Changing Priorities Ahead

(thanks to R/DV/RS for the photo) 

Yes, priorities will be changing in 2012.  No surprise there as two constants in business are change and the ever increasing pace of change - if you're not capably dealing today with Change tomorrow will only be more challenging as Change will be coming at you faster.  With Change comes changing priorities - we identify new opportunities, resource availability changes, markets open and markets even collapse - in order to react to these pressures our priorities need to change.  

As Supply Chain Managers we need to be at the forefront of identifying these opportunities and play a key role in setting priorities for our organization.  Some of you may know that I'm a student of Ashtanga Yoga.  During the Holiday I was able to take several classes with instructors I had never practiced with before.  Being able to view the asanas in a new light and pick up pointers from different instructors was very valuable in bringing my practice to a new level.  I recently read Steven Johnson's "Where Good Ideas Come From" (see his Ted talk) and have been thinking about increasing my opportunities for gathering innovative ideas and bringing my Supply Chain 'practice' to a new level.

I am attending several upcoming events that focus on Supply Chain and will have Supply Chain Thought Leaders from various industry verticals.  I'm hoping to gain great ideas for my organization at these events:

14th Annual Logistics CIO & Supply Chain Technology Forum 

The Aberdeen Group 2012 Supply Chain Management Summit

I'm also participating in an instructor review session of the revised APICS CSCP materials over four consecutive Saturdays.  This is a great opportunity to cover the Certified Supply Chain Professional body of knowledge with a group of instructor/practicioners prior to teaching it in the classroom.

I believe these events will give me a good mix of industry and academic thought leadership but I'm always looking for good ideas.  Where are you looking to gather good ideas in 2012?  Please let me know in the comment section below.