Novocure

A coffee with the right person can surface more insights than a full slide deck! This week I spoke with Edoardo GATTI , a procurement manager who just started a new two-year assignment in France, after completing a two-year mission in Italy—still with the same global manufacturer of industrial machines. We ended up on a topic many of us are living right now: In VUCA times, what will really help organizations navigate flooding, drought, energy shocks, geopolitical disruptions—when everything feels “simultaneously urgent”? We agreed on a balanced view. Humans can still tackle crises directly. When factories are at risk, transport routes are disrupted, energy prices spike, or water availability changes overnight, what matters is judgment, coordination, and decisive trade-offs—often with imperfect data and real consequences for people. AI will accelerate the preparation and execution of interactions. Faster scenario modeling, quicker supplier insights, better forecasting signals, more efficient sourcing workflows. In many cases, AI will make the process dramatically better—especially the speed and quantity of information. And that led us to Supplier Days, also discussed few days ago with Sammy Rashed and some colleagues at the EU Procurement Think Tank. We see a future where “Supplier Days” are no longer a once-a-year event, but a continuous, embedded practice—supported by AI: * always-on supplier performance and risk signals * continuous value engineering and cost opportunities * structured innovation pipelines * smarter collaboration rhythms across categories and functions That’s a powerful lever for sourcing professionals: a constant engine for cost improvement and resilience. But we also aligned on one essential point: AI can speed up the cycle. Humans must make the final call. Because the “best” decision isn’t always the cheapest or the fastest. It’s the one that balances continuity, competitiveness, and fairness—across suppliers, workers, communities, and the planet. In short: AI can help us execute better. Humans still define what “better” means.” Especially when it’s about people’s lives. #sourcing #ai #leadership

The first breakdown in most systems is rarely effort. It’s clarity. Not dramatic failure. Not incompetence. Just a slow accumulation of uncertainty that spreads through teams, vendors, departments, boards, and organizations like hairline fractures through glass. People start interpreting instead of executing. One person thinks the priority is speed. Another thinks it’s cost. Another assumes someone else owns the issue. Nobody is fully wrong. But the system still fails. I’ve seen this happen in manufacturing plants, supply chains, nonprofit boards, and municipal government. Though the environments may change. The pattern doesn’t. A production delay traces back to unclear ownership. A vendor misses expectations that were never fully defined. A town ordinance creates conflict because interpretation replaced precision. A nonprofit loses momentum because everyone supports the mission differently. Clarity is not micromanagement. It is the removal of unnecessary ambiguity. Good leaders do not leave critical expectations open to interpretation. Instead, they define ownership, standards, timelines, escalation paths and what success actually looks like. Because confusion compounds downstream. In operations, it becomes delays and rework. In leadership, it becomes frustration and distrust. In government, it becomes inconsistency and conflict. The cost of unclear expectations is almost never paid upfront. It gets paid later, with interest. Clarity is not about controlling people. It is about giving systems the stability required to function under pressure.

Well, I have moved into the next phase of life. I have officially retired.

If anyone is looking for an entry-level sales representative, look no further. He might also get some solid coaching and mentoring at home. ☺️😉

there are many factors that are working against the game development industry. This is just one more straw on the pile.