273: Navigating Your Next Procurement Conference - This Month in Procurement

In this episode, AOP Host Philip Ideson and Kelly Barner (AOP Content Director and Owner of Buyers Meeting Point) discuss their major take-aways from September’s news, industry topics and podcast interviews.

In September, we heard four diverse interviews:

NBA CPO Joe Postiglione started the month by reminding us of the importance of self-empowerment as well as how powerful a truly engaged manager can be.  Mahmood Shah, Director of Global Procurement at MetLife, brought the continued importance of change management to light by talking about his company’s exploration of emerging technologies. Chris Sawchuck, Principal and Global Procurement Advisory Practice Leader at The Hackett Group, shared recent research into World Class Procurement – including how (and now not) to pursue World Class status. Finally, Deutsche Telecom’s Hakan Cakir provided an example of how procurement can move into uncharted waters without feeling pressure to already know everything.

This month’s discussion topic is how to make the most of the fall conference season. Whether you are a ‘frequent flyer’ or only attend one event a year, Phil and Kelly provide advice on making the most of your time onsite, how to survive those awful coffee breaks and the answer to the question all conference-goers ask at some point: if a session is not well done, do I really have to stay for the whole thing?