Remembering Why

Over 5 months and probably a hundred interviews, I've talked to a ton of supply chain managers across every industry known to man. To a person, I don't think anyone has cared much about technical acumen or the ability to use a certain software. Everyone wants a problem solver. Supply Chain Management is the Winston Wolf of the business and there aren't enough Winston Wolfs out there. 

A big part of problem solving is preventing problems. Its knowing your stakeholders and the environment and seeing things before they happen. In supply chain, anyone would trade no good surprises for no bad surprises. Like an offensive lineman, if they say your name, it probably isn't good. 

Another key is a comfort with living in the gray. We aren't engineers. We aren't mathematicians. We need to be quick and decisive in making recommendations. The people we support don't have time for perfection. They want us to take what we know, make informed predictions about what is next and make informed decisions. Time is our enemy, so we know what we can and do our best to predict the future. I've heard more complaints about taking to long than not delivering enough value in my life.

The joy in being a problem solver is that no day looks the same. You talk to stakeholders and suppliers and read about what is happening in the environment. You synthesize it all together and make the best of it. As long as the outside world never stops, the challenges that come your way never do either.