The Sourcing Hero

Ep 107: Pursuing Your Full Potential With Gratitude feat. David Meltzer

How connected do you feel to the people around you? What about yourself - when was the last time you paused to think about which philosophical choices are good and which are bad? 
In this episode of The Sourcing Hero podcast, Host Kelly Barner is joined by David Meltzer. David is the Co-Founder of Sports 1 Marketing, a consultant and business coach, keynote speaker, and a three-time best-selling author. His mission is to “make a lot of money, help a lot of people, and have a lot of fun…” so it may not come as a surprise to learn that he was the CEO of the Leigh Steinberg Sports & Entertainment agency - the inspiration for the movie Jerry Maguire.
In this conversation, David talks about his vision for success and fulfillment and how it can make a difference in people’s lives:
Why gratitude, empathy, accountability, and effective communication— are the four principles he uses to communicate and mentor others
Which of the four is the hardest for most people to abide by consistently
How each of us can be a hero to those we come into contact with

Ep 106: The Power of Procurement for Small Business feat. Chandhrika Venkataraman

Most procurement professionals work for organizations that predate their decision to join the company. Starting procurement from scratch in a small or mid-sized business is a unique journey, with many decisions that need to be made about when and how, and with many potential answers to the question, “Why?’
In this episode of The Sourcing Hero podcast, Host Kelly Barner welcomes Chandhrika Venkataraman. Chandhrika is the Founder of Source Refresh, LLC, a boutique consultancy that creates data-backed sourcing models for SMEs, startups, minority-owned businesses, and nonprofits. She is also the host of her own podcast, the Source Refresh podcast. 
In this interview, Chandhrika shares her honest - and in some cases controversial - thoughts based on her experience working with small business:
When in a company’s growth journey they should consider putting formal procurement in place
What part of the procurement process should they start with 
How procurement organizations in small companies should decide who their strategic suppliers are

Ep 105: Mining the Gaps for Strategic Supply Chain Value feat. Steve Clarke

The simplest solution to a problem is most likely the best one. Cutting through the noise to find root causes can be challenging, however, especially when there seems to be an overly complicated digital answer to every business question. 
In this episode of The Sourcing Hero podcast, Host Kelly Barner welcomes Steve Clarke. Steve is the Founder of BioSupply Consulting and the author of “Mine The Gaps,” a new book based on a framework he developed to help supply chain organizations achieve their strategic objectives with the least amount of effort and cost in the shortest amount of time.   
In this conversation, Steve shares stories where simple solutions were able to be applied because talented team members stayed focused on their strategic objectives:
The types of data procurement and supply chain professionals should prioritize so that they can deliver quick wins
What it means to call out “metrics that make people do dumb things” and the consequences of not identifying them in time
How decision makers can avoid wasting lots of money on technology they are not prepared to benefit from

Ep 104: Leveraging the Power of a Procurement Task Force feat. Harold Hendrickx

With the last few years being as unpredictable as they have been, procurement has experienced a number of mindset shifts - all of which have increased our agility and resilience. In fact, procurement has undergone so many changes that comparisons to the approaches and team models seen in military settings are not out of line. 
In this episode of The Sourcing Hero podcast, Host Kelly Barner welcomes Harold Hendrickx. Harold is a fractional CPO and the founder of TransExecutive, a company that deploys the Procurement Task Force model to help procurement teams enable, optimize, transform, and rapidly deliver value. He spent 20 years as a senior officer in the Royal Netherlands Air Force and NATO, where he experienced many of the frameworks and models he now applies to procurement.
In this conversation, Harold makes a number of connections between his military experience and what is required of procurement teams:
How procurement leaders can purposefully bring together different people and skills while still fostering trust and cooperation
The investment that must be made in leadership if the associated team is to achieve their objective
His recommendations for procurement leaders and teams who find themselves in unpredictable situations

Ep 103: Seeing Opportunity Through an Executive Lens feat. Jeff Davis

Everyone wants to know what the CEO is thinking. What keeps CEOs up at night? How do they hear the messages being shared with them by different functional leaders and the market at large? This all varies by CEO and is likely to be influenced by their functional background experience, general outlook on macro conditions, and relationships with other C-level leaders.
 
In this episode of The Sourcing Hero podcast, Host Kelly Barner welcomes Jeff Davis. Jeff is the Owner of Bridgestone Holdings, a real estate and property management company with a focus on multifamily apartments - 2,000 doors and counting! Jeff also has experience in global supply chain management, inflation-related disruptions, and changes in consumer demand.
   
In this conversation, Jeff helps us think through how CEOs see the world and why it is so important for supply chain leaders. He considers:
Some of the unique ways that supply chain professionals approach business challenges and decisions
How that compares to (or contrasts with) how other C-Level executives view the world
Whether most CEOs are ‘glass is half full,’ ‘glass is half empty,’ or somewhere in between - and what happens when the CEO is wrong???

Ep 102: Insuring Against Cyber Liability and Exposure feat. Shawn Edgington

‘Digital’ must be one of the most commonly used words in business conversations today. Its usage extends far beyond IT to include nearly every internal and external effort. With so many of a company’s assets and activities being conducted via digital platforms, why isn’t cyber security more frequently included in those conversations? 
In this episode of The Sourcing Hero podcast, Host Kelly Barner welcomes Shawn Edgington. Shawn is the Founder and CEO of CoverEase, a digital insurance brokerage that is transforming the way businesses shop for and purchase business insurance and group benefits by providing complete transparency to pricing from fifteen of the top insurance carriers in the country.   
In this conversation, Shawn walks through the risks associated with cyber security and the potential rewards for companies that approach it thoughtfully:
The current state of corporate cyber risk 
Why cyber liability is one of the most under-insured categories of commercial risk
The types of exposure created for companies that do not get ahead of cyber risk
How to ensure against this common type of exposure

Ep 101: Maximizing the Value of Strong Supplier Partnerships feat. Juli Lassow

After all of the turbulence of the last few years, relationships between procurement and suppliers have reached a place of stability - at least for now. And yet, given their experiences, both groups are re-examining what they want to get from their most strategic partnerships and how to make that possible. 
In this episode of The Sourcing Hero podcast, Host Kelly Barner welcomes Juli Lassow. Juli has spent most of her career to this point focused on the partnerships between companies and their suppliers. She has deep experience in retail and with private label products and can walk the line between negotiating savings and building value-oriented relationships as needed.
In this conversation, Juli shares advice that applies to supplier relationships in all categories and industries:
Her view of the current state of procurement supplier relationships
Whether this is the time for procurement to rethink what supplier partnerships mean, and which suppliers to partner with
How the existence of a deep partnership might alter procurement’s approach to contract (re)negotiation
The benefits associated with remaining curious in conversations with supplier partners 

Ep 100: Marking a Major Milestone with the Masters of the Unaverse feat. Anthony Clervi and Kris Lance

The average podcast only produces 6 episodes before ‘podfading’... and only 10% of podcasts make it to episode 100. To celebrate this special milestone, host Kelly Barner is joined by two ‘Masters of the Unaverse.’
Anthony Clervi is the Chief People Officer at Una. He’s an investor and a natural connector… something you already know if you are connected with him on LinkedIn. Kris Lance is a Senior Director at Una. He is dedicated to improving the client experience by listening first and then pairing strategy and tactics to achieve new levels of performance. 
In this conversation, Anthony, Kris, and Kelly talk about what it means to release episode 100 of The Sourcing Hero podcast and then walk a mile in procurement’s shoes:
What is 2023 likely to be like on a macro level and for all of the procurement professionals and teams facing those conditions?
How procurement can embrace a positive mindset in the face of constant challenges
The importance of connections, REAL connections, and how we might know when we’ve made a meaningful one