{"id":3597,"date":"2017-11-08T01:50:29","date_gmt":"2017-11-08T01:50:29","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.certitrek.com\/nlpa\/2017\/11\/08\/doing-great-things-in-procurement-business-life\/"},"modified":"2023-05-31T05:47:47","modified_gmt":"2023-05-31T09:47:47","slug":"great-things-procurement-business-life","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.certitrek.com\/nlpa\/blog\/great-things-procurement-business-life\/","title":{"rendered":"Doing Great Things in Procurement, Business, Life…"},"content":{"rendered":"

I haven\u2019t been sleeping well lately.<\/p>\n

And, when I don\u2019t sleep well, I lie in bed and think.<\/p>\n

I think of words.\u00a0 Phrases.\u00a0 Affirmations.\u00a0 Inspirational quotes.\u00a0 Verbiage I can use when I am asked to give unvarnished career advice to business people who are struggling.<\/p>\n

So, allow me to share some of what has been coming to me in these late-night, stream-of-consciousness sessions.<\/p>\n

There are two types of people in the world:<\/p>\n

    \n
  1. People who find ways to do great things; and<\/li>\n
  2. People who find excuses not to<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

    If I asked someone\u00a0seeking my career advice what great things they are doing or have done, I\u2019m probably more likely than not to get a mouthful of excuses why there are no great accomplishments to discuss:\u00a0 \u201cI\u2019m too old,\u201d \u201cI don\u2019t have an MBA,\u201d \u201cI work for a small company,\u201d etc.<\/p>\n

    Now, if I called out the advice seeker\u00a0and criticized him\/her for making excuses, s\/he might argue that these are not excuses, they are reasons<\/em>.<\/p>\n

    But anytime someone gives me a ton of supposed reasons why they aren\u2019t doing something, it\u2019s clear that they are actually excuses.\u00a0 When you have to dig for multiple<\/em> explanations of why one thing isn\u2019t being done,\u00a0those explanations are almost by definition excuses and not reasons.<\/p>\n

    Another way of determining that something is an excuse is whether or not that same factor stopped everyone else from ever accomplishing something.<\/p>\n

    For example, if \u2013 at age 50 \u2013 you say that you\u2019re too old to do something big, I\u2019d encourage you to compare yourself to someone who has<\/em> accomplished something great at your same age or older.\u00a0 Or if your excuse is that you don\u2019t have an MBA, I\u2019d encourage you to compare yourself to others who did something great without an MBA.<\/p>\n

    As a dad, one of my favorite phrases to use on my kids is \u201cThat sounds like a solvable problem.\u201d\u00a0 I\u2019d use this if something like \u201cI work for a small company\u201d was someone\u2019s excuse.<\/p>\n

    Sounds like a solvable problem.\u00a0 Want to work for a big company?\u00a0 Have you applied to a big company?\u00a0 No?\u00a0 Well, get started and don\u2019t let that solvable problem forever stop you from achieving your potential!<\/p>\n

    Are you achieving as much as you\u2019d like to achieve?<\/p>\n

    If not, examine yourself and your situation.\u00a0 Instead of relying on me to identify whether or not you are making excuses, be brutally honest with yourself to determine if you are.<\/p>\n

    And, if you\u2019re making excuses, admit it.\u00a0 Admitting a problem is the first step in solving it.<\/p>\n

    Then, your second step is to stop\u00a0trying to find excuses and start trying to find ways to make amazing things happen.\u00a0 Successful people do just that.\u00a0 You can, too!<\/p>\n

    Now, if I could only be successful at getting a good night sleep tonight\u2026<\/p>\n

    Recommended Reading:<\/b><\/p>\n

    50 Purchasing Articles Available Again!<\/a>
    \n    7 Steps For Fueling Better Procurement Team Performance<\/a>
    \n    A Bellwether of Change for Procurement Departments<\/a>
    \n    A Brief Look into Additive Manufacturing<\/a>
    \n    A Buyer\u2019s Introduction To Performance Bonds<\/a>
    \n    A Common Buyer Training Omission<\/a>
    \n    A Common Phobia of Leaders\u2026Even Procurement Leaders<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

    I haven\u2019t been sleeping well lately. And, when I don\u2019t […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":12,"featured_media":3996,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-3597","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-procurement"],"yoast_head":"\nDoing Great Things in Procurement, Business, Life... - Next Level Purchasing Association (NLPA)<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.certitrek.com\/nlpa\/blog\/great-things-procurement-business-life\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Doing Great Things in Procurement, Business, Life...\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"I haven\u2019t been sleeping well lately. 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