I had the opportunity to participate with Rodney Apple, from the SCM Talent Group, one of the big supply chain executive recruiters in the field. Our discussion covered a wide variety of topics, and gave me the opportunity to recall some of the key people and events that helped shape my career over the last 35 years.

The podcast can be found at this link.

I reviewed some of my early experiences at Michigan State and the Global Procurement Benchmarking Initiative, working with Bob Monczka, one of the pioneers of purchasing and supply management strategy. During this period, I had the opportunity to also work with leading procurement executives from global firms around the world, including Gene Richter, and our own Vic Venetozzi, (who now serves as one of our executive faculty advisors here at the SCRC).

I also spoke at length about the importance of strong people skills to be an effective supply chain leader. In particular, the importance of becoming an effective listener to your key stakeholders, and working collaboratively to solve the many complex and difficult supply chain problems. The best leaders I’ve worked with have a natural sense of humility, and are always open to learning from others around them. There is so much to learn in supply chains, and effective leaders know this and know they don’t have all the answers.

I also spent some time discussing the core skills that our students develop working on supply chain projects with our SCRC partner companies includes the importance of effective scoping of the project and nailing down the research question. The other key skills involve how to effectively communicate, running a project, running meetings with agenda, and asking the right questions, as well as managing a team effectively. One of the most important skills starts with “asking the right question” you are trying to solve!

Despite the rise of data-driven supply chains, I also highlight how operational experience remains one of the most important differentiators among high-performing leaders. Many professionals are entering the workforce with strong analytical and technical skills, but fewer have meaningful hands-on operational exposure inside warehouses, manufacturing plants, or distribution environments. That real-world experience creates context that cannot be replicated through dashboards or reporting tools alone. There is no substitute for experiences such as learning how to walk the floor of a DC or plant floor and observe key events occurring around you, interviewing workers, understanding the flow and dynamics of supply chain, and mapping out business processes. These insights help managers connect the real world with the data that they are working on to infer insights and improvements. Operational knowledge helps leaders better understand variability, execution challenges, and the realities of running complex supply chains. Organizations that intentionally develop talent through rotational experiences and field exposure are often far more successful at building leaders capable of managing end-to-end operations in volatile environments.

Finally, learning the “soft skills” is essential for effective supply chain leadership. I spoke about the gap for kids who have had limited interpersonal experiences during COVID, and the importance of learning how to put down your phone and communicate with others! Even being able to have “small talk” with others is essential to effective communications – because it often leads to insights you’d never expect to receive!