From negotiating tactics to supply chain risk mitigation to recognizing underrepresented leaders, there was a lot to learn on day three at ISM2016.
After months of anticipation, ISM2016 — the premier procurement and supply chain event — officially kicked off in Indianapolis. Whether you couldn’t make the trip or just couldn't decide which of the many great sessions to attend, we’re here to fill you in and give you an insider’s perspective with daily recaps straight from the conference.
Read Our Other Recaps
Day 1: Rising Supply Chain Stars
Day 2: Creating a culture of doing, sustainability, CEO tips, and more
Day 4: Overcoming challenges to working with small- and medium-sized businesses
Negotiate Like A Seller In Order To Become A Better Buyer
There was a line out the door for Tuesday’s signature session, Sales Negotiation Tactics Every Buyer Should Know, and the presentation was certainly worth the wait.
Patrick Henry Hansen, Founder and President of Patrick Henry International and sought-after sales coach, weaved lessons from throughout history, as well as lessons learned working with sales teams, together to offer tips that procurement can use to build power and maintain the upper hand when purchasing and negotiating.
The Power Of Power: The craft of negotiation has three fundamental elements – power, tactics and strategy, according to Hansen, and power is the most important of them all.
“When one side recognizes and understands power and the other side doesn’t, It’s not fair,” he said. “It’s like Michael Jordan playing against a second grader.
“The biggest mistake buyers and sellers make is that when they don’t think in terms of power and their counterparts do, they lose, almost 100 percent of the time.”
Power, however, does not exist in a vacuum. Much like the electricity that powers a light, negotiation is powered by sources.
For buyers, power is derived from:
Sellers, on the other hand, derive power from TIME, information and options, as well as these additional sources:
Winning Tactics: Tactics are the language of negotiation, and you want to make sure it’s not a foreign one. You should be comfortable communicating with the person on the other side of the conversation and understand what they are trying to achieve. In the case of procurement, this means being able to recognize and navigate through selling tactics that may prevent you from negotiating discounts or other changes.
Hansen identified 12 common seller tactics that you should be aware of when entering your next negotiation.
Embrace The Introvert In You (Or Your Organization)
Today’s keynote speaker was Susan Cain, author of the best-selling “The Quiet Revolution: Unlocking the Power Of Introverts” and host of one of the most widely-viewed Ted Talks of all time.
Cain explained that, despite the fact that introverts make up 33-50 percent of the population, they are underrepresented in leadership positions. That’s because most managers reward extroverted behavior and don’t recognize the potential of those who are more quiet or reserved.
Yet, recent studies at the Wharton School of Business reveal that introverted leaders often deliver better value than extroverts. In addition, nearly all of the executives profiled in “From Good To Great,” one of the most popular management book of the last two decades, were described as quiet, unassuming, low key, soft spoken and shy – all characteristics of introverts.
Thus, organizations need to rethink leadership and provide opportunities for introverts to shine and contribute. As part of this “rethinking,” you can consider holding fewer group meetings, where Cain said that three people usually do 70% of the talking. That’s not a healthy environment for an introvert, who may have great ideas but have no way of communicating them. Alternatively, you can provide employees with the quiet time they need to think and refresh.
Take the time to groom an “unlikely” leader, someone who is really talented but is being passed over because they don’t “look” like a leader. In addition, you can identify prominent introverts and ask them to share their strengths and start to shift the dynamics in your organization.
And, if you yourself are an introvert, Cain believes you should embrace it.
“It’s a mistake to turn ourselves inside out and be someone that we’re not,” she said.
However, introverts should make an effort to make themselves – and their skills – known. They need to make it a point to speak up early at meetings, which will draw attention and put them at the center of the conversation instead of on the margins.
Are Your Supply Chain Risks About To Turn Into Reality?
Supply chain disruption should be top of mind for all procurement leaders. However, according to new research from Carrie Ericson, Vice President of A.T. Kearney, and Rose Kelly-Falls, Sr. Vice President, Supplier Risk at Rapid Ratings International, that’s not the case in many companies.
According to their research, 89 percent of supply chain risk “leaders” ensure supply continuity and have a plan to combat disruption. Unfortunately, only 52 percent of organizations overall have these same measures in place.
If you are among the 48 percent of companies that do not ensure supply continuity, now is the time to adopt a plan. That’s because the supply chain is being bombarded with disruptive trends, including:
When a disruptive event does occur, what should you do? Ericson and Kelly-Falls recommend the following:
That wraps up our coverage of day three at ISM2016.