{"id":1772,"date":"2018-06-06T14:16:38","date_gmt":"2018-06-06T14:16:38","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.certitrek.com\/nlpa\/?p=1772"},"modified":"2023-05-31T04:41:20","modified_gmt":"2023-05-31T08:41:20","slug":"loud-blast-procurement-achievements","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.certitrek.com\/nlpa\/blog\/loud-blast-procurement-achievements\/","title":{"rendered":"How Loud Should You Blast Your Procurement Achievements?"},"content":{"rendered":"

There\u2019s a phrase that bothers me: \u00a0\u201cToot your\/his\/her own horn.\u201d<\/p>\n

When most people use this phrase, it often has negative connotations. \u00a0A typical use in context would be \u201cHe\u2019s such an annoying braggart. \u00a0All he does is toot his own horn.\u201d<\/p>\n

But, in an under-respected field such as procurement, tooting your own horn is a good thing. \u00a0My feeling is that, if people don\u2019t know what you\u2019ve accomplished in procurement, they will assume that you\u2019re doing nothing.<\/p>\n

CEO\u2019s often don\u2019t know all of the things that a\u00a0procurement department can do or should be doing. \u00a0Internal customers certainly don\u2019t.<\/p>\n

Heck, I\u2019ve even seen procurement directors and vice presidents\u00a0promoted from other functions like finance not have a clue what value procurement can deliver!<\/p>\n

So, if important stakeholders don\u2019t know the value that procurement can bring, there\u2019s a strong likelihood that they think procurement exists merely to get in their way and make their lives difficult!<\/p>\n

Therefore, it is key to not be shy about communicating the value that procurement brings to the organization. \u00a0To\u00a0toot your own horn<\/em>, if you will. \u00a0It can be a path to winning respect and, more importantly, cooperation.<\/p>\n

In many instances in life, people don\u2019t realize how good something is until they hear someone else saying how good it is. \u00a0Think about musical artists, or viral videos, or TV shows, or that one bakery in every town that just slays the most amazing pastries. \u00a0Their success was often the result of word of mouth, whether it be a one-on-one conversation, sharing on social media, news coverage, or any other type of validating event.<\/p>\n

How did you discover your favorite things? \u00a0Probably not by taking a blind chance. \u00a0Probably by trying something that you heard about elsewhere, right? \u00a0It\u2019s rare to be the first person in the world to recognize that something is amazing.<\/p>\n

So, in procurement, sometimes you need to get third parties to share how great you are before your important stakeholders will believe it and treat you accordingly. \u00a0Just quietly doing your job isn\u2019t enough. \u00a0People won\u2019t pay attention.<\/p>\n

But if:<\/p>\n