It often bothers me when I am visiting with customers
It often bothers me when I am visiting with customers, prospects or at a speaking engagement that while explaining the benefits of a spending program like the benefits of Software as a Service (SaaS) offerings as it relates to the use of procurement tools, that I get that far away look and sometimes just disinterest by someone in the in the audience.
I have been around business long enough to know, and as one boss so blatantly told me; ?it?s about the money?. I?m not quite so esoteric as to believe that there are not times when profitability can be challenged in favor of the general good. Wall Street however would not reward a company for it during earnings season. That said, this author certainly thinks that consumer safety and environmental protection are two areas where one could lean in that direction. If a company can pare these initiatives with an opportunity for increased earnings through a virtually guaranteed reduction in cost of goods, so much the better.
These three areas; CSR, Safety and earning improvement tied together should jump out at anyone in the procurement business or the executive suite. Imagine going to your CEO during the middle of a challenging quarter and saying we were just able to reduce costs this quarter by a million dollars or more and our products are now more environmentally friendly and meet more stringent safety standards. I know how I?d react.
I believe there are two many people that go to work each day with limited or no passion at all for what they do. After all it?s just work. Let?s just do it the same way we always have. They many times don?t completely understand the intricacy?s of their job, let alone the goals of their company. Every company on the planet has a mission statement. I?m pretty sure that all the top business schools have a course called mission statement 101.
The question is how many of your employees know it, believe it and practice it.
Keep an open mind, the next idea you hear may be a great one. It could even change the world we live in.
I look forward to your comments.
