Can leaders dispense with collaboration?

Today, on seeing @HarvardBiz’s tweet, “We respect leaders more when they don’t need co-pilots,” I was compelled to read the corresponding article in Harvard Business Review, “Why Command-and-Control Leadership Is Here to Stay.” The article comments on the Vroom-Yetton model of leadership, which identifies five different decision-making styles, ranging from autocratic to consultative to group-based decisions. I found the tweet and headline provocative (although the article rather less so). Continue reading

Supply chain: a cross-functional collaboration… or the blinkered approach of functional silos?

A recent post in Purchasing Insight, “What can game theory teach us about Financial Supply Chain Management?” highlights the overall financial impact of paying suppliers as late as possible. The key point is that the working capital cost to supplier usually far outweighs the savings to the customer, thereby increasing the overall cost to the supply chain. The post got me thinking about a much bigger issue: how businesses manage their supply chains – a cross-functional collaboration or a collection of functional silos? Continue reading