Executive Insights

Over my 30 years as a leader in the supply chain industry, I developed a strategy or slogan called “Buffaloes and Squirrels.” Anyone who knows me can attest to this. I wrote about this many years back on this blog. This was nothing more than prioritizing our work in Supply Chain like the 80/20 rule.

Upon looking at articles on strategy development, I am finding a very intriguing approach to strategic development of priorities called “Questions from the Balcony.” I found multiple sources for this on the internet.

This approach suggests you take a step back from your work – from the balcony. You observe and ask questions – questions that challenge assumptions; seeking out solutions, making new connections, and broadening your lens. Being able to ask smart questions while outside the heat of the battle (work) is key.

What questions might we have that need some good analysis from the balcony? Here are some suggested questions from an IDN perspective:

Who are our biggest suppliers and who is managing them?
What are the products and services we buy the most and who makes the buying decisions?
Should we invest in self-distribution or should we manage our distributor more strategically?
How much should we invest into self-contracting vs. relying on our GPO?
Are we managing our GPO effectively?
Do we have sufficient data to manage our supply chain products, supply and inventory?
How do we retain and attract talent?

A good review with a step back from the balcony is healthy. Don’t assume there is not a better way. Insanity is defined as doing the same things over and over again and expecting different results. No change is staying the same.

Stephen R. Covey, a Utah author, has two good quotes to support this,

“Most of us spend so much time on what is urgent and not enough time on what is important.”
“The key is not to prioritize what’s on your schedule but schedule your priorities.”

Stephen R. Covey also wrote a famous book entitled “The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People.” Habit # 7 was Sharpen the Saw. This is very similar to stepping onto the balcony and doing self/organizational renewal. Imagine if you watched a person trying to take a tree down with a saw and the saw blade was dull. Covey suggests we must take time to sharpen our saw to be effective.

We are generally good managers and leaders but we can all improve. We need to learn strategic techniques that help us manage our work more effectively. We need to learn to prioritize our work when everything seems to be #1. Taking time to look at our work FROM THE BALCONY from time-to-time makes a lot of sense to me.