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There Is More Than One Definition of Success · Speaking of Supply Chain

• 0:00
  Speaker 1: If two companies have AI, what is left? When you
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  Speaker 1: delete AI from those two companies, what is left? It's
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  Speaker 1: your people. And that's what's going to make the difference.
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  Speaker 1: How well do you train, develop, and retain and care
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  Speaker 1: about your people that stay and that build that company?
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  Speaker 1: And that's the only thing that's going to stay. And
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  Speaker 1: so for me, yes, it will change. Yes, we will
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  Speaker 1: have to adapt, but we are here to stay.
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  Speaker 2: Welcome to Speaking of Supply Chain. I'm Christine Barnhart, Head
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  Speaker 2: of Industry Engagement and Alliances at Meebok. This is where
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  Speaker 2: we go beyond the buzzwords to explore what really drives
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  Speaker 2: supply chain performance. Today, we're taking the conversation in a
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  Speaker 2: slightly different direction. We spend a lot of time talking
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  Speaker 2: about strategy, planning, technology, and transformation, but none of those
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  Speaker 2: things happen without people. So joining me today is Emily Laliberte,
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  Speaker 2: Head of People Development for North America at NEBOC. Before
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  Speaker 2: stepping into her role, Emily spent many years as a consultant,
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  Speaker 2: working alongside clients to solve complex supply chain challenges. Today,
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  Speaker 2: she helped shape how we attract, develop, and grow the
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  Speaker 2: people who deliver that work every day. She's also a
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  Speaker 2: mother of a very energetic three-year-old and a passionate advocate
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  Speaker 2: for women in supply chain. bringing a unique perspective to leadership,
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  Speaker 2: career development, and building inclusive teams. So welcome, Emily, to
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  Speaker 2: Speaking of Supply Chain.
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  Speaker 1: Thank you so much for having me today.
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  Speaker 2: So, Emily, it is so great to have you on
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  Speaker 2: the show today. You have so much experience, multiple perspectives,
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  Speaker 2: working as a consultant directly with clients and now leading
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  Speaker 2: people development across North America. So I would love it
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  Speaker 2: if we can just jump right in if you're ready.
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  Speaker 2: Is that good?
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  Speaker 1: Yes, of course.
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  Speaker 2: So how has your journey shaped the way that you
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  Speaker 2: think about developing people?
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  Speaker 1: First of all, I feel like I've never truly left consulting.
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  Speaker 1: What I'm currently doing is also consulting, but with different
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  Speaker 1: type of clients. Me back employees are now all my clients.
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  Speaker 1: And what I mean by that is that I'm still.
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  Speaker 1: There's still problems to be solved. We need to identify
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  Speaker 1: the root cause. We need to align different stakeholders with
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  Speaker 1: different vision, different goals, and influence them to kind of
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  Speaker 1: be one, having one shared vision. And after coming up
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  Speaker 1: with solutions. So for me, I feel like the bridge
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  Speaker 1: between consulting to PD was extremely natural. I've also always
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  Speaker 1: enjoyed coaching. It's one of the most rewarding part of
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  Speaker 1: my job is seeing kind of junior or analysts, remove analysts,
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  Speaker 1: more like analysts stepping in after a couple of years,
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  Speaker 1: seeing them into kind of a more leadership role. That's
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  Speaker 1: always something that's been super rewarding for me.
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  Speaker 2: I love it. I love it.
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  Speaker 1: Has.
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  Speaker 2: Becoming a parent influenced your perspective on leadership or career development?
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  Speaker 1: Yes, of course. If that is ups and downs, I
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  Speaker 1: think it's a big adjustment. But it also forced me
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  Speaker 1: to learn how to be effective, really take where kind
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  Speaker 1: of having where the most value is. I don't have
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  Speaker 1: much time on my hands, right? I always say to
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  Speaker 1: new hires, like, Those are the years that you can
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  Speaker 1: do all in. You can work so hard because you
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  Speaker 1: have little responsibility at home. When you become a parent,
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  Speaker 1: there's so much more outside of work that you have
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  Speaker 1: to handle. And I love doing it. And so then
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  Speaker 1: I have to be extremely effective with my time and
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  Speaker 1: really focus on what truly is going to bring the
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  Speaker 1: most value. And I think that made me a stronger
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  Speaker 1: leader in really pinpointing what do I need to work with,
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  Speaker 1: who do I need to work in, and making sure
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  Speaker 1: that we see results extremely fast in the amount of
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  Speaker 1: time that I have available.
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  Speaker 2: It's also interesting, you know, I joined Meebok a little
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  Speaker 2: less than a year ago. And one of the things
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  Speaker 2: that I've seen from you is you're a huge advocate
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  Speaker 2: of parents and of making sure that people are really
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  Speaker 2: maintaining a work-life balance. But also, you're someone who actively
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  Speaker 2: supports women in supply chain, which women are still an
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  Speaker 2: underrepresented group. So what inspires you? Why do you continue
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  Speaker 2: to be this evangelist and advocate for women and parents
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  Speaker 2: in supply chain in particular?
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  Speaker 1: Yeah, I think since university, I've always been a strong advocate.
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  Speaker 1: I have strong role models for my mother and my grandmother.
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  Speaker 1: My grandmother refused to take my grandfather's last name. We're
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  Speaker 1: talking about 80 years ago, right? And so my fight
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  Speaker 1: has kind of changed over time. What used to be
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  Speaker 1: maybe as the new hires at the big consulting firm
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  Speaker 1: was a different kind of equality fight than what it
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  Speaker 1: is right now. I think with time and with some wisdom,
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  Speaker 1: I feel we have defined a type of success for
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  Speaker 1: women And my goal is to remove that there's more
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  Speaker 1: than one type of success. And everybody should be defining
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  Speaker 1: their own success. And it's changes, right? Your success at
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  Speaker 1: 20 years old versus at 30 years old versus with
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  Speaker 1: a family. It's a different type of definition. And it's
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  Speaker 1: much more holistic than just work. And so I want
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  Speaker 1: to be, everybody is unique. Everybody has a different situation.
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  Speaker 1: professionally and personally. And I think that's where I'm a
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  Speaker 1: strong advocate to like, what is your definition of success?
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  Speaker 1: What do you want to achieve? And let's build it together.
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  Speaker 1: It's going to be different for everybody. And I think
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  Speaker 1: that's where it's important is that we create tailor. We
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  Speaker 1: don't put people in a box, but we actually kind
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  Speaker 1: of develop tailor plan for their situation, for their desire
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  Speaker 1: and for their definition under their own terms.
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  Speaker 2: And I think you are one of these people that
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  Speaker 2: exemplifies something that I've always believed to be true, which
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  Speaker 2: I think the best people leaders understand what it feels
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  Speaker 2: like to like be in the work, to be in
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  Speaker 2: the trenches. And I personally think you exemplify that in
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  Speaker 2: everything that you do. So I give you a ton
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  Speaker 2: of kudos for that because it's a challenge, right? To
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  Speaker 2: balance everything and to be both a contributor and a
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  Speaker 2: leader kind of in the same breath, right? So we're
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  Speaker 2: going to transition just a little bit. And I think,
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  Speaker 2: you know, we often talk about transformation as though it's
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  Speaker 2: driven by technology or a new process. But at the
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  Speaker 2: end of the day, it's really people who make decisions,
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  Speaker 2: who solve problems and create value for clients and customers, right?
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  Speaker 2: So from your perspective, why is investing in people such
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  Speaker 2: an important part of building a successful consulting organization?
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  Speaker 1: It is as simple as we have three great assets
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  Speaker 1: at Neback. We have our reputation, we have the relationship
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  Speaker 1: with our clients, and we have our people. There's nothing else.
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  Speaker 1: And we just need to make sure that we take
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  Speaker 1: care of those three really well. It's not always that easy, right?
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  Speaker 1: But if we take care of those three in parallel,
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  Speaker 1: I think then it's all kind of in synergy and
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  Speaker 1: it's all going to work out by itself. And I
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  Speaker 1: always say we show up our people and that's my goal, right?
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  Speaker 1: To show up our people, to make sure that we attract, retain,
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  Speaker 1: develop them, build some custom plans for them, build a
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  Speaker 1: path where they see that they can grow and enjoy
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  Speaker 1: what they're doing. And then in exchange, they're going to
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  Speaker 1: come and they're going to enjoy working with clients. They're
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  Speaker 1: going to be, they're going to do more. They're going
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  Speaker 1: to go beyond what the SWC, right? They're going to
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  Speaker 1: do even more. And I think that's how you build
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  Speaker 1: strong relationship. And this is kind of this, this will
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  Speaker 1: that I see that it will always kind of support
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  Speaker 1: each other. We take care of our people. The cloud
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  Speaker 1: business is going to go well. They're going to be
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  Speaker 1: taking care of our clients.
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  Speaker 2: I was also going to ask, I think for the audience,
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  Speaker 2: help them understand, what people development means here at Meback?
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  Speaker 1: Sometimes I call it people strategy. I think it has
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  Speaker 1: different name. It could be tactical HR or strategic HR, right?
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  Speaker 1: I think for me and for Meback itself, people development,
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  Speaker 1: people strategy is how can we attract the right people?
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  Speaker 1: Meback is not for everybody, right? I'm not saying Meback
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  Speaker 1: is easy, but it is rewarding. We're looking for certain
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  Speaker 1: people who like to... To be in the trenches, who
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  Speaker 1: like to see their PowerPoint actually get implemented and walking
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  Speaker 1: the floor and seeing the result. We're looking for people
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  Speaker 1: who love working together. So attracting the right people with
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  Speaker 1: the right position and developing them, which could mean growing, right?
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  Speaker 1: With time, we want to be able to have them
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  Speaker 1: to have multiple careers. And I think that's important. Like
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  Speaker 1: people say, I want challenge. I want multiple career paths.
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  Speaker 1: I do think if an employer can provide this to you,
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  Speaker 1: then that person can stay super loyal at Meback and
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  Speaker 1: grow with us year after year.
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  Speaker 2: One of the things that struck me when I joined
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  Speaker 2: Meback is just the diversity of experience across the organization.
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  Speaker 2: So career consultants, industry practitioners like myself, engineers, planners, operations leaders,
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  Speaker 2: like It really is a bit of a smorgasbord, if
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  Speaker 2: you will. You know, we have people that have spent
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  Speaker 2: decades on the customer side before joining consulting. You were
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  Speaker 2: a consultant yourself. So I know that you've experienced that
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  Speaker 2: journey firsthand. How do you think that building a team
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  Speaker 2: with such different backgrounds, right? And what does each perspective,
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  Speaker 2: like what's the beauty of that? Because it has to
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  Speaker 2: be intentional, right? I can't imagine... that you have this
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  Speaker 2: much diversity by happenstance.
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  Speaker 1: No, and it's a good question. I think the first
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  Speaker 1: step is we don't fire based on a certain profile
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  Speaker 1: or a perfect CV. Everybody goes through a rigorous recruiting
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  Speaker 1: because we look at beyond the background, beyond context. the
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  Speaker 1: first step and are they ambitious? What is their motive?
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  Speaker 1: What is their potential? This is also extremely important. What
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  Speaker 1: is their potential? Can they learn quickly? Can they have
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  Speaker 1: interest in continuous development? Do they have interest in working
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  Speaker 1: in the team? So the first one would be how
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  Speaker 1: we hire. But the other thing is Having multiple backgrounds.
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  Speaker 1: I think when we talk about one feedback, we need
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  Speaker 1: to have one shared purpose. But for this, you need
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  Speaker 1: to have multiple ways of thinking, multiple perspectives, multiple backgrounds,
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  Speaker 1: because it makes the conversation so much more rich. And
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  Speaker 1: I always say that some of my best moments been
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  Speaker 1: like when we had a problem with a client and
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  Speaker 1: it was highly complicated. And then I call it the
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  Speaker 1: war room. We would bring like experts in multiple functions
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  Speaker 1: from the industry, from consultants, even from the sales team, right?
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  Speaker 1: From across all. And we have the whiteboard and we're like,
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  Speaker 1: how are we going to fix this? Let's think about it.
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  Speaker 1: And then you create those rich conversations that are so
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  Speaker 1: much more dance that are so much more productive. And
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  Speaker 1: at the end, you come up with a session that
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  Speaker 1: is so much that is above what one person could
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  Speaker 1: have done, one expert could have done for a client.
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  Speaker 1: And this is one thing that I really enjoyed.
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  Speaker 2: Yeah. And so help the audience understand there's not a
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  Speaker 2: typical necessarily path for Meebok, right? But there is, I think,
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  Speaker 2: you know, a path per se for like an experienced
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  Speaker 2: practitioner to versus a newer consultant, right? What does that
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  Speaker 2: look like? If I'm somebody that has 20 years in
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  Speaker 2: industry and I'm looking for maybe a different type of
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  Speaker 2: an opportunity, what would that look like typically?
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  Speaker 1: For a practitioner going into consulting, we know you know
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  Speaker 1: supply chain. This is not the gap. Like the supply
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  Speaker 1: chain is your expertise and I think you bring deep
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  Speaker 1: value really fast. I think the point is to learn
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  Speaker 1: consulting work. And this is where it's hard to explain
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  Speaker 1: when you've never been a consultant. The pace, managing clients,
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  Speaker 1: the pace, multiple projects in parallel, right? Much more the
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  Speaker 1: timeline or tighter. People want it faster. Multiple clients in parallel.
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  Speaker 1: And when you think one client, it's a new business.
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  Speaker 1: It's a new industry. It's a new problem. It's a
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  Speaker 1: new culture. It's a new political environment. So it's a
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  Speaker 1: lot to learn in a really quick time frame. The communication,
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  Speaker 1: the standard or the expectation of quality of what you
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  Speaker 1: submit is always higher. So I think all of this
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  Speaker 1: kind of, and it's a team, what I do like,
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  Speaker 1: and it's a team approach. So yes, it could be
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  Speaker 1: much more challenging, but you're never alone. It's always a
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  Speaker 1: team together. You don't have to be the expert on
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  Speaker 1: every topic. You can bring the right people at the
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  Speaker 1: right time. So that's kind of what would be. So
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  Speaker 1: there's a learning curve. It varies for every individual, but
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  Speaker 1: I think the reward at the end of being able
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  Speaker 1: to apply what you've learned from so many years of
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  Speaker 1: industry and now to multiple clients and being able to
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  Speaker 1: draw parallels because it could be a different industry, but
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  Speaker 1: that doesn't mean that the solution is not always applicable.
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  Speaker 1: So if you're able to draw parallel to the problem
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  Speaker 1: you have or to the solution, I think that makes
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  Speaker 1: a really great consultant.
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  Speaker 2: And my assumption is it works in the reverse for
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  Speaker 2: maybe analysts interns, newer consultants, where you're pairing them with
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  Speaker 2: more seasoned experts and more seasoned consultants. Is that true?
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  Speaker 1: So yes, of course. It's probably one of the best
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  Speaker 1: mentoring or coaching session you can do, right? Pairing somebody
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  Speaker 1: with deep experience from a practitioner with somebody with consultant,
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  Speaker 1: that's probably no more the methodology, the approach, the client management.
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  Speaker 1: These two together makes the perfect consultants.
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  Speaker 2: And I will say the most fun that I've had
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  Speaker 2: throughout my career were when teams were really strong. And
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  Speaker 2: I think if I feel that onion back, generally speaking,
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  Speaker 2: it was really diverse teams, multiple countries represented, multiple functions represented.
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  Speaker 1: So a.
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  Speaker 2: Little bit of cultural conflict, right? Because we weren't necessarily
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  Speaker 2: speaking the same language, but if you can adapt and
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  Speaker 2: be agile and kind of learn how to communicate with
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  Speaker 2: one another, we would always get to a better outcome, right?
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  Speaker 2: And that's really what I've seen with Mebox since I've
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  Speaker 2: been here is it's not homogeneous. Everybody doesn't look the same.
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  Speaker 2: They don't talk the same. They don't have the same background.
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  Speaker 2: And therefore, you're bringing these diverse perspectives together. to every
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  Speaker 2: problem that you're solving for a customer. Is that fair?
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  Speaker 1: It is fair. And I think that's what makes our
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  Speaker 1: project much more exciting because also I think there's two
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  Speaker 1: other aspects. First aspect is we can mirror our international clients.
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  Speaker 1: So every client who has different location in different region,
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  Speaker 1: we can mirror the same with our offices and knowing
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  Speaker 1: the local nuances with a global framework, with working similar
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  Speaker 1: with same level of quality and same methodology. So I
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  Speaker 1: think that's one good advantage. The second one is you
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  Speaker 1: attended for your first time our executive annual meeting. And
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  Speaker 1: as much as, yes, culturally we're different, yes, we look different,
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  Speaker 1: there's still a unique or similar passion vision across all
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  Speaker 1: our people from all the office that all wants the
• 15:55
  Speaker 1: same thing. And I think that's exciting. I've been going
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  Speaker 1: to those meeting for over 10 years now. And you
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  Speaker 1: meet the same people over and over and you share practices,
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  Speaker 1: you share projects you've done. And you can kind of that, oh,
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  Speaker 1: you've done this for that client. Oh, let me talk
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  Speaker 1: about mine. And let's see how we can share knowledge
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  Speaker 1: and Would you like to join my client? I would
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  Speaker 1: love to share kind of experience and how you would
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  Speaker 1: approach this. So I think that's great kind of a,
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  Speaker 1: we remove any boundaries from being global when we back.
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  Speaker 2: And, you know, it's one of those things I'd like
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  Speaker 2: to dive into just a little bit because it actually
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  Speaker 2: really surprised me how global MeBot really is, right? You know,
• 16:34
  Speaker 2: we're a smaller company. We're not like the big four, right?
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  Speaker 2: But even within the North America offices, We have people
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  Speaker 2: from all around the world that are engaged, that are
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  Speaker 2: doing expat assignments or have just moved, right? The same
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  Speaker 2: is true when I look at the offices in other countries.
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  Speaker 2: So there's a ton of mixing, if you will, geographically
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  Speaker 2: between our resources. But even in individual customer engagement, so
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  Speaker 2: the project that I'm leading right the PM is in Hungary,
• 17:09
  Speaker 2: and then I have resources in Montreal and resources in,
• 17:14
  Speaker 2: you know, Indiana and resources in, you know, various other
• 17:18
  Speaker 2: parts of the United States that are all coming together
• 17:21
  Speaker 2: to bring the best expertise and the best program for
• 17:27
  Speaker 2: that particular project. How do you think about building a
• 17:32
  Speaker 2: culture that feels connected and while really embracing those differences?
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  Speaker 2: Because you're doing a great job at it. I would
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  Speaker 2: love to understand how you think about it.
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  Speaker 1: That's a good question. I would say focusing on our
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  Speaker 1: point in common is probably in embracing what makes us different. Again,
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  Speaker 1: I always go back to every individual is unique and
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  Speaker 1: everybody is, doesn't matter your background, the language you speak.
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  Speaker 1: Look at my accent, right? I think everybody can bring
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  Speaker 1: something at the table, but it needs to be done
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  Speaker 1: in a way that you have the same vision, same
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  Speaker 1: purpose and at the right place at the right time.
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  Speaker 1: So kind of aligning those. In terms of culture, We're
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  Speaker 1: extremely strong in face-to-face communication relationship. It's not always possible.
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  Speaker 1: But I do think you remove a ton of barrier
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  Speaker 1: when you meet that person, you shake hands. And after,
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  Speaker 1: it's so easy to take the phone and call that person,
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  Speaker 1: even if it's two years after. We met two years ago.
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  Speaker 1: I need your help. Can I do this? Culture-wise, I
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  Speaker 1: think forcing the, not forcing, but embracing the face-to-face at
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  Speaker 1: least once or twice for networking. Embracing that everybody is different,
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  Speaker 1: but that creates kind of a unique culture itself. And
• 18:47
  Speaker 1: having that shared purpose and shared vision, I think that's
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  Speaker 1: kind of helped us go all in the same way.
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  Speaker 2: And I think one of the things that you're highlighting
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  Speaker 2: is that Meebok is willing to make that investment. there
• 19:00
  Speaker 2: are companies that won't make that investment, right? But we're
• 19:04
  Speaker 2: really driven to get people together, to break down the barriers,
• 19:09
  Speaker 2: share a meal, get to know each other. We have
• 19:12
  Speaker 2: more in common than we think we do, right? On
• 19:16
  Speaker 2: the surface, once we get to know each other. So
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  Speaker 2: You know, for me, I think that that really starts
• 19:22
  Speaker 2: to play on how are we inclusive? Are there specific
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  Speaker 2: things that that you and your team are doing to
• 19:30
  Speaker 2: try to make sure that we're collaborative, that we're innovative,
• 19:33
  Speaker 2: that we're that we're building these relationships and these networks?
• 19:38
  Speaker 1: I am also surprised I do a lot of hiring
• 19:41
  Speaker 1: and how little other company invests in getting their people
• 19:45
  Speaker 1: all together. We do at least twice a year a
• 19:49
  Speaker 1: team event that everybody gets together and our leadership meets
• 19:52
  Speaker 1: even quarterly at the minimum, uh, to share ideas, to
• 19:57
  Speaker 1: tackle problems, to align for the next three months or
• 20:00
  Speaker 1: the next year. And in term of working together and collaborating,
• 20:04
  Speaker 1: I think, and to be inclusive, I think one thing
• 20:07
  Speaker 1: that we do well is that we cross staff. So
• 20:11
  Speaker 1: somebody from one practice would be going to another practice.
• 20:14
  Speaker 1: When you get to a certain level, we want you
• 20:16
  Speaker 1: to be deep, but also broad. We think it makes
• 20:19
  Speaker 1: you a much better supply chain consultant if you understand
• 20:23
  Speaker 1: the upstream, the downstream, and the different type of value
• 20:27
  Speaker 1: we can bring to the client. And you can truly
• 20:29
  Speaker 1: know the full end-to-end supply chain. Again, nobody can be
• 20:33
  Speaker 1: deep in everything. Nobody can be broad, right? But at
• 20:36
  Speaker 1: least being able to touch and have seen and have
• 20:38
  Speaker 1: done some engagement and be able to understand what's happening.
• 20:43
  Speaker 1: And so in terms of staffing, we do also project training, sorry,
• 20:47
  Speaker 1: that we try to mix people together from a different practices,
• 20:51
  Speaker 1: different level. Because I also think a mid-level person can
• 20:56
  Speaker 1: learn a lot from a practitioner, but a senior consultant
• 20:58
  Speaker 1: can learn a lot from a consultant, right? Feedback can
• 21:01
  Speaker 1: go all around and we want to push for that
• 21:05
  Speaker 1: culture of, okay, what are we doing right? How can
• 21:08
  Speaker 1: we improve? What is the next step, right? And learning
• 21:10
  Speaker 1: from each other, that's really important.
• 21:12
  Speaker 2: It's interesting because I think I would summarize what you
• 21:15
  Speaker 2: just said is our greatest strength isn't that we all
• 21:19
  Speaker 2: think alike. It's that we learn from one another. We're
• 21:21
  Speaker 2: open to learning from one another, regardless of what stage
• 21:27
  Speaker 2: of your career you're in, regardless of what your background
• 21:32
  Speaker 2: is and your level of expertise or even your regional
• 21:37
  Speaker 2: or cultural differences. People are are willing to learn from
• 21:42
  Speaker 2: one another. Is that a significant part of the one
• 21:46
  Speaker 2: Meebok strategy? Because you used the term one Meebok earlier.
• 21:52
  Speaker 2: And I think for the audience, it would be good
• 21:55
  Speaker 2: to really highlight what is one Meebok? And why should
• 22:00
  Speaker 2: they care?
• 22:01
  Speaker 1: Yeah, one feedback, and I think it's as good for
• 22:03
  Speaker 1: internally and externally. One feedback is we want to be
• 22:06
  Speaker 1: approaching it from the different offices working together, having the
• 22:11
  Speaker 1: same culture. similar with the nuances, having the same methodology,
• 22:16
  Speaker 1: delivering the same level of quality, be able to expand
• 22:21
  Speaker 1: services on new emerging services, right? You always have countries
• 22:25
  Speaker 1: that are a bit ahead of time in certain supply
• 22:28
  Speaker 1: chain aspect and be able to expand or transfer this
• 22:31
  Speaker 1: knowledge from one office to the other one. So we're
• 22:33
  Speaker 1: able to kind of do it globally. It's one vision.
• 22:37
  Speaker 1: It's one purpose. And we have the same training. So
• 22:41
  Speaker 1: it's a bit tactical, but we all go to the
• 22:43
  Speaker 1: same corporate training across all the world, which is also
• 22:47
  Speaker 1: a great experience because then you get to know some
• 22:49
  Speaker 1: of colleagues from Chile and from India. And then you
• 22:52
  Speaker 1: share your projects and what's doing different. And then you
• 22:55
  Speaker 1: can bring back those ideas back into your office and say, Hey,
• 22:58
  Speaker 1: I have heard that this office is doing this. Can
• 23:01
  Speaker 1: I also lead this?
• 23:02
  Speaker 2: Right.
• 23:02
  Speaker 1: Um, So to come back, it's really kind of for us,
• 23:06
  Speaker 1: one meet back all would be one purpose, one vision
• 23:10
  Speaker 1: and kind of working the same way. So you would
• 23:12
  Speaker 1: get the same experience, no matter who you decide to
• 23:16
  Speaker 1: work from or work from which office. Yeah.
• 23:20
  Speaker 2: And I think related to that, I think customer experience
• 23:24
  Speaker 2: and employee experience is related. So in your role, You
• 23:29
  Speaker 2: spend a lot of time thinking about that employee experience,
• 23:33
  Speaker 2: but at the same time, our business is really built
• 23:36
  Speaker 2: around long-term client relationships. So I think a lot of organizations,
• 23:42
  Speaker 2: they do a good job of measuring one or the other,
• 23:47
  Speaker 2: but I think you and I are in agreement that
• 23:49
  Speaker 2: there's a relationship between them, correct? How do you think
• 23:53
  Speaker 2: about that?
• 23:54
  Speaker 1: I think there's a direct relationship. I mean, it's a
• 23:56
  Speaker 1: people business. Our client or people, our employee or people,
• 23:59
  Speaker 1: it's a people business. And you want to take care
• 24:03
  Speaker 1: of our employee the same way that they're going to
• 24:05
  Speaker 1: take care of their clients. And if we provide this
• 24:08
  Speaker 1: to them, I think it's going to be directly kind
• 24:11
  Speaker 1: of creating stronger client relationship. They're going to be happy
• 24:14
  Speaker 1: to show up. They're going to be wanted to take on.
• 24:17
  Speaker 1: They're going to be engaged, which is extremely important for us.
• 24:22
  Speaker 1: So yes, I do see a direct correlation between taking
• 24:25
  Speaker 1: care of our people and it's going to be taking
• 24:27
  Speaker 1: care of our clients directly.
• 24:28
  Speaker 2: And I know that we have a really good customer
• 24:32
  Speaker 2: in PS. So I'm going to give you the opportunity
• 24:34
  Speaker 2: to brag a little. We just got an employee in
• 24:37
  Speaker 2: PS that was world-class.
• 24:40
  Speaker 1: So we got 54 plus 54. There's a clear message
• 24:47
  Speaker 1: is that our employee loved me back. We're not perfect.
• 24:51
  Speaker 1: We have our things to work on, right? Every company has.
• 24:54
  Speaker 1: And I think what's good with us is that we
• 24:57
  Speaker 1: do consider what we need to work on and we
• 24:59
  Speaker 1: build plan. And that becomes my kind of action every
• 25:02
  Speaker 1: year of like, okay, what do we need to work
• 25:03
  Speaker 1: on and tackle? But there's a clear message across all practices,
• 25:08
  Speaker 1: across all teams is people love feedback. They are really
• 25:12
  Speaker 1: proud of working with me back and they would recommend
• 25:15
  Speaker 1: me back for somebody else. They are proud of what
• 25:17
  Speaker 1: we're doing and they understand what we're doing and they
• 25:19
  Speaker 1: understand where we're going. So this is super exciting. It is.
• 25:23
  Speaker 1: It's great.
• 25:23
  Speaker 2: Are there behaviors that you think strengthen both the employee
• 25:30
  Speaker 2: and the customer, the client relationship?
• 25:33
  Speaker 1: Yes, I would say. And with the fast pace of
• 25:39
  Speaker 1: new technology coming in, I think everything that is soft
• 25:43
  Speaker 1: skills relating communication, conflict, everything that is human-based skill is
• 25:50
  Speaker 1: becoming critical. And it is also critical as a consultant
• 25:53
  Speaker 1: because again, it's a people business. So at the end,
• 25:57
  Speaker 1: you can be the best person in that technical aspect,
• 26:01
  Speaker 1: but if you cannot influence or convince a client that
• 26:03
  Speaker 1: this is the right way, if you cannot rally a
• 26:07
  Speaker 1: group of your clients because they all have different goals
• 26:10
  Speaker 1: and stakeholder and desire and motive, if you cannot rally
• 26:13
  Speaker 1: them to convince them that this is the right way,
• 26:17
  Speaker 1: it doesn't work, right? It's also, yes, we do nice PowerPoint,
• 26:21
  Speaker 1: but that's only the beginning. Walking on the shop floor, right?
• 26:25
  Speaker 1: Or walking in the, one of my projects that I
• 26:28
  Speaker 1: did last year was a YMS implementation, selection and implementation.
• 26:33
  Speaker 1: And yes, I did some fancy slide to recommend which
• 26:35
  Speaker 1: ones to move forward. But what I remember the most
• 26:38
  Speaker 1: is at 3 a.m., I'm at the gate check with
• 26:43
  Speaker 1: the security guard and I'm teaching him I'm coaching him
• 26:46
  Speaker 1: on how to get let the truck the trailer come
• 26:49
  Speaker 1: in and we're teaching them and after seeing after a
• 26:51
  Speaker 1: couple of nights seeing them like actually like now they're
• 26:54
  Speaker 1: proud because they can do it themselves and they know
• 26:57
  Speaker 1: how to use the technology and things are rolling smooth
• 27:00
  Speaker 1: and their KPI is increased like This is what is fun.
• 27:02
  Speaker 1: It's really kind of seeing the work at the end
• 27:06
  Speaker 1: and that truly matters for our clients.
• 27:09
  Speaker 2: Yet you said something there that reminded me one of
• 27:11
  Speaker 2: the monikers that I've been using is that strategy only
• 27:15
  Speaker 2: matters when it functions in the real world. And I
• 27:18
  Speaker 2: think that's a great example where you can have this
• 27:21
  Speaker 2: beautiful PowerPoint deck, but if the person that's checking in
• 27:26
  Speaker 2: trucks It doesn't feel valued. If they don't feel supported,
• 27:30
  Speaker 2: then it's not creating a great experience and it doesn't
• 27:34
  Speaker 2: build trust. It doesn't build a lasting relationship or a
• 27:38
  Speaker 2: lasting partnership. Exactly.
• 27:41
  Speaker 1: Extremely important. Yeah, it is.
• 27:43
  Speaker 2: So as you think about the future of our profession,
• 27:48
  Speaker 2: what excites you most about the next generation of supply
• 27:52
  Speaker 2: chain professionals?
• 27:53
  Speaker 1: One thing that is exciting at MeBack, when most consulting
• 27:58
  Speaker 1: firms are mature or stable, we are into this growing path,
• 28:02
  Speaker 1: which means that if you want to build something, if
• 28:06
  Speaker 1: you have an entrepreneurial mindset, I think this is the
• 28:11
  Speaker 1: right calling. And I think this is what excites me.
• 28:14
  Speaker 1: When I took that role in people development back in 2019,
• 28:18
  Speaker 1: Indianapolis was actually struggling, US market was struggling with the talent, shortage.
• 28:25
  Speaker 1: We were struggling with in-office engagement and turnover. And so
• 28:30
  Speaker 1: I saw a problem. And after I realized nobody in
• 28:33
  Speaker 1: the group had that type of role that they were
• 28:36
  Speaker 1: internally focusing on how to make sure we retain, we
• 28:39
  Speaker 1: keep like, that would be their main goal is to
• 28:41
  Speaker 1: make sure that our people are happy, that they are
• 28:44
  Speaker 1: developing and that they love showing up in office. And
• 28:47
  Speaker 1: so I pitched a role to the CEO. I was like, Hey,
• 28:50
  Speaker 1: here we're not here. What I think my role should be.
• 28:52
  Speaker 1: And he's like, Oh, okay, I've never seen this, let's
• 28:55
  Speaker 1: try it. And this is the type of entrepreneurial role
• 28:57
  Speaker 1: that we're looking or entrepreneurial mindset is that role didn't exist.
• 29:02
  Speaker 1: We have role that didn't exist two weeks that now
• 29:04
  Speaker 1: we have somebody in this place. So there's a growth
• 29:07
  Speaker 1: that like in mature company, the only way to get
• 29:09
  Speaker 1: promoted most of the time It's just your boss got promoted, right?
• 29:14
  Speaker 1: And that kind of created that domino effect. At Meback,
• 29:17
  Speaker 1: oh gosh, there's a role here and there's a new
• 29:19
  Speaker 1: role there and there's a possibility here, right? If you
• 29:23
  Speaker 1: want to build something, if you want to be part
• 29:25
  Speaker 1: of this kind of excited, growing phase, this is what
• 29:29
  Speaker 1: excites me for the next step.
• 29:31
  Speaker 2: And, you know, I will say I've seen that in
• 29:33
  Speaker 2: practice myself. You know, Nick and I have been friends
• 29:37
  Speaker 2: for several years and you know, we started talking before
• 29:41
  Speaker 2: I came to Meebok and he was explaining the business
• 29:45
  Speaker 2: and where the gaps were. And, you know, this is
• 29:48
  Speaker 2: a role that didn't exist, right? So we got to
• 29:50
  Speaker 2: know each other and I got to make a pitch
• 29:53
  Speaker 2: and I said, you know, based on everything that you've
• 29:55
  Speaker 2: told me and that I've seen, I think that you
• 29:58
  Speaker 2: need somebody to lead go-to-market. I think we need better
• 30:03
  Speaker 2: or more modern processes around go-to-market and marketing and that
• 30:09
  Speaker 2: you really need somebody that can focus on partnerships and alliances.
• 30:14
  Speaker 2: And I've got to come in and really work with
• 30:19
  Speaker 2: the team to build something new. I would agree with you.
• 30:22
  Speaker 2: I think for people that have an entrepreneurial spirit, that
• 30:27
  Speaker 2: like to build things, that are okay with working in
• 30:31
  Speaker 2: ambiguity and that every day is not the same. I
• 30:37
  Speaker 2: think it's an incredible opportunity. Are there specific qualities beyond
• 30:44
  Speaker 2: that that you think help people succeed here?
• 30:46
  Speaker 1: I think you kind of name a couple, curiosity, entrepreneurship, mindset,
• 30:52
  Speaker 1: comfortable with ambiguity. The one I would add is high standard,
• 30:57
  Speaker 1: low ego. And what I mean by low ego is
• 31:00
  Speaker 1: not a lack of ambition or a lack of self-confidence.
• 31:03
  Speaker 1: Everybody here is super driven. But they will put the
• 31:07
  Speaker 1: we before the I. They will put the team before
• 31:10
  Speaker 1: their own success. They will ask the question before talking.
• 31:14
  Speaker 1: They will admit when there's a better solution than the
• 31:18
  Speaker 1: one they propose. They will kind of take a step back,
• 31:21
  Speaker 1: get feedback, and learn. And I think that's really critical.
• 31:24
  Speaker 3: Yeah.
• 31:25
  Speaker 1: And I think that's one of the main points that
• 31:28
  Speaker 1: I think people succeed or not. It's because of that
• 31:31
  Speaker 1: high standard. We are looking for high standard, high quality,
• 31:35
  Speaker 1: but low ego.
• 31:36
  Speaker 2: Right. So we haven't talked at all about AI and
• 31:40
  Speaker 2: what AI really does in the context of people and consulting.
• 31:45
  Speaker 2: But it sounds like you're very optimistic about the future. So,
• 31:50
  Speaker 2: you know, what are your thoughts there? What makes you
• 31:53
  Speaker 2: so optimistic given the kind of AI craze that everybody
• 31:59
  Speaker 2: is in right now?
• 32:00
  Speaker 1: I've been following that topic pretty closely. I've been going
• 32:04
  Speaker 1: to some HR conference, right, to keep us up. Yes,
• 32:09
  Speaker 1: AI is coming. Yes, it will do a change in our,
• 32:13
  Speaker 1: maybe some of the services is going to become more commoditized. However,
• 32:17
  Speaker 1: I still think that at the end, It's a people business,
• 32:20
  Speaker 1: and we're always going to need our people. Until the
• 32:23
  Speaker 1: warehouse is fully automated and there's no more people at
• 32:26
  Speaker 1: any places in supply chain, there's always going to be
• 32:29
  Speaker 1: a respect for us to improve, to recommend new solutions,
• 32:33
  Speaker 1: to fix our client solution. And so I've also heard
• 32:37
  Speaker 1: somewhere at one point that safety If two companies have AI,
• 32:40
  Speaker 1: what is left? When you delete AI from those two companies,
• 32:44
  Speaker 1: what is left? It's your people. And that's what's going
• 32:46
  Speaker 1: to make the difference is how well do you train, develop,
• 32:49
  Speaker 1: and retain and care about your people that stay and
• 32:52
  Speaker 1: that build that company. And that's the only thing that's
• 32:54
  Speaker 1: going to stay. And so for me, yes, it will change. Yes,
• 32:58
  Speaker 1: we will have to adapt, but we are here to stay.
• 33:02
  Speaker 1: We will adapt. We are already hiring differently. We are
• 33:07
  Speaker 1: looking at different type of profile. We will just adapt
• 33:09
  Speaker 1: and evolve. It won't erase everything for sure.
• 33:13
  Speaker 2: Yeah, I think humans are pretty industrious. I think if
• 33:18
  Speaker 2: you take a step back and you think about even
• 33:20
  Speaker 2: what was in the news and the papers, at the
• 33:23
  Speaker 2: start of the first industrial revolution, it was a lot
• 33:26
  Speaker 2: of doom and gloom. Nobody's going to have a job
• 33:29
  Speaker 2: because we're automating, you know, agriculture and we're automating industry.
• 33:36
  Speaker 2: And look what happens, like new careers, you know, were
• 33:40
  Speaker 2: developed and new, new services and whatnot. I personally, I'm
• 33:44
  Speaker 2: like you, I'm pretty optimistic. I think that we'll will shift.
• 33:49
  Speaker 2: What the role looks like in five years is probably
• 33:51
  Speaker 2: not exactly what it looks like today. But I personally
• 33:55
  Speaker 2: think that the best careers are defined by the impact
• 33:59
  Speaker 2: that you make along the way. And I think the
• 34:01
  Speaker 2: need to make an impact isn't going to change anytime
• 34:06
  Speaker 2: in the near future. So what is your one piece
• 34:09
  Speaker 2: of advice that you would give to people that are
• 34:13
  Speaker 2: looking at consulting, regardless of where they are in their
• 34:16
  Speaker 2: career journey, in terms of how could they make an
• 34:20
  Speaker 2: impact from a consulting standpoint?
• 34:23
  Speaker 1: My advice would probably be, be willing to learn, be
• 34:29
  Speaker 1: willing to make mistakes. We all do. Be willing to
• 34:33
  Speaker 1: learn from them.
• 34:34
  Speaker 2: Be curious.
• 34:35
  Speaker 1: Learn from others. Again, it doesn't matter where they come from.
• 34:39
  Speaker 1: You always have something you can learn from somebody else.
• 34:43
  Speaker 1: And have this desire of finding a solution that's going
• 34:47
  Speaker 1: to be the optimal based on different point of view
• 34:50
  Speaker 1: and output in different stakeholders. And I think if you
• 34:53
  Speaker 1: have this kind of curiosity and that problem solving mindset,
• 34:57
  Speaker 1: I think you could be a good fit in consulting.
• 35:00
  Speaker 2: I love it. I think one of the things for
• 35:02
  Speaker 2: me that I hope listeners take away from the conversation
• 35:04
  Speaker 2: is that great organizations, they don't just develop supply chains.
• 35:09
  Speaker 2: They develop the people and technology process and strategy. They
• 35:14
  Speaker 2: all matter, but it's really the people who build relationships.
• 35:18
  Speaker 2: It's the people who solve these problems. really hairy, complex problems.
• 35:23
  Speaker 2: And it's the people that create a lasting value. So
• 35:28
  Speaker 2: when organizations are investing in developing their people, they strengthen
• 35:33
  Speaker 2: not only their culture, but the experience that that is
• 35:37
  Speaker 2: creating for their customers. And that's what I see every
• 35:40
  Speaker 2: day at Meebok. I think it's a really powerful reminder
• 35:44
  Speaker 2: that employee success and client success are not separate goals.
• 35:49
  Speaker 2: They're deeply connected. And that together we can raise all ships, right?
• 35:56
  Speaker 2: We can make the planet a better place. We can
• 36:00
  Speaker 2: raise people out of poverty, right? But it has to
• 36:03
  Speaker 2: be the company and the people behind the company, whether
• 36:08
  Speaker 2: that is the customer or the consultant really working together.
• 36:13
  Speaker 2: And hopefully you agree with me. Yes, I do.
• 36:18
  Speaker 1: I couldn't have said better.
• 36:21
  Speaker 2: So I so appreciate you joining me today. We always
• 36:25
  Speaker 2: have the best conversations. If somebody was listening and they
• 36:29
  Speaker 2: wanted to learn more about careers at Meebok or continue
• 36:33
  Speaker 2: the conversation or reach out to you, what's the best way? Yes.
• 36:37
  Speaker 1: So we have our website, Meebok.com. And the other way
• 36:42
  Speaker 1: probably that I would have the fastest response would probably
• 36:45
  Speaker 1: be via LinkedIn. And again, I will do my best.
• 36:49
  Speaker 1: But yes, that's probably the fastest way to reach out
• 36:51
  Speaker 1: to me.
• 36:51
  Speaker 2: And for those listening, if you want to continue the
• 36:54
  Speaker 2: conversation with me, it is also LinkedIn. I'm always happy
• 36:57
  Speaker 2: to connect. I'm happy to talk to.
• 37:00
  Speaker 1: All of you.
• 37:00
  Speaker 2: Similar to Emily, be patient. Sometimes I actually do take
• 37:05
  Speaker 2: I sometimes do take a break from social media. But
• 37:08
  Speaker 2: if you're interested in learning more about careers at Meebok
• 37:11
  Speaker 2: or exploring opportunities to join our team, you can find
• 37:15
  Speaker 2: us at Meebok.com slash careers, or you can follow us
• 37:20
  Speaker 2: on LinkedIn. Before we wrap, I do want to thank
• 37:23
  Speaker 2: our sponsor, which is Meebok. So Meebok is a global
• 37:27
  Speaker 2: supply chain consulting and engineering firm focused exclusively on on
• 37:31
  Speaker 2: helping organizations improve performance across the end-to-end supply chain. So
• 37:36
  Speaker 2: from strategy and planning through engineering and implementation, we help
• 37:41
  Speaker 2: turn clients' complex decisions into operational results that hold up
• 37:47
  Speaker 2: in the real world. So thank you again for joining
• 37:50
  Speaker 2: us and we'll see you next time on Speaking of
• 37:52
  Speaker 2: Supply Chain.
• 37:58
  Speaker 3: You've been listening to Speaking of Supply Chain, a Meebok podcast.
• 38:02
  Speaker 3: Keep connected with us by subscribing to the show in
• 38:04
  Speaker 3: your favorite podcast player. If you like what you've heard, please.
• 38:07
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• 38:08
  Speaker 3: That helps us to keep delivering the latest in supply
• 38:11
  Speaker 3: chain information. Thanks for listening. Until next time.