Recently the pair, Radu Palamariu and Knut Alicke who co-authored, From Source to Sold, a book which features a collection of stories from some of the most successful global operations and supply chain business leaders was interviewed by Maria Villablanca on Transform Talks.
Listen to the full discussion here:
Connect with the Guest:
Radu Palamariu: LinkedIn
Knut Alicke: LinkedIn
Some of the highlights from the podcast:
- What inspired Radu and Knut to write a book
- How we can increase the number of CEOs with a background in Supply Chain
- How writing the book changed the way they view the Supply Chain
Show notes:
- [2:40] If you had to compare the current state of the global supply chain, to music or to jazz, what would it be? Would it be swing, bebop, or blues?
- [3:04] I would say that the first month or even years when people jumped on whatever nerve center situation room to solve problems, that felt a little bit like free jazz but if you listen to free jazz, it feels like there is a lot of things going on. So people interact on the spot, but you cannot really see the structure.
- [4:56] Radu, I want to ask you what is the inspiration behind writing the book, and what’s been the reaction so far?
- [5:38] I think both of us are super passionate about the supply chain, super passionate about the people in the supply chain. I think it’s obviously three months since it’s been released, we’re still at the beginning and it will take a while to spread, but it seems to be very well received.
- [8:59] How do we go about increasing the number of supply chain leaders that will become CEOs? And how do we prepare Supply Chain Leaders to actually take that path?
- [15:27] I think that fundamentally with relationships, because it’s much more complex and it will increase that percentage of CEOs from the split.
- [19:42] What is your view on the fact that supply chain leaders have had to evolve significantly and the evolution is not ending?
- [20:59] This is something that Supply Chain Leaders need to kind of pick up, so listen to your CEOs and how they explain the supply chain, but before you need to brief them. So you need to kind of first come up with stories so that they understand what’s going on.
- [22:05] Did you learn all by yourself about the way you view the supply chain and any other long-held beliefs that you had? We start with you, Radu.
- [25:37] I think in the supply chain, you get people that are very direct, open, and get stuff done- making things happen. So for me, all these personal stories are really relatable and I think each and every interview is special. So that was my key personal takeaway.
- [25:52] And what about you, Knut?
- [27:42] So I’m very much in terms of long term and you need to improve, but that’s what it takes and do the best for the consumer to the best for the customer. That I found very inspiring.
- [29:14] So I’m going to ask my guests to come prepared with a book that has had an impact on their life. I mean, apart from the one that you’ve just written, what book would you say falls into that category?
- [29:26] The most recent one really shifted a few of my perceptions. The title is “No rules, rules” and is written by the Netflix CEO together with a professor, it basically just fundamentally shifted a few of my beliefs about how you run a business, and how you take action fast and swiftly. I just found a lot of gems in there that were relevant for us, for how we do business in Alcott Global.
- [30:17] What about you, Knut?
- [30:18] I must say that there is the Lord of the Rings and another one that I found super interesting, and worrying is Blackout by Mark.
Quotes from the Episode:
Soundbite from the Episode:
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