Do not get lost in a sea of despair. Be hopeful, be optimistic. Never, ever be afraid to make some noise and get in good trouble, necessary trouble. -John Lewis
In times like these, we must draw wisdom from greatness, in both our personal and professional lives. It’s heartening to see good trouble emerging in the most surprising places. One such place is the office of the assistant state comptroller of Illinois, Ellen Andres. Had she not taken unprecedented risks to secure masks for her state, many lives would have been lost.
Ellen provides a roadmap for corporate sourcing and supplier diversity chiefs to strengthen their companies and our nation, as they plan for the fourth quarter and 2021. I led one of the largest government procurement offices in the country, approving billions in contracts, and now navigate large corporate contracting organizations as a small business owner, so these insights are drawn from first-hand experience.
Corporate sourcing leadership in this moment demands a fundamental reassessment of the societal value proposition and disruption to longstanding practices.
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It requires companies to think innovatively about pipeline management and vendor spend impact. These corporate managers can quickly create an economic stimulus by targeting the most devastated small business sectors whose growth will have an exponentially greater impact on the hardest hit.
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It means engaging smaller suppliers to help them navigate internal obstacles and retraining your own employees (many of whom are working from home and eager to strengthen communities).
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It entails new performance metrics, data analysis of historic barriers (scale, capacity, balance sheet, bonding, etc.) and destroying long held norms regarding procurement. Even government, at all levels, has radically modified compliance to speed solutions and impact.
From small businesses like mine, it requires taking new risks, seeking once unimaginable partnerships, heightened trust and transparency, and digging deep for the tenacity to meet the challenge.
We can’t wait. MWBE’s were shut out of federal aid and 41% of Black-owned businesses have already closed. In NYC alone, one third of small businesses won’t recover.
Now is the time when leaders must emerge. If you can’t be John Lewis, be Ellen Andres. We all have a part to play.