, with the midterms around the corner, they don't have a lot of time to spare.
• Speaking of recession... JPMorgan Chase CEO Jamie Dimon said this week that, "Right now it's kind of sunny, things are doing fine. Everyone thinks the Fed can handle this. That hurricane is right out there down the road coming our way." We won't know until the Q2 GDP numbers are out whether we are officially in a recession or not, but as I asked in this episode of Dial P, does it really matter? With a 'weather' forecast like that, most people are already altering their decisions - potentially contributing to the clouds on the horizon.

Oh, and the baby formula shortage saga continues... with U.S. Health and Human Services announcing that it will audit the FDA's decision to close the Abbott plant in Sturgis, MI.

Seriously... you can't make this stuff up.

Other new events and content from this week:

6?? Every Friday, Art of Procurement releases the Procurement 6 - a short form podcast that rounds up the week's news and content in 6 short segments. This was my turn in the hosting rotation and there was a lot to cover this week, so click here to listen!

?? I'm guest hosting Monday's episode of The Buzz on Supply Chain Now (at 12n ET). It wouldn't be a party without Greg White and we'll be joined by the one and only Mike Griswold from Gartner! Click here to watch us live at noon or anytime afterwards.

?? Do you ever feel like you're running in circles, like you're stuck on a hamster wheel? You're not alone. Learn more about the "cycle of shifting procurement priorities" and how we can escape it on Art of Procurement.

?? Where do we find the state of the procurement community now that in-person conferences are back up and running? Philip Ideson joined me for an episode of The Sourcing Hero podcast this week to talk about it.

?? We're all used to hearing about port closures, but the challenge is nothing new. In this week's episode of This Week in Business History, I retraced the impact of the 1774 Boston Port Act, passed by the British Parliament to punish the Massachusetts Bay colony for a tea party that got a little out of hand.

?? Could supplier diversity be the opportunity procurement has been looking for to demonstrate better alignment with overall corporate objectives? It may just be... read my latest article on Supplier.io for some steps you can take to prove that alignment.

?? If you need a little something to brighten your mood with the heaviness of the news, check out Categorypalooza, Art of Procurement's virtual summer festival of category insights: August 11th from 11am - 2pm ET.?Register for free here!