The Travels: Greetings from Charlotte

Saturday, May 02, 2009

Greetings from Charlotte

The 94th annual International Supply Management Conference officially kicks off tomorrow, Sunday, May 3 at 9:00 a.m. Some of us have already been here for over 2 days. Why? To finally attend the official ISM CPSM T3 course (Train-The-Trainer). This is a course that I have tried to attend ever since last year’s gathering in St. Louis, where I registered too late and the course was full. Since then it seemed that celestial powers were keeping me from attending another. Client needs and really poor air service (from a carrier to remain un-named) were all too coincidental to be called coincidental. At last perseverance won out. But at what price now? Missing my grandson’s Bris for one. Malcolm forgive me, please. I am with you in spirit. And, if you ever want to earn a CPSM gramps can help. Fairly soon SSCM5 Inc. will be offering CPSM review courses. I’m in the T3 Network. (Footnote: there is a lot more than meets the eye in preparing a CPSM review course).

Some of the other participants were intimidating. Only a few of us actually have the CPSM credential. But most of these guys (and gals) are top class educators who plan to take this coursework out to America’s colleges and industrial training centers. While they lacked the full technical knowledge of the CPSM credential they taught me more about teaching in 2 days than I thought there was to know in total. For that I am grateful. And, oh yeah, they were comfortable with discussions on Porter's Five Forces and Supplier Risk Matrices. So they aren't that far off the technical side.

The best part of being early, besides having no lines at registration, is hitting the ISM Bookstore first, i.e. all titles are in stock. Every year at this conference I manage to drop $200 or so on some of the best new titles in supply chain and/or negotiations theory. This year is no exception. I obtained a copy of the CPSM Diagnostic Kit ($79). I intend to review this to determine if I’ll recommend it to my students. The second title is an autographed copy of “Straight to The Bottom Line – An Executive Roadmap to World Class Supply Management” ($35). The title, and a skim of the contents, gives the appearance that this may help provide rationale to hesitant members of the C suite. Last I got one of those pickups entitled “101 Winning Tactics. Everyone Negotiates” ($25). This last one is because I’m a sucker for negotiation books. I think I’m closing in on having the world’s largest collection of books and CDs on negotiations and marketing. Pretty soon I intend to read/listen to them all.

Charlotte is a pleasant city with the requisite number of chain restaurants and more than it’s share of one of a kinds. If you’re coming to Charlotte you should try Mert’s Heart and Soul. Located at 214 N. College St. this small casual cafe has the kind of fare that truly can be described as soul food. The menu includes fried catfish, chicken, and ribs, not to mention a host of other comfort foods. I had beef ribs, greens, mac and cheese with hot corn bread and a soft drink. The tab came to $12.95 before tip. The waiter scolded me for not saving room for the peach cobbler. I tipped him well, and advised him I will be back. Some days supply chain ain’t so tough.

No comments:

Post a Comment

4 Rules for Comments

Often the subject matter covered here is contentious. This is to be expected in a field where billions of dollars are spent – sometimes without prudent planning and sometimes under less than ethical circumstances. And the pressure to be the firm that gains those dollars through sales is placed on highly trained and sharply competitive front line sales teams. For that reason some of the comments on articles are not in agreement with this writer’s take or point or view. This is entirely acceptable. I am one man in a huge industry. In my personal experience the greatest growth occurs during periods of discomfort. By definition, growth always takes you to a new, less familiar, i.e. less comfortable place. However, some comments go beyond the bounds of civil discourse. As the moderator of this site I have 2 options with comments: Publish or Reject. I cannot modify. It is frustrating to preview a long comment that is obviously from the writer’s heart that must be rejected for violating one or more of the following rules (of common sense): 1) No comment that libels any individual or organization will be posted – period. You may not like the salespeople from company X or the VP at hospital Y, but on this site everyone will be treated with respect. “Travels” will not be a sounding board for petty or juvenile resentments, nor will it be used to take cheap shots. 2) Facts are facts and opinions are opinions. They need to be framed as such. There is a popular cable TV show that states “The Spin Stops Here”. Think of that when writing comments. Blanket statements without support that appear to be from outer space won’t post. You are advised to advertise opinions. 3) Speak for yourself. Statements of fact about organizations other than your own need to have attribution. If it appears that you have obtained information through paranormal methods there is a strong likelihood the comment will be rejected. Don’t make statements about what is happening at company X or hospital Y, because other than public pronouncements, you really don’t know. 4) It takes character and courage to speak for yourself, to stake yourself to a position publicly – not anonymously - and to challenge the status quo. I try to do just that with this site. Anonymous postings are sometimes, though not always, permitted. An example was when we had the discussion concerning payments to physicians by implant manufacturers. Since this site is visited by both the hospital and supplier communities anonymous commentary was permitted. The simple fact is that an honest dialog on the subject was not possible if someone’s employment status could be at risk. However, when we discuss the disciplines of Strategic Supply Chain Management anonymity is not required. Please, keep commenting. We all learn through dialog.