I recently caught  The Wizard of Oz on television and my favorite character's scene was on.  It's when the Cowardly Lion is forced to meet the Great and Powerful Oz for the first time.  Summoned to step forward he is asked two simple questions. "And you Lion."  "Well?"  And at that the Lion faints.  There's such irony in this moment as a lion, a ferocious beast, faints at the site of a perceived powerful being.  Of course we come to find out in the end who the man behind the curtain really is.  And the Lion eventually finds his courage through his journey to save Dorothy from the Wicked Witch.

 

So why on earth would I open with such an anecdote?  Because all too often many of us in supply chain can't make the impression they hope to make amongst senior executives.  While we may not faint, but we miss the chance at making a favorable impression.  And like the Lion, we accomplish great things on our journey of reducing costs, standardizing procedures, ensuring contract compliance, etc.  We just don't know how to communicate effectively and often times lose the impact we can truly have.

So the opportunity to meet a powerful executive at your organization is not one to be wasted.  If they were to question you, be ready to ask yourself "am I prepared to meet my own powerful Oz?" If you are not sure then make the effort to attend our October meeting where we are featuring Julie Jansen and her presentation on Leveraging and Developing Your Executive Presence to Raise Supply Chain's Corporate Visibility.'
 
It will be a great opportunity to ensure you don't faint at the sight of powerful executives and you are in fact able to encapsulate your accomplishments within your organization.  I look forward to seeing you in person on the 19 ^th. 

Vice President, Enterprise Spend Management - IT Sourcing and Contracts 

Financial Operations of the Americas / FMA