Recruiting the Non-Conformists for Executive Supply-Chain Roles
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In this episode of Everything is Logistics, host Blythe Brumleve speaks with Heidi Hoffman, partner at ON Partners, about their strategy of recruiting when it comes to procurement and sustainability in the supply chain industry.

During the convo, they discuss the importance of nonconformity and how it can lead to innovative solutions. Hoffman explains her approach to recruitment and finding the best candidates, not just based on traditional qualifications but also considering strategic mindset and new industry developments.

In addition, we also discuss ON Partners’ new 2023 Executive Women Impact Report and the company’s findings on the growing role of women in leadership positions.

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Show Transcript

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Blythe Brumleve: 0:05

Welcome into another episode of everything is logistics, a podcast for the thinkers in freight. I'm your host Blythe Brumleve. And I'm happy to welcome in Heidi Hoffman. She is partner over at ON Partners and we're going to be talking about procurement and sustainability. Both subjects need to learn more about so if you are in the same boat as me, this conversation is for you. So Heidi, welcome to the show.

Heidi Hoffman: 0:29

Oh, it's such a pleasure to be here. Blythe. Thanks for having me.

Blythe Brumleve: 0:32

Absolutely. Now, I was looking at your your website earlier today, the On Partners website and it says that you are the nonconformists crafting the best solutions for you as sort of the intro pitch on our website. So what does it mean to be a nonconformist in supply chain?

Heidi Hoffman: 0:50

Oh, that's a great question. I am a recruiter and supply chain. So I can tell you what it means from recruiting. But I do think nonconformity and supply chain is a really good thing as well. We think we're the nonconformist because we don't do it the way everyone else. We don't do executive search the way everyone else does. In as that, as that refers to me, I recruit all supply chain executives, So sea level and below procurement, manufacturing, quality logistics, and it's very easy to just kind of come at it from a very standard way, if I want to procurement person, I get somebody who's been in procurement, if I want a logistics person, you know, that's what we're looking for. We try to push the envelope a little bit and say, what are you really looking for? In the executive? What kinds of skill sets Yes, but also strategic mindset, you know, what's new in your company, that are in your industry, even that we can be looking for that's different. And so we're finding you the right leader, for the exact need that you have not just the On paper, this person looks perfect. You know, it's it's a much more strategic kind of collaborative way of going about executive search.

Blythe Brumleve: 2:03

So it's not exactly you know, like the, I guess, the rioters in the street or something like that, that does, you know, supplies, there's such a thing as like supply chain rioters maybe I'm not exactly sure. But when you refer to Nonconformist, but it's really people who are going maybe above and beyond and their roles and have a certain skill set that can be transferable to other skill sets that that kind of maybe the a good summary.

Heidi Hoffman: 2:27

That's exactly right. So I've been doing search now for 25 years, it's a very long time. And the profile of people that go into supply chain has changed so much in that period of time, that we've had to adjust the way we look for them and actually recognize the value that different people, different profiles, different backgrounds, different everything, bring to these functions to really drive it to a more strategic level. So yes, just kind of thinking differently about what the background would be.

Blythe Brumleve: 2:58

That's interesting, because I had interviewed a gentleman by the name of DeMarco Thomas, who runs a variety of different trucking organizations. And he says that he actively scouts, restaurant workers, because they're used to dealing with customer service issues, they're used to dealing with a variety of different types of customers. And so that's who he has found has been a perfect fit for a lot of you know, brokerage roles and a lot of dispatching roles is because they're already in those environments. So that's interesting that it kind of goes up chain as well throughout, you know, the entire supply chain industry. So with you in particular, you you just mentioned that you've been, you know, recruiting in this space for 25 years. Now, how did you originally get into supply chain? Is it something you kind of just, you know, what I hear a lot is I just Oh, I just fell into supply chain and logistics. Is that kind of the same for you?

Heidi Hoffman: 3:48

I feel like these days people are starting to target it. But 25 years ago, I accidentally fell into it. That's exactly right. I was I was a commercial banker, actually, in my first career. And we were doing these asset based lending the asset based loans, and we'd have to go into warehouses and literally kick the tires, like see what the inventory was. And I was walking around in the warehouse and was like, Hey, man, this is such cool stuff. And it really just made me realize I didn't want to be on the lending side. I wanted to be on the doing side. I wanted to see it and feel it and touch it. And so I got into operations consulting and then kind of just expanded there. I love people so expanded there to be a supply chain, recruiter back, back then it wasn't actually called supply chain, right. It was called like freight and buying and things like that. So we've had a lot of fun with it. But yeah, it's sort of accidentally found a love for it. Never. I studied math and economics, right. I never thought I'd go into a human resources type of world, but it's in a field that I love. I just I love supply chain people. They're so interesting. They have the best stories to tell.

Blythe Brumleve: 5:03

This episode is brought to you by SPI logistics the premier freight agent and logistics network in North America. Are you currently building your freight brokerages, book a business and feel that your capabilities are being limited due to lack of support and access to adequate technology? At SPI logistics, we have the technology, the systems and the back office support to help you succeed. If you're looking to take control of your financial future and build your own business, with the backing of one of the most successful logistics firms in North America, visit SPI three P l.com. To learn more. And that I think is a really great sort of segue into because you've already mentioned you know a little bit about how the skill set has evolved for supply chain professionals and how it's a career that folks are seeking out now. And do you do you find that especially in the executive role, that the person in charge of supply chain is getting more of a seat at the table, especially in those you know, high level high stakes meetings with the C suite or with the board room, its supply chain has it evolved into that seat at the table.

Heidi Hoffman: 6:10

It really has and really broadly across the supply chain, but I speak to a lot of senior executive C level executives about how the profiles change. And I always see them nodding, right, because it's like 1015 20 years ago, procurement for example, was was just negotiating good prices and buying stuff. And you were sitting in the back office, and nobody really knew who you were until you didn't get the materials, right, that's when you was always the bad stuff. We evolve it over time. And as they become more strategic, more involved in the actual strategy of the business, they've gotten a seat at the table. So went from a back office, just tactical role to much more of a general management role. If you look at a psychological profile of a chief procurement officer, for example, it really very closely matches a CEO, or CEO in the strategic thought process, and kind of thinking two or three steps ahead. So now we're seeing supply chain executive sitting on boards of directors, which I think is a spectacular idea. Because you got to think differently, where are we going to get you know, where do we have alternates to our supply? How do we do risk management? And really, how are we going to be prepared for the next pandemic, tsunami, you know, hurricane, whatever it might be. So yeah, they're definitely getting that seat at the table. And procurement for specifically, which is a big passion of mine, chief procurement officers are really becoming kind of the tip of the spear for sustainability and ESG strategies in organizations because of all of the multitude of relationships that they manage for a company. I mean, you consider, it's all the suppliers, it touches all of the customers. And so if you think about a company's carbon footprint, or their dei initiatives, it's not only kind of what are you doing, but it's what are your suppliers doing? What are your suppliers, suppliers doing? How are they treating people? Where are they getting their raw materials from? That really starts to expand and so when the the really good CEOs realize that their chief procurement officer is the person that's that's truly impacting their sustainability and ESG then they give them that seat at the table. And so we're just we're getting there. We are definitely getting there.

Blythe Brumleve: 8:34

And real quick with procurement because that is a part of my I guess, social media game, if you will, that is the weakest i I'm fascinated by it, you know, how you know commodities factor into it, and the source of the source of the product and what needs to be done in order to to get the product from, you know, port to porch? So how, what is the I guess the the general sort of day to day look like for somebody that's in charge of procurement?

Heidi Hoffman: 9:04

Well, no, I've never been a chief procurement officer. I wish I couldn't have I did have that skill set, but I've recruited a lot of them in my career. And I think what I would say is that they are the people who are talking constantly to sales and operations, manufacturing, the finance people, they're kind of the glue across the organization to say, what do we want to make? How are we going to make it and where are we going to get the inputs to make it whether it be contract manufactured products coming in, or raw materials or piece parts that have been manufactured elsewhere? They're thinking about the the, the end customer and walking backward to how we're going to as you say, get it from port to porch, or even be pre pre port from the suppliers from the in the ground on the table, and how that all comes together. I love supply chain because it literally touches every thing, plan, source, make deliver, serve. And any product that you see or use every day has supply chain people and even services. There's a lot of supply chain services, right. So we, we touched the world, I love it.

Blythe Brumleve: 10:14

And that you brought up a really good point earlier when you said that the people in charge of procurement also make for really great CEOs and CEOs. And as you were listing out a lot of those different job duties, it sounds like it's a lot of the same job duties and those those high level C suite roles.

Heidi Hoffman: 10:33

They really are, I mean, the best chief procurement officers are exactly that. There are people who are still very tactical. And that's that's got to evolve, right. But if we start to develop our younger procurement and supply chain people, which now there are college degrees in it, right, so you can start to learn it from the second you walk into college, then you develop these more strategic thinkers. And I think it makes companies better as a result.

Blythe Brumleve: 11:01

Yeah, cuz I think we even have a line from the prep doc for right before this interview. And it said that the CPU, the chief procurement officer is becoming the steward of goodwill for the company versus in the past, they were solely responsible for overseeing the process of just purchasing products. Now they're creating the external persona around sustainability, and ESG. In general. So how is I guess, you know, the the role of procurement also including sustainability, or has it always included sustainability?

Heidi Hoffman: 11:34

I think in some ways, it's always included sustainability. That was, that's such a buzzword that's kind of become more top of mind, right ESG is now moving from sort of a nice to have PR tactic to this enterprise wide strategic initiative that just deeply involves the supply chain, right, you can't do this without the supply chain. So when it used to be just a nice to have, don't we look great marketing thing. Now it's, it goes through every piece of what you're doing. And so now sustainability is not, it's not always part of the chief procurement officers responsibility, specifically, they're often as a legal person, or somebody who's sustainability chief or something. But when you when you really break it down, the supply chain is What's touching all of the pieces of your sustainability and ESG, I like to keep them a little bit separate, because there's a lot to unpack in there. But it's really the person who's who's guiding the company in the direction that it wants to go.

Blythe Brumleve: 12:40

And so when you mentioned sustainability, and with you know, so much of our a lot of transportation companies are moving in this direction, I, you know, I've spoken to a few of them, especially when you know, a lot of products, it's something like more than 50% of the cost of that product is related to transportation of that product. And so there are also a lot of not just environmentally friendly ways to save. But there's also financial ways to save when you become a more sustainable company, especially if you practice a lot of these procurement, I guess, goals of what you had mentioned earlier. So I guess my larger question is, what does it mean to be have a sustainable strategy in supply chain for you know, 2023? And moving forward? What are companies focusing their sustainability efforts?

Heidi Hoffman: 13:31

I think there's a lot of different pieces and parts to that, which is why I think the sustainability chief is often not just procurement, because as you said, it's a lot of there's a lot of pieces to the strategy. But the sustainability strategy that we're seeing in supply chain is we've got to be able to map out our impact on the world. So be it. Where are we getting our materials from? who's handling our materials in the meantime? And that is both the manufacturers in the middle and the logistics providers that you're talking about? who's handling it and how are they handling it? What are they doing on the road? Do they have LNG trucks or they have electric trucks? You know, what is what does that? How does that impact us? So it's, it's really thinking everything from when the product comes out of the ground or as grown or as mind or, or, you know, whatever, wherever you're getting it from, to the second it's getting onto the Customers table, or, you know, is being used by the customer. Every piece of that has to be in your sustainability. Strategy. It's your carbon footprint. It's how you're thinking about the your dei and how you're treating people and how you're leaving the world a better place. It's important you said that you said a great I think there's there's a there's a financial part to this, but there's a Gen Z. Just be good to the world part of this which is actually also we're recruiting tactic, right? The the next generation of workers that are coming through, want to work for companies that are doing good things. And so if your product is more carbon neutral, or really fitting more of a sustainability strategy in attracts people to work to your company. And so it's going to be a kind of continuous process of just making that strategy work for you.

Blythe Brumleve: 15:28

And I think too, it puts a lot of newer expectations, I think on the current workforce, and then like you said, the the incoming workforce, you know, those high school students that those college students, is there, do you see a growing importance among that generation in particular, when it comes to sustainability and ESG? And having the responsible procurement strategy?

Heidi Hoffman: 15:52

200%? Absolutely. I think what we've seen and I don't know the exact numbers, but people are willing to pay more for products that have a sustainable sourcing strategy. And so if you if you try to make that trade off of well, what is that price that they'll pay, right? But also, how can we get there and still be profitable as ourselves, but create products that are sustainable and can continue to give back to the world, it's going to be an interesting next 1020 years, because they'll start getting to a point where we are carbon neutral, right? And then what's the next thing, so you're, you've got to be staying ahead of regulatory issues, you've got to be staying ahead of climate risk and climate risk modeling to make sure you're ready for the next, the next pandemic, or whatever might be coming. And just kind of keep keep this going. So I think the younger people that are coming up through, keep an eye on that. And they're, as I said, they're learning it in college. So they start it, they start now, and it's just gonna get better and better and better as we go along.

Blythe Brumleve: 17:00

And I imagine with a lot of, you know, say, like the bigger companies in supply chain, and as I think about what their goals and what their priorities are, is there any kind of, I guess, like an informational flow system, to the colleges and to the high schools, to let these folks know that this is what's important now, and this is what you should be learning about? I'm not sure if you have the answer to that question. But I'm just thinking out loud here. And I would think that that would be a good, it feels. It feels like in our industry, it's very, we have not tapped into the high schoolers and the college, you know, folks who could be an asset to this industry. And it sounds like that may be changing. And I'm wondering how you're, you're hearing from both sides of the coin, from the bigger businesses to the actual, you know, the folks that are in the recruiting pool of what matters and how they're, I guess, approaching recruiting them?

Heidi Hoffman: 17:52

Yeah, that's a good question. I don't know that I know the answer. I don't know exactly what the colleges are teaching. But I do know that it's attracting the best and the brightest to the fields of supply chain, all the functions of supply chain. And I think it's also pushing our clients, the people who are recruiting these executives, to think differently. And so where we used to say, in a position description, you know, must have 15 years of experience in this, it doesn't say that anymore, because we kind of need to have thinkers who are thinking differently, this more innovative way of looking at things or someone who can push, push the envelope a bit to bring more of sustainability in order technology and innovation into what they're trying to do. They don't want to do it the same way. It's been done for 15 years. And so their thinking is a little bit less about, you know, the exact right. It's not round peg round hole as it has been in the past. It's more of like, well, what What shape should the should the candidate be? And what can that look like? It's hard for them then in recruiting because you're not always comparing to exactly the same candidates. And you have to think about how what they're bringing to your role, how that's going to impact the longer term. I do have clients who, who recruit people who tend to have a broader mindset. Then as we were saying procurement to procurement, it's people who would have kind of moved around in different pieces of the supply chain, they did a little procurement, they've done a little planning, they've run a plant or a manufacturing line. And so they bring a much more holistic view of how all the pieces fit together. And again, I think that goes back to your sustainability strategy, because each piece impacts the next each step impacts the next step of the supply chain. And so you're just bringing a much more kind of well rounded view of how to move forward.

Blythe Brumleve: 19:52

And you'd mentioned innovation a few times there. Do you have any examples of what what kind of innovation is really exciting? That's going going on in the supply chain or maybe procurement or sustainability space?

Heidi Hoffman: 20:05

I mean, there's a lot of startups technology, a lot of technology that's coming online from a from a planning standpoint, how do we, how do we tie our client our customers needs to what we can produce and do it in a cost effective manner. There's lot of software and AI a lot of machine learning coming into play. There's some really neat new software's, or technologies in procurement in particular, that can estimate what your carbon footprint is your current supply chain, I don't know how it works. I'm not a technology guru. But I think it's just really cool stuff. And when you look at some of these startups are the new innovations coming on, they tend to be a more experienced executive teams with a younger executive who's bringing this new thought process. So it's, it's just exciting to see the changes happening

Blythe Brumleve: 21:02

100% That's because I remember reading not too long ago, that even finding like a manufacturers list was incredibly hard. For a lot of folks who had you know, during the lockdowns, or during COVID, they wanted to start up an Etsy business or something like that. And they were finding it really challenging to even find the list online lists of manufacturers that they could go and work with. So the idea that that didn't exist, then and now some of these technologies are coming into the market makes a lot of sense. And I think it's, you know, sort of modern problems require modern solutions. And maybe that's where those fresh pair of eyes from folks in other industries, or maybe even the younger generation can offer some insight on and you guys had asked at over at ON Partners, you had had a really great report that talked about sort of the next generation and the career path for a lot of these different folks. And so I think it was one of the the key learnings from the executive women making an impact. Can you share maybe some of those takeaways with us when it comes to women in particular, and the supply chain?

Unknown: 22:06

Yeah, glad you asked that, because I want to make sure we're very clear about some of the more innovative people coming into this world. We did just ON Partners did just publish our 2023 Executive Women Impact Report. And my piece specifically in that report is about supply chain, and how women are the kind of finally getting to those top level roles. There were some things that were holding women back from these roles in the past, for example, a lot of them came that a lot of the roles required an engineering background, there weren't a lot of women in engineering programs, then you had to run a plant and then run another plant and run another plant, which meant moving every couple of years. And it just was not conducive to creating the lifestyle that a lot of executive women wanted to have. So we've been over time as the roles have evolved, and you needed different types of backgrounds and different type of leadership styles, the ability to collaborate the ability to multitask, and the ability to sort of see the forest for the trees, that strategic capability is something that women kind of come with, regardless of whether they have the engineering degree or not. And so it's allowed some kind of what I call the oh geez, right, the trailblazers that came up and really are sitting in those top roles and really being these fantastic role models giving back to young women coming into supply chain. If you can see someone that looks like you sitting in a big in a top role, it absolutely makes you wonder okay, well maybe I can achieve that as well and attracts more females to the to those roles. I will say it's not all about women bringing women in there are a lot of really spectacular male executives in supply chain who have recognized the need to have more diversity in in those roles, and really have been driving that through and I've been working with them again now for for 25 years to try to figure out you know, how do we make our supply chain look more like our end customers because they they have to be thinking about this and then that and then that draws in the younger people as well. So our Executive Women Impact Report report goes across a wide variety of functions. I obviously specialize in supply chain, but it has some great insights on what's been holding women back and how to not not hold back anymore you don't there's not a perfect fit for a perfect role. There's there's not one person that fits in every role. It's let's find what's right for the role now what's right for the company now and then and then put the person in there so I could go on and on about about women in supply chain. I've placed a lot of them in my life. I think they're just spectacular people and I'm excited to see them continue You're to, to succeed.

Blythe Brumleve: 25:02

And I think that you brought, there was a couple of points that related to what you were just talking about that I had heard recently. That a woman by the name of Lorena comigo, she runs a company called Pearl transport. And she mentioned the other day about how she changed the verbiage on her the jobs of the people that they were looking for, she changed it to appeal to more women. So you can work from home a couple of different days out of the week, you have, you know, certain amount of days off that is significantly more built around holidays and things like that, and offers, you know, support for you know, parental leave and things and just aspects that I don't know that we're ever considered to be put on, you know, job benefits that you can expect that you'll get if you come and work for us. And she's a woman owned company. So she wanted to appeal to other women. So that simple language change on those applications made a huge difference. And then there's also the fact that I learned at the manifest futures logistics conference that an overwhelming or it's something like 60, if you list out a job application of what traits that you're looking for, women think tend to think that they need to fill all of those in order to apply for that position versus a man who will see, you know, about 50% of those skills that he has, and he will apply anyways. Are you seeing a lot of that in your recruiting searches? I see you nodding your head.

Heidi Hoffman: 26:23

Oh, my gosh, it's so funny, because you're exactly right. And we're generalizing here, right. But women in general will read a position description and say, Well, I've got some of it, but I'm not really qualified. And I'll be like, Wait a second. Yeah, we we that's why we say you know, don't pass up an opportunity, because you're not a perfect fit. Advocate for yourself. You know, there's other things that women in general, again, that struggle with, and that's things like negotiating compensation. never apologize for how much money you make, when you when I when we talk about compensation amongst executives, women in general, are sort of shy to say it because they're like, Well, I make this a lot of money, or I don't make enough money. And we've got to advocate for ourselves to get what we need, asking for parental leave, or flexible time, or whatever it is working from home one day a week, so you can do certain things. Those are things that we have to be brave and come out and do because the men benefit from it as well. Right? So it's really for all of us and becoming a much more just open and inclusive society.

Blythe Brumleve: 27:36

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Unknown: 29:04

I love that question. And it's something that I think about every day, there are some just great women. And you may know and Drake, who was the CEO of DSC logistic, started a group called Awesome, which I'm sure I'll mess it up. But it's this fantastic group. I think it's achieving women's excellence in supply chain or something like that, who really took the time to step back and say, Okay, what were some of the challenges that I've run into, then I can clear the way for the next generation of women coming through. And they set up these fantastic organizations to help we add ON Partners are supporting a group called Upward women. We're hosting or sponsoring an event next week, which is a roundtable or a panel of women who are going to discuss some of the challenges that they've gone through in their career. You can learn from them learn from my mistake. So you don't make them in the future, I offer to all the young women that I work with, both in ON Partners and some of the executives that I that I have been recruiting, hey, if you ever want to connect with me as a mentor, or you say, Hey, I've got this challenge ideas, there's someone you can connect me to, to try to understand how to navigate it. I try to be a connector to to help people through that. And I think then when we clear the deck of all those old problems, we can focus on the new problems and not have to overcome all of that at the same time. So it's just giving back. And it's giving back generally to all the young folks coming through.

Blythe Brumleve: 30:41

And I think two on a very, like similar trajectory as well. We're starting to to have more, you know, people, people of color, you know, and those executive roles and moving up though those leadership chains. So what is it a lot of, I guess, maybe similar struggles that they're, that it just helps to see, you know, somebody who looks like you in that position of power in order to help the younger generation see themselves in that role as well.

Unknown: 31:07

I absolutely think so. I think there are some trailblazers, like Shelley Stewart, who was the chief procurement officer of DuPont, and he sits on two or three different big, big company boards now. And you see him you say, oh, my gosh, he he accomplished this. And he gives back his time, all the time. I mean, he will pick up the phone, if you call Him and He will help you. However he can. Julia Brown, who was years ago, I helped together CPO role at Kraft Foods. And then she went and did great things at Carnival Cruise Lines as well. Now she sits on two or three big boards. I love to see them evolving into basic board leadership roles. Because again, even for those of us who are mid or later in our career, you say okay, what do I do next? Oh, no, now I actually have another goal to achieve because they've been trailblazing for us. going down that path. There's just some some great people out there who've been working hard to be visible. And so we can we can follow them. We're moving to retirement. Now. Ferran Melton, the chief procurement officer of Bristol Myers just announced her retirement and I never thought I would see it, because she is such a great role model for all the women and diversity candidates of all shapes and sizes and colors and backgrounds that come through here. So it's yeah, there's just so many role models, and it really helps the rest of us to see them and, and really strive for the same success.

Blythe Brumleve: 32:39

And so what very well said, and so with those, you know, those roles that you can see yourself in now and you know, obviously, we want more of them, of course, and then we kind of circle back to, you know, the procurement and the sustainability angles, ESG goals. So if I'm someone who's maybe already working in supply chain, or I'm interested about working in supply chain, are there any, you know, classes or things that you should study, in order to sort of up your game so that you can enter this industry? Or maybe switch career paths?

Unknown: 33:13

Yeah, I do think that the degrees and supply chain now are exceptionally good. There's, you know, there's the top programs that like, Tennessee and Arizona State and different places that have these very well thought out structured programs to give you that depth across the functions. And so you can go into your career, already having some idea do I like logistics Do I like inventory? Do I like planning, like, which parts are more interesting to me than others, and they come very, very well prepared, that those were the life lessons that those of us that are at my point in our career, we had to learn them on the job right. So they, they come much better prepared. For those of us a little further along in their career there. There's lots of training at the the industry groups, the Institute of supply management cscmp different places like that they have they have training to learn just new things or to have seminars in sustainability and, and things like that. So you can learn. I also think that just having groups of like minded peers that bring slightly different viewpoints, but are kind of facing the same challenges as you are the it in a different industry, or, you know, a slightly different function, and just having someone to talk to as a supply chain executive to say, Have you ever experienced, you know, XYZ and then you have someone who can kind of just who understand your problem and just have those have those time? Everybody's busy? I know, I talked to a lot of executives. Oh, I don't have time for that. Trust me. The time it saves you down the line is much more than the time I bet you don't have to put into it right now.

Blythe Brumleve: 35:02

100%, I actually block off now time, every single part of my week, like usually, it's Tuesday mornings, where I will block off just time that I can dive into something that I want to learn more about. I'm very into like aI right now. And so finding different applications of how you can use it in logistics and supply chain. That's what I use sort of my Tuesday mornings now for but you really have to build in that continued education into your workday into your work week. Otherwise, you're just going to, it's going to be something that's forever on that backburner.

Unknown: 35:34

It's hard to stay on top of all the new things that are out there. I mean, I could I could spend all week learning about AI, and I still won't understand it. But I know it's super important. So if I don't read constantly, you know, read blogs or read articles or listen to people who are out speaking, I love just hearing different viewpoints, because then you have the ability to form your own opinion, rather than just take the opinion that someone's handed to you. So it's it's critically important. I, I commend you for spending time every week.

Blythe Brumleve: 36:08

Yeah, I mean, it's luckily you have to fight for that time, because people are always trying to get on your schedule, but you got to fight for that, lock it lock it ruthlessly. Alright. Alright, Heidi, as he sort of, you know, round out this interview, you know, what was there anything else that I should have asked, but you think that is important to mention?

Unknown: 36:27

You know, I'm just I'm thrilled that our supply chain, our pool of supply chain candidates is getting more diversified. We talked a lot about women, it's the women's month, but also all kinds of diversity from background to gender to racial differences, international experiences, I think it really makes us all better people to have those relationships and understandings and collaboration. So it's just thrilling to me after so many years to see the supply chain start to really embrace these types of differences. And I think it's making companies better as a result.

Blythe Brumleve: 37:05

100% Very well said alright, Heidi, where can folks follow your work? Follow ON Partners, all that good stuff.

Unknown: 37:12

I'm in I'm on LinkedIn, that is the executive recruiters Bible. You please feel free to connect with me there ON Partners, as well. Just come on, come on in and we'll have a chat.

Blythe Brumleve: 37:27

Absolutely. And and I will make sure to link to both of those things in the show notes as well as that survey or not a survey but the report that you guys released, you know, the next supply chain leader report, I will link to that in the show notes as well so everybody can can kind of take a look at it. Alright, Heidi, thank you so much. This is fascinating discussion.

Unknown: 37:45

It was so nice to meet you Blythe. Thanks for having me.

Blythe Brumleve: 37:47

Absolutely. I hope you enjoyed this episode of everything is logistics, a podcast for the thinkers in freight, telling the stories behind how your favorite stuff and people get from point A to B. If you liked this episode, do me a favor and sign up for our newsletter. I know what you're probably thinking, oh God, another newsletter. But it's the easiest way to stay updated when new episodes are released. Plus, we drop a lot of gems in that email to help the one person marketing team and folks like yourself who are probably wearing a lot of hats at work in order to help you navigate this digital world a little bit easier. You could find that email signup link along with our socials in past episodes. Over at everything is logistics.com And until next time, I'm Blythe and go Jags

About the Author

Blythe Brumleve
Blythe Brumleve
Creative entrepreneur in freight. Founder of Digital Dispatch and host of Everything is Logistics. Co-Founder at Jax Podcasters Unite. Board member of Transportation Marketing and Sales Association. Freightwaves on-air personality. Annoying Jaguars fan. test

To read more about Blythe, check out her full bio here.