It is almost 9 years ago that I wrote one of my first blogs; The Behavioural Supply Chain. In the blog I argue that…

“Supply chain, in its current form, is nearing the end of its life cycle of integration and optimisation. Even supported by the latest IT technology, the intended total network integration and optimisation is grinding to a halt.”

and that…

“The behavioural supply chain’, will be of vital importance in taking the next step in our global and multi-cultural supply chain world.”

Since then I’ve written many blogs on this website, mostly about the topic of supply chain, S&OP, leadership behaviours, mindset and company culture. I published articles in renowned magazines like Foresight, the Journal of Business forecasting and Supply Chain Movement. My blog was voted a top 75 supply chain blog by Feedspot. That looks like a nice result, but the million dollar question is:

Have we made progress in the behavioural supply chain in those 9 years?

Not enough in my opinion. I think that change management has become a more integral part of supply chain thinking and it is more discussed at conferences. Some consultancies start to combine supply chain hard and soft skills. However, I’ve not seen progress in adopting superior mindset and behaviours to drive competitive advantage in a supply chain. That’s unfortunately not a mainstream conversation yet.

I say unfortunate because there are superior mindsets that improve well-being and performance for both the employee as the company. I described the elements of a superior mindset in many blogs and in my self-help guide; Building Mental Toughness: practical help to be yourself at your best.

It is unfortunate senior leaders have not figured out yet that they can use S&OP to drive a mindset and behaviours to improve team effectiveness, employee engagement, well-being and performance. These objectives give more purpose and meaning to S&OP, will increase executive engagement and in return will improve S&OP and business performance.

My mission remains to bring more well-being and performance to S&OP and supply chain through the development of a superior mindset and behaviours. And I hope that in the next 10 years mindset and behaviours will be high on the agenda of every CEO and supply chain executive.

In the mean time, I’m very pleased to announce that I wrote a book for children that teaches them about a Strong Mind. It tells stories about confidence, resilience, growth mindset and that it’s OK to try and fail. My Strong Mind is now available on Amazon.

Funny enough, kids have the same issues as senior leaders in business, who I’ve seen struggle with lack of (interpersonal) confidence, emotional control, fear of failure or challenge themselves outside of their comfort zone. It is these fears that can prevent them to fully embrace S&OP. And as I’ve shown before, these fears influence S&OP effectiveness.

Let’s hope my little book will positively influence the mindset of a future generation of leaders.