In a new Art of Procurement podcast series, Philip Ideson and I will  stop each month and take a look back at the podcasts, news, and topics of the previous four weeks. You can hear the January episode here:  Leveraging Storytelling To Better Connect With Your Stakeholders.

It’s interesting how different an idea can look when you consider it in the context of other information. Most of us read a few articles and posts and listen to a podcast of two during the month. When you have to look back at them, two things quickly become apparent:

1. Even the best ideas fade from your memory much faster than you might expect. Something you read four weeks ago will practically seem new if you read it again.
2. The best ideas live in the space between pieces of content. When you compare, contrast and summarize, you end up with an independent point of view that is much more valuable than any one source piece.

The links to this month’s podcasts are below, but here are some of the insights I found ‘in between’…

If you have a tendency to look ahead to Friday every week, just a warning: Friday is the start of February. (What?) On the bright side, industry webinar hosts seem to have gotten back into the swing of things after the holidays, as I added 7 new webinars to the calendar this week.

If you are planning further in advance, I recommend 'The Psychology & Business Case for Workplace Organization' on Feb. 15th from Supply Chain Now Radio, Talent Stream, APICS Atlanta, and Beau Groover, Founder & President of The Effective Syndicate.

BTW: If you haven’t already, sign up for our mailing list to be sure you get my weekly recommendations in your Inbox each Monday.

Although the two webinars I’ve recommended below are generally applicable, this week’s webinars also include a two specific applications of procurement process and technology in Higher Ed. Check out the full events calendar if you are interested. If you are planning beyond this week, take a peek at Tradeshift’s event on e-Invoicing and supply chain finance on January 31st or Coupa’s webinar about strategic sourcing optimization on February 19th. Both of those are good bets for expanding your knowledge.

BTW: If you haven’t already, sign up for our mailing list to be sure you get my weekly recommendations in your Inbox each Monday.

Welcome back – and happy new year! We are officially kicking off 2019 with this week’s webinar recommendations. If you are looking for a longer term recommendation, check out ‘Hey Nineteen: Procurement’s Playbook for 2019’ from SIG and Zycus on January 29th at 1pm ET. It will feature the findings from The Hackett Group’s 2019 “Procurement Key Issues” survey, including key topics such as the acceleration of digital transformation in procurement and a look at the ongoing strategic initiatives and technology adoption trends that support it.

BTW: If you haven’t already, sign up for our mailing list to be sure you get my weekly recommendations in your Inbox each Monday.

The December ISM-New York Report on Business was released on January 3rd at 9:45am Eastern and is available for download here. Please see the end of this commentary for additional information on the ISM-New York Report on Business.

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So… this is it. This is the last week of webinar recommendations for 2018. There are no less than 12 events taking place this week (and one on the calendar for next week). My official events coverage will start again for the week of January 7th, but I’ve already started adding events to January, so feel free to peek ahead. If you are planning your webinar schedule beyond this week (or year!), I recommend ‘5 Steps to Reach AP Excellence in 2019’ from basware and Ardent Partners on January 15th.

BTW: If you haven’t already, sign up for our mailing list to be sure you get my weekly recommendations in your Inbox each Monday.

The November ISM-New York Report on Business was released on December 4th at 9:45am Eastern and is available for download here.

Like ISM’s national report, the ISM-New York Report on Business is compiled as diffusion indices –we add the percent of positive responses to one-half of those responding that conditions remained the same.  A reading of 50.0 means no change from the prior month, greater than 50.0 indicates a faster pace of activity, and less than 50.0 a slower rate. Each month is not so much a reading of the current level of activity as it is an indication of growth or contraction from the previous month.

A note specific to the New York Metro area, where all of this report’s respondants are located: they are predominantly in professional services industries. It is important to keep this in mind when we think about the context for the trends being reported by these particular purchasing managers.

I can’t even believe it is December already. And if you thought your personal schedule was out of control, you should look at this weeks’ calendar!! The November ISM-New York Report on Business will be released on Tuesday, December 4th at 9:45am ET and Public Spend Forum is hosting a Happy Hour in Arlington, VA that same evening. If you are planning your webinar schedule beyond this week, I recommend ‘Understand the Risk Big Picture — It Doesn't Stop at Supplier Risk’ from riskmethods’ Bill DiMartino and Peter Smith on December 13th at 9am ET).

Right now it still looks like December 10-14 will be the last week of webinar recommendations for this year. I’ll know for sure next week, but I’ll absolutely start them again on January 7th.

BTW: If you haven’t already, sign up for our mailing list to be sure you get my weekly recommendations in your Inbox each Monday.

This week, Procurement Leaders’ Data, Intelligence, and Technology Forum is taking place in London on Tuesday and Wednesday. If you are planning your webinar schedule beyond this week, I recommend ‘Achieving Agility in Procurement Operations: Beam’s Transformation Journey’ from ISM, Scout RFP, and Beam Suntory on December 11th.

A quick note as the end of the year approaches: I’m watching the event listings for December, and as of right now it looks like December 10-14 will be the last week of the year. If the week after fills in, I’m game, but if it doesn’t, I’ll stop my event recommendations posts on December 17th and pick up again on January 7th.

BTW: If you haven’t already, sign up for our mailing list to be sure you get my weekly recommendations in your Inbox each Monday.

This week, ProcureCon Marketing is taking place in San Diego, CA Monday through Wednesday. You may also notice that this week gets off to a slow start, as many companies observe Veterans’ Day on Monday. If you are planning your webinar schedule beyond this week, I recommend ‘Improving Supplier Diversity Outcomes: How innovative tech can uncover the diversity spend you already have’ from tealbook on December 5th.

BTW: If you haven’t already, sign up for our mailing list to be sure you get my weekly recommendations in your Inbox each Monday.

This week, Procurement Leaders’ Asia Pacific Congress is taking place in Singapore on Thursday and Friday. If you’re planning your webinar schedule beyond this week, I recommend “Why Procurement Needs Digital Risk Management—and How to Get Started” on November 14th from ISM, The Hackett Group, and riskmethods.

BTW: If you haven’t already, sign up for our mailing list to be sure you get my weekly recommendations in your Inbox each Monday.

The October ISM-New York Report on Business was released on November 2nd at 9:45am Eastern and is available for download here.

Like ISM’s national report, the ISM-New York Report on Business is compiled as diffusion indices –we add the percent of positive responses to one-half of those responding that conditions remained the same.  A reading of 50.0 means no change from the prior month, greater than 50.0 indicates a faster pace of activity, and less than 50.0 a slower rate. Each month is not so much a reading of the current level of activity as it is an indication of growth or contraction from the previous month.

A note specific to the New York Metro area, where all of this report’s respondants are located: they are predominantly in professional services industries. It is important to keep this in mind when we think about the context for the trends being reported by these particular purchasing managers.

As we close the book on October, ProcureCon MRO is taking place in Fort Worth, TX this week on Monday and Tuesday. I’d also like to invite everyone to join me on Wednesday at 11am ET for a webinar I am presenting on a new way to approach talent development: a 3-Part Framework for Procurement Talent Transformation: Vision, Realism, and Accountability.

If you’re planning your webinar schedule beyond this week, I recommend "Understanding the Digital Procurement Transformation Journey" from SpendHQ and Bain & Co on November 15th at 2pm ET.

BTW: If you haven’t already, sign up for our mailing list to be sure you get my weekly recommendations in your Inbox each Monday.

This week continued to fill up, with new events being added to the calendar as late as Friday. Make sure you take a look at the full listing of events, which include a couple of ‘Lunch & Learns’ from Public Spend Forum.

If you’re planning your webinar schedule beyond this week, I invite you to join me on October 31st for a webinar I’m presenting at Zycus’ invitation: “3-Part Framework for Procurement Talent Transformation: Vision, Realism, and Accountability”.

BTW: If you haven’t already, sign up for our mailing list to be sure you get my weekly recommendations in your Inbox each Monday.

This is a ‘sleepy’ week on the BMP events calendar, but don’t worry! If you had something else in mind, there are already 7 webinars on the calendar for next week.

If you’re looking to plan your webinar schedule beyond this week, I recommend ‘Are you really MANAGING Procurement? (Or Does Stuff Just Happen…)’ on October 23rd from Per Angusta, Peter Smith (Spend Matters UK/EU), and Glen Lovett, Head of Group Procurement at FirstGroup.

BTW: If you haven’t already, sign up for our mailing list to be sure you get my weekly recommendations in your Inbox each Monday.

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This week’s webinars present another interesting combinations that are likely to be top of mind for leading procurement professionals. If you’re looking for something really different, I invite you to join #TakeActionOctober – this is an initiative started by my colleague and good friend Phil Ideson (Art of Procurement). Every day he posts a 5 minute podcast that includes a great message and an “action challenge”. I did it all last week, and it really is an enjoyable way to spend a few minutes a day. If you’re interested, it isn’t too late to get caught up. The full list of #TakeAction micro-pods can be accessed here.

If you’re looking to plan your webinar schedule beyond this week, I recommend 'Integrating Supplier Risk Management into Your Procurement Processes' from SIG and SAPAriba on October 25th. In a rare webinar appearance, we’ll get to hear from Harold Good, Procurement Advisor, Futurist and Influencer for Procurement Pros Group LLC – although you probably know him better as @Hal_Good, Twitter influencer extraordinaire.

BTW: If you haven’t already, sign up for our mailing list to be sure you get my weekly recommendations in your Inbox each Monday.

The August ISM-New York Report on Business was released on October 2nd at 9:45am Eastern and is available for download here.

Like the other ISM reports, the ISM-New York Report on Business is compiled as diffusion indices –we add the percent of positive responses to one-half of those responding that conditions remained the same.  A reading of 50.0 means no change from the prior month, greater than 50.0 indicates a faster pace of activity, and less than 50.0 a slower rate. Each month is not so much a reading of the current level of activity as it is an indication of growth or contraction from the previous month.