Nanjing displays leadership

Did you see the article yesterday in the Asian Wall Street Journal regarding Nanjing and its approach to peddlers?

What intrigued me was not just the approach that Nanjing was taking but more importantly, the fact that they were not ignoring or hiding the issue and instead, tackling it. As with any such solution, there can be debates on what is the best solution and I love those debates as much as anyone. However, having such a debate can sometimes be used as an excuse to avoid implementing any solution and that is usually a worse outcome.

In addition, Nanjing's approach might just influence China's overall approach to the issue. If population estimates are right, that means an approach undertaken by an area that accounts for about 1 percent of the total population could influence the remaining 99 percent--talk about showing leadership.

What does this have to do with sourcing? How many times have individuals or smaller groups been reluctant to tackle sourcing-related issues because they were "waiting to see what is best" or "waiting to see what others do"? As Nanjing has shown, leadership can be exercised in many ways.

In a surfing analogy, waiting for the perfect wave while all around you hone their skills through repeated practice, including some spills, is not the way to become a world champion.

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Michael Rehkopf

Michael has more than 20 years of experience in operations, strategy and sourcing covering all major parts of the globe. He has also worked for Australian, Canadian, German and Japanese companies in both business process outsourcing and IT outsourcing.
Michael's industry experience includes the financial services, manufacturing, telecommunications and travel sectors. He leverages this diverse industry experience and his university background in accounting, IT and his Master of Dispute Resolution, to assist clients in the development of business strategies and the implementation of sourcing strategies. These include the associated evaluation, negotiation and organizational change.
Michael is currently a partner at TPI, the world's oldest and largest sourcing advisory firm. Prior to joining TPI, Michael held leadership positions with Siemens Business Services, OpenPlus International, Mitsubishi Electric and Netron.