Tag: Professional Development

Professional Development

Be a Better Boss

When I became a new supervisor in 2008, I realized right away that I was woefully under-prepared. My agency offered no training at all! I was a newly minted public librarian so I dug into our collection and started reading. I spent the next decade reading every kind of management book, psychology book, and motivational book I could find.

Here are my reading recommendations for your path to being a better boss: Read more “Be a Better Boss” →

Professional Development

Succession Planning: Don’t Just Plan for Your Future

As a greater proportion of the workforce reaches retirement age each year, the importance of succession planning has never been more apparent.  Talent management and succession planning ranked #6 on NASPO’s Top Ten priorities for 2020 .  Never fear!  Pulse is here to help with some tips and tricks for a successful planning process. Read more “Succession Planning: Don’t Just Plan for Your Future” →
Green Purchasing

Not Another Green Blog

Everything you buy has a story. That story has a profound impact on our planet and community. Imagine, if you will for a moment, the butterfly effect. A pop-culture reference suggesting that a butterfly can flap its wings in Rio de Janeiro, causing a tornado in Kansas. Now apply this effect to a plastic water bottle.  The bottle, seemingly harmless, acts as a vehicle for your water.  Once its purpose is served, you throw the bottle in the garbage (or recycling bin) without much of a thought. But did you know before you even bought that bottle of cold, refreshing H20, it affected your surroundings? “The production of plastic water bottles requires up to 17 million barrels of oil each year. This amount of oil has the ability to maintain up to one million cars fueled for an entire year.” [i] Now, I’m not here to prevent you from buying bottled water or tell you to stop throwing away plastic bottles (although you should recycle them). I want to emphasize the importance that everything you buy has an incredible impact on our environment. More so, the purchasing power that states possess has a great impact on not only the environment, but economy and community as well.

Read more “Not Another Green Blog” →

Professional Development

Eliminate these four Productivity Killers in 2020!

At NASPO, we know our members are usually involved in multiple projects at one time.  Not only is each project timely, and essential, but chances are it’s complex by nature too. Do you want 2020 to be your most productive year yet?  Let us help. Thanks to our friends at TopThink and Forbes, we want to highlight four common habits to avoid to help make you as productive as possible.
Read more “Eliminate these four Productivity Killers in 2020!” →
Professional Development

Keeping Up with Continuous Improvement

No matter how well your office is running, there is always room for improvement! Consistently looking for ways to improve your processes can lead to greater efficiencies and cost savings in the long run. Models like Six Sigma and Kaizen are often used to help identify ways to improve on a day-to-day basis. This process of continuous improvement can help eliminate inefficiencies and wasteful activities or time-consuming steps in the procurement cycle. It’s about taking a critical look at your processes, finding gaps and opportunities for improvement. Read more “Keeping Up with Continuous Improvement” →
Professional Development

Don’t Get Left Behind, Get Certified!

Many professionals reach a point in their career when they ask themselves: Should I get certified? Whether you work in IT or the healthcare industry, public procurement or supply chain management, we all know certifications matter. We also know that getting certified is a big-time commitment and requires financial resources.

Read more “Don’t Get Left Behind, Get Certified!” →

Professional Development

Get Your Certification ON!

Public procurement professionals are the gatekeepers of taxpayer dollars and are held to a higher standard of conduct, excellence, and integrity. The continuous development of academic degrees related to procurement as well as national certifications are necessary to elevate the public procurement profession as a recognized and highly regarded career path. For procurement professionals who are interested in elevating their career, getting certified, and having fun along the way, where should they go? The answer is the UPPCC! Read more “Get Your Certification ON!” →

Professional Development

Major Procurement Trends: Helping Your Office Move Forward

In the past twelve months, what significant challenges has your procurement office faced? Have you had internal conversation about the struggle to replace a retirement-age workforce? Did you have to adjust in order to overcome a supply chain disruption caused by a major weather event? Chances are that you have- and you are not alone. For every qualified individual, there are six vacancies in the procurement sector, and we all have watched the news as natural and man-made disasters like devastating wildfires have affected millions of people. So, what should you and your fellow procurement officials do in the face of all of this uncertainty?

Read more “Major Procurement Trends: Helping Your Office Move Forward” →