You might call it ambition. You might call it determination. You might even call it passion. I call it fire in the belly. Whatever name it goes by, though, this characteristic is far and away what I look for in every one of our employees as we build our organization.  Of course, every organization needs good people. High-tech supply chain and logistics organizations, though, need them even more to keep up with the fast pace…

I learned a few things when I spent one winter in a distribution center in Canada.  I learned what it was like to arrive for work in the dark and leave in the dark. I learned about the extra connector in Canadian cars that would allow the car to be plugged in to heat the engine block so the car would still start in sub-zero weather. I learned about how these winter warriors would get…

In the distribution center (DC), technology has taken over many manually intensive, paper-based processes. That progression is fascinating.  Technology is being leveraged to create superior processes and connect workers seamlessly throughout the distribution center. Early in 2000, I visited a Detroit-area DC that based its efficiency on highly disciplined paper-based processes, ruled by the iron fist of the DC manager. This tough woman had more than 30 years of experience in the organization, which had…

“I think if you’re looking at a PC, why would you buy a PC anymore? No really, why would you buy one?” Apple CEO Tim Cook recent queried a Telegraph reporter. It’s a great sound point, but there’s at least one big reason that the iPad Pro won’t be replacing enterprise PCs anytime soon. In the startup world, it’s called drinking your own Kool-Aid when entrepreneurs, particularly product creators, get too excited about their own products. When that happens,…

This month puts us well past the holiday season, with its tradition of frenzied holiday shopping. For those, the shopping tradition and the weeks after provide an opportunity for bragging rights about the savings I achieved in my holiday bargain hunting starting at Thanksgiving.  At the same time, it marks a good time for electronics retailers to start getting ready for the next big shopping surge. I think nostalgically of my first experience with holiday…

Recently, I was invited to take a place on a Tech for Distribution Center (DC) panel during the annual Georgia Logistics Summit. We tackled some intriguing questions: During this time of technological change, what does the future work force look like? What is the most important quality to look for when hiring? Who will be best suited to carry the organization into the new smart machine age? The Center for Logistics Innovation, which is part of…

Managers matter. Management style matters. For many workers, autonomy means trust. When I look back on my career, my best managers avoided micromanaging their employees. However, I’ve also seen it work for some leaders. Early in my career, while I still lived in India, I remember one interview, for a job with a newly-minted public company, very clearly. It was a Sunday afternoon in Bangalore. I had been scheduled to meet with Raj, but a…

We live in a digital world…and it’s only going to get more digital. With that reality in mind, I’ve wanted to dig deeper into the topic, particularly as it relates to the high-tech industry. That’s why I was excited to see an invite from my alma mater, Georgia Tech Scheller College of Business, to attend a Digital Disruption panel moderated by Maryam Alavi, dean of the school. The participants were: David Godsman, chief digital officer,…

Imitation is the sincerest form of flattery. In fact, at least when it comes to figuring out strategy, one excellent way to find the path to success is to find someone who is doing what you would want to do and study that successful execution. You can create a successful model and understand market dynamics. You’ve seen it happen in business often before. For example, back in 1980’s, Motorola wanted to know whether cell phones…