I recently worked with a client on an annual report, which doesn’t sound earth shattering by itself. Until one realizes he doesn’t work for a public company. He’s the President/CEO of a regional security guard firm.
He’d started with the company 9 months ago and wanted to formally communicate his achievements to the owners. (more…)
Add comment July 20th, 2008
Bandwagons are for jumping on.
And Green is playing loudly everywhere, especially in the facility services arena. (more…)
Add comment July 12th, 2008
The title above is a quote attributed to Mark Twain.
And life now a days is just as befuddling as it was in his time. Media and experts pour out spin that can overwhelm our native intelligence.
Sometimes things are as simple as they appear. And that’s encouraging when wrestling over a complex decision or planning something.
Here are several examples of what appears to be lapses in common sense. (more…)
Add comment July 2nd, 2008
An interesting insight came out of our interviews with Procurement professionals (Procurement Talks: An Interview with Microsoft and Expedia’s interview to be published next week).
There’s not one style of procurement, but many. From traditional to progressive (my term for high-tech). And infinite hybrids in between. Procurement’s style leads them to operate differently.
And that matters if you’re trying to sell contract services to them. (more…)
Add comment June 27th, 2008
Buyers want to succeed - sellers want the same. What’s in the way?
Understanding each other.
Sharing perspectives is a first step along the way to success. To that end I recently interviewed a Procurement Manager at Microsoft. And there’s another interview coming the end of this month with the Senior Director of Procurement at Expedia. (more…)
Add comment June 17th, 2008
The expression, “can’t save your way to success”, can help service contractors better understand how they fit into their customers’ world.
I first heard this saying yesterday from a senior manager of corporate support services at a Fortune 100 company. She uses in-house employees and outsourced services to deliver support. (more…)
Add comment June 13th, 2008
You manage a budget. You rarely overspend, showing slight, but noticeable savings year after year. You’re a professional manager, say, a Business Owner of an outsourced service.
What if you could end the year with significant savings from budget (>10%) , would you?
Experienced managers typically don’t. And they have good reasons not to. In most organizations there’s a penalty for being too good at saving money.
Add comment June 3rd, 2008
Wouldn’t it be great to ask world-class companies about outsourcing, contracting and buying?
Lucky you. Today’s blog gives you the opportunity to do that.
You can ask Microsoft, Yahoo and Expedia about governance, vendor selection, contract management, or procurement.
GUEST INTERVIEWEES
I’ll be interviewing several directors and managers at those companies for upcoming Revenue-IQ articles. You give me your questions, I’ll ask them.
RUSH DEADLINE All right, not so rushed
There’s a time crunch for this.
Submit your questions by 1:00 p.m. EST /11:00 a.m. PST this Friday (5/23) here when you can.
HOW TO SUBMIT QUESTIONS
Figure out what you want to ask and post your questions as a comment online here.
See, if you want your questions asked you’ll have to post a comment to this blog. Which isn’t frightening, but probably not something you do often.
Click here for instructions how to.
Or, call me and I’ll walk you through the process over the phone. Ah hah, but here’s the hard part!
I’m not collecting your questions over the phone, or in email. They have to be submitted as comments to this post.
Consider it enforced learning. If you have a question you’d like asked, you’ll post it in a comment. Again, here’s how to.
Go on. Give it a try.
MISCELLANEOUS
Just to state the obvious, practical stuff:
That’s pretty much it.
~~~~~~
Chris Arlen
President, Service Performance
Technorati: contract management, Expedia, governance, Microsoft, outsourcing, procurement, vendor management, Yahoo
3 comments May 21st, 2008
Sack of potatoes <–compared to–> Boeing 787 outsourced components
Commodity <–compared to–> Respected high-priced solution
Basic service <–compared to–> Strategic service
Facility services <–compared to–> IT & Business Process outsourcing
Add comment May 14th, 2008
This is a drama about outsourcing, procuring and managing contract services.
It’s based on real life. And like a good melodrama, the hero prevails in the last reel.
It was prompted by a conversation this week with the Corporate Director of Procurement for one of the major travel web sites. (more…)
Add comment May 9th, 2008
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