Supply Chain Has an Enemy Within

You’ve heard me talk about the macro forces that I call the cocktail of crisis.

A few newsletters ago, I dissected the experience supply chain professionals were facing as 2022 came to a close. There was a lull that set into the year, threatening to make us complacent.

But we had no idea what the new year would hold.

Many forecasts included black swan events in our playbook for 2023.?

Unprecedented events were still compounding to cause lingering pressures. It threatened us with a drastic fallout and a new set of challenges - aka, a crisis cocktail. A mixer that leaves us drinking heavily on the idea of disruption.?

Drinking anything in excess usually doesn’t have a good outcome. It starts to reveal interesting quirks and stirs less favourable behaviours.?

So let’s imagine for a minute how drunk supply chain professionals are becoming on this permacrisis mindset.

It’s revealing something about the inner psychological workings of their companies.?

And it’s the inhibitor of innovation.

The Monster Within

I had a fascinating (and somewhat concerning) conversation with a young VP recently.

She was disillusioned about the large-scale organisation she was working for and the way they were approaching digital transformation, especially since the business was caught in the pressure cooker of external problems.

Digital transformation is on everyone’s lips, but it remains a discussion. No one is taking action! Senior management in her company was just passing the buck, because from their point of view, the business was making enough money.

That perception was endemic to stifled innovation.?

As long as things were safe and cosy, why adapt? Why stay reactive to all these outside changes that didn’t have an immediate impact on the way the company functioned?

I’ve talked about silos. I’ve talked about outdated models. I’ve talked about how culture can hinder progress. But what she was referring to lay much deeper.

It was apathy.?

Here’s what worried me….

How intense does the impact of external forces need to be to pressure the internal parts of our businesses to change? What will it take for progress to be made?

It reminds me of myself when I’m confronted with disorder. My house is a pristine space where everything has its place. That’s how I prefer things. But don’t you dare open my closets!

It hides the disaster that I don’t know how to deal with. The “inside” mess that paralyses me. God forbid it finds its way out!

My inaction is an intuitive response, but I KNOW I need to start somewhere.

I can’t keep procrastinating on dealing with the monster within…

And supply chain companies are no different.

There Are No Guidelines

Unfortunately, no one can deliver a definite cure to a mindset of inaction.

But if the macrocosmic forces of unprecedented global events paralyse us into a state of apathy, where we fall behind in our methods to stay resilient, then it should at least inspire us to start a reflective process.

Let me rephrase…

Supply chain leaders should start looking within.

Because this is not a problem that a future generation can solve. They’ll just be left dealing with the consequences of businesses that didn’t stay reactive. This is a psychological intervention anyone in senior management should start addressing.?

RIGHT NOW!

The VP I spoke to was downcast to the degree that she actually considered quitting the industry. Another fact about her story shocked me, as she just entered her 30s and had a lot to give in her role.

She represented many other young people who were fed up with the mental blocks higher up in company hierarchies. Not to mention the silos that persist despite the industry's warnings to break them.

It feels senseless to beat a broken horse by pushing for greater data visibility, more cross-functional collaboration, wide-scale automation, greater agility or even a digital renaissance.

I’m afraid not even the AI evangelists would be hopeful about how their tools could generate a solution for something so deep-rooted.

Are we still wondering why the talent gap exists?

I don’t think the new-gen workforce suffers the same affliction. They grew up in a world where “crisis” was a normal part of society. However, they’re motivated to find solutions.?

But they need our guidance to turn that drive into focused efforts that best benefit our industry.?

Many of us have experienced being in a company coping with a recession, inflation and mass layoffs. Now young people are facing the same. Why are we idle in teaching them how to navigate it? What’s holding us back?

Everyone in supply chain is geared toward the exact same philosophy when it comes to dealing with problems we’re currently facing. BUT (and I’ve said this before) “where’s the beef?” Where’s the action??

Whatever mental blocks we have, we need to clear them.?

It won’t be enough to deprogramme from old business models that can’t keep talent or keep up with the times. That’s only half the battle.?

Somewhere, somehow, we need to find the passion to look for solutions.?

Not just reactively, but proactively.

Because if we don’t - while others adapt to the circumstances presented to them - we’ll be stuck trying to find the logical sobriety to recover from the debilitating effects of disruption.

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I’m driven to bring this topic to our community of 130,000+ supply chain execs in the Future Insights Network.

If the last few years have taught us anything, is that the support and transparency among leaders are invaluable in inspiring people to move the needle again.

Many of our members have shared their own experiences on Transform Talks.

Want to be part of the discussions? It’s all happening in our growing global community.

Whatever we do, we must keep the momentum of transformation going.

Even if its starts with our mindsets and radiate outward in directed and measurable action within our industries. Because the world won’t be slowing down. The pace of change will remain fast.

We’ll need to keep up…

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If you enjoyed this week’s edition of Transform Thoughts and you’re interested in hearing me draw on the hundreds of interviews I’ve conducted on my podcast, Transform Talks, on the various supply chain challenges facing businesses today, come and join me in Frankfurt on the 30th of March at Camelot’s Supply Chain Day. The themes for this year’s conference are next-generation risk-aware planning, and decision-making, and the end-to-end integration of planning and execution.

Head over to the website to see the full speaker lineup and book your complimentary space.