DOROTHY, THE SCARECROW, AND THE TIN MAN,
whether they realized it or not, had the capability and passion
needed to reach the Emerald City in Oz. But none was, by nature,
fierce, and they feared finding ferocity as they passed through
the forest. The Cowardly Lion may not have been either all
they feared or what they needed, but he was all they had at the
moment.
MEANWHILE, BACK IN THE BLOGOSPHERE …
The e-world has been burning up recently, as discussion forums
have lit up with intense point/counterpoint barbs about the relative merits of passion, discipline, and competence in our supply
chain profession. It’s all pretty much anecdotal
pamphleteering, but let’s face reality—research
is, fairly often, the collection of many anecdotes,
distilled and summarized.
Some wax eloquent about the necessity and
glory of passion in our professional pursuits
to transform doing the job into an immensely
rewarding and life-changing mission. A grim
coterie of doubters, naysayers, and grinches
contend that the notion of passion is illusory
and transient, and that the real magic lies within
the discipline of executing the basics, the blocking and tackling that result in delivering the goods to customers.
Much has been made of the potential for passion to be mere
cheerleading; worse, an artificial enthusiasm; or still worse,
detrimental by having no substance (competence or discipline)
behind it.
THE PITFALL OF A FALSE CHOICE
So, proponents, especially of the plodding discipline and competence camp, like to suggest that success can come from bringing
on demonstrated capability and eschewing flash and flair. Others
might think that passion can overcome mere details of knowing
how to do the job.
Our decision, given a choice between Candidate A and
Candidate B in hiring for the future, is to not choose, but to wait
for the right combination of passion and capability before hiring.
We will admit that operations can be effective, even good, in the
hands of disciplined competence. We also contend that passion
is the secret sauce that can take good to great.
BY ART VAN BODEGRAVEN AND
KENNETH B. ACKERMAN basictraining
Lions, tigers, and bears, oh my!
And great is what separates leaders from
laggards. Will greatness always win? No. Will
good always fail? Seldom. But what are the risks
of being merely good in a world ruled by greatness, and what are the benefits of achieving
corporate and competitive greatness?
WHAT ABOUT THE LION?
The more we thought about it, though, the
more we realized that there is another ingredient in this mulligatawny—ferocity. Perhaps
Dorothy’s Lion was not quite up to expectations, but he did come through
at the end and help his team
dispatch the witch.
Those who succeed, in many
fields and certainly in supply
chain management, tend to
have an element of fierceness
that helps separate them from
the competent, the passionate,
Ferocity is a hallmark of her every effort—
and success, whether in business, in fundrais-ing, or in triathlons. Some days, it is frightening, not on a personal level but to see the
determination and commitment up close, and
momentarily feel some empathy for those who
need to keep up.
Then, consider the late Steve Jobs. Passionate,
almost beyond reason. Capable, to be sure,
and aggressive about surrounding himself with
those capable on other facets of the Apple
business.
