http://visular.com/index.php/blog/ en twolf@visular.com Copyright 2011 2011-12-23T23:49:28+00:00 http://visular.com/index.php/site/afcea_leadership_forum_workshop_follow_up_ge_leadership_values_in_action http://visular.com/index.php/site/afcea_leadership_forum_workshop_follow_up_ge_leadership_values_in_action#When:23:49:28Z It was a real honor to be asked to come back to AFCEA so quickly after my last workshop to facilitate another session for their prestigious Leadership Forum.   I had some pretty big shoes to fill in for, but this great group of leaders helped to create an excellent discussion. Here attendees can find a link to download the presentation slides and other materials from the workshop at our protected file site:  Workshop Materials for Download.  The information is protected with the password distributed at the meeting (found on the bottom of the Team Assessment Tool). Feel free to use this site to make any comments or ask follow up questions for continued group discussion under this blog entry or in the password protected area (link above). You can also e-mail me directly with follow up questions if you'd prefer.  Don't forget to do your quick and easy follow up homework and best of luck as you work towards becoming the next in a long line of X graduating classes from  2011-12-23T23:49:28+00:00 http://visular.com/index.php/site/workshop_follow_up_ge_leadership_values_in_action_afcea http://visular.com/index.php/site/workshop_follow_up_ge_leadership_values_in_action_afcea#When:17:22:29Z Thank you to AFCEA and the great group of participants who attended our most recent offering of this workshop in Fairfax, VA. Here attendees can find a link to download the presentation slides and other materials from the workshop at our protected file site:  Workshop Materials for Download.  The information is protected with the password distributed at the meeting (found on the bottom of the Team Assessment Tool). Feel free to use this site to make any comments or ask follow up questions for continued group discussion under this blog entry or in the password protected area (link above). You can also e-mail me directly with follow up questions if you'd prefer. I apprecated everyone's input to the dynamic discussion on leadership in the session. Don't forget to do your quick and easy follow up homework!   2011-11-11T17:22:29+00:00 http://visular.com/index.php/site/multi-generation_planning_for_technology http://visular.com/index.php/site/multi-generation_planning_for_technology#When:04:22:26Z One of the better concepts for managing a set of systems over time comes from the product marketing world. A Multi-Generation Plan (MGP) is a high-level summary of functionality enhancements in phases. Applying this strategic thinking to your IT department’s list of core systems or your tech company’s products and services is invaluable. What it is and how it’s used  An MGP is first used as a tool for planning and decision making around your investments in technology. Then, once you have worked out the details and timing, your Multi-Generation Plan can be an excellent communication tool to inform all stakeholders what to expect. A well thought out MGP clearly summarizes key features and functions along a visible time line. It helps busy managers quickly digest a large amount of information so they can give their necessary input into a plan and also make preparations for changes that are coming.  Here is a simplified example of an IT Multi-Generation Plan: Assuming only two systems to worry about in this example, you could use the above plan to both capture unmovable requirements like planning for regulatory tax changes in the accounting system and to map out a logical order for all other enhancements such as website improvements and additional financial functions. Once everything is laid out, you can make decisions and adjustments as necessary. For example, in Quarter 3, if you don’t have the budget and/or resources to both implement an Accounts Receivable system and deliver Customer Registration, you can use this tool to highlight the problem, decide which has the higher priority for your business, and explain the result to both your marketing and finance department managers. Benefits of an MGP People always want more from technology and rightfully so. But balancing the volume of requests that come from all directions and creating a prioritized plan can be tough in organizations of any size. I’ve found that once a good MGP is created and communicated, even the most pushy customers (both internal and external) tend to back off a bit when they see that you do have your act together, you've thought things through, and that in most cases they are going to get what they want in due time. Now that doesn't mean they still won’t want it all sooner, faster, cheaper, better, etc. But that push back from them can lead to healthy discussions about resources and funding levels resulting in the necessary pragmatic prioritization to move forward. A good Multi-Generation Plan: Provides a simple, visual representation of your path.  Allows you to think about the big picture holistically rather than just focusing in detail on a bunch of tactical improvements with no roadmap. Benefits non-technical stakeholders and busy managers by logically grouping and summarizing a multitude of data into manageable chunks. Allows your internal developers, analysts, and engineers to see how the detailed work they are doing today fits into the big picture. Even more importantly it allows external or outsourced suppliers to see where you’re going and what will be expected of them. Helps you decide when to retire older systems and replace them with new ones. Note on this last point:  for complex environments you may need to create a Systems and Platform Convergence Plan.  Sounds almost scary, but it’s actually simple to understand once you see it.  We will write about that in a future article. Details on how to create and execute to a Multi-Generation Plan follow . . . Steps to create a systems MGP List all your critical systems Prioritize them so you focus on the most important ones first. Remember, you can always add more to your MGP later. If this is a new concept to your company, it may be best to start with a few systems to help get people used to the tool. Capture the current key functions of these systems so you have a base line.  These should be summarized in the Current Generation column. List all the improvements, new functions, and even completely new systems that are being requested by users. Prioritize the above list of enhancements based on the business justification of each.  This is critical. It’s OK to start with a best guess, but as you review and improve the MGP with key constituents – it should move from a gut feel wish list towards a commitment to delivering enhancements in the right order. Create a time line that makes sense.  I often do three-month (quarterly) increments for the current year and then simply show future years as single groups (see example above). I don’t recommend going more than three years out beyond the current year. Map the enhancements for each system in the most logical order.  Some will be obvious as a new function is often is dependent on another one being delivered first. Look at the plan in terms of the budget and resources you have available for each quarter and adjust the master schedule based on priority. Remember that even the most well thought out plans almost always change. You may never even get to some of the improvements listed further out because business requirements are always in flux. Conversely, when management sees the big picture they may determine that many of the improvements planned for the future are needed sooner and justify increased investment. As with anything in business it takes hard work to be simple and clear, so the best Mult-Generation Plans have lots of back-up data behind them. However, you can start having valuable discussions even with a very quick and easy draft. Just make sure you don't publish an MGP without clarifying what is DRAFT and what is firm. Executing to your MGP Keep it as high-level and simple as possible. Caution: this will be harder to do than it sounds! Remember it’s primarily a communication tool so balance details with clarity. Only capture the major enhancements or changes that people will care about. There is plenty of room in your other project documents to go into the gory details. Get buy in from business stakeholders along the way. Involve them in the planning. Review often to see how you’re delivering and adjust as necessary. Be sure to communicate changes to key deliverable dates as early as possible. Try to avoid surprises! As you demonstrate that your team can both communicate and deliver to a clear plan over time, you will gain more and more credibility with all of your stakeholders. This is an important step towards making your technology organization a true partner with the business. strategy & delivery, 2010-11-20T04:22:26+00:00 http://visular.com/index.php/site/lessons_learned_from_implementing_a_fully_digital_hospital http://visular.com/index.php/site/lessons_learned_from_implementing_a_fully_digital_hospital#When:05:19:17Z In healthcare these days, the most challenging information technology efforts are the successful implementation of the electronic medical record (emr), computerized provider order entry system (cpoe) and all the needed interfaces that support these two massive (and incredibly important) systems. During my tenure as chief executive officer for a hospital in Colorado, I had the pleasure of overseeing both of these implementations as we completed a journey from paper to fully digital. Focusing on the cpoe implementation and the critical interactions with physicians, below are nine key strategies that leadership will need to employ to ensure a successful cpoe implementation: physicians must have a voice in the process build credibility with physicians beforehand respond effectively and in a timely manner explain the value “at the elbow” support local voice customization presence key metrics Details around each of the 9 strategies follow . . . physicians must have a voice in the process – physicians are driven by practices they have established, tested, fine-tuned, and perfected over time. When they are asked to change their way of performing their clinical practice, they’ll be naturally hesitant, but will become more comfortable if they are included in the process of change. They want to do their very best for the patient, and are dependent upon all of us to ensure they have the resources (and are comfortable with these resources) to do their job well. It’s a fair expectation to have them involved in the process of deploying this significant technology; build credibility with physicians beforehand – there are many ways to do this, such as involving them in the process, but the importance of this cannot be overstated enough. By doing so, physicians will be comfortable approaching leadership with their concerns and issues, which should ultimately create a better outcome and system for everyone. Where possible, accommodate suggestions physicians have prior to go-live. Show them that you want to hear their suggestions and are responsive to them. If you cannot accommodate a suggestion, give them the courtesy by explaining why; respond effectively and in a timely manner – during the preparation, implementation and long afterwards, be sure you as a leader (as well as your team) understand the needs of the patients, physicians, staff and other involved in the process. Be proactive when addressing issues as possible, but at the very least, be sure to respond timely (as quickly as humanly possible!) and effectively (with the issue resolved, or if not … when it will be addressed); explain the value – often folks (physicians, employees, etc.) will support an initiative is they understand it. With physicians specifically (for cpoe), make sure you spend time with them so they have the best opportunity to understand (and accept) how this new process will positively change their practice. Talk about enhanced communication, efficiencies through order sets, the potential for better patient outcomes, etc. Also, be prepared to talk about the challenges, too, such as a large learning curve for must that will initially take more time to care for their patient. Explain that in time, as has been proven nationally, this process should actually save them time; “at the elbow” support – plan for competent, knowledgeable, expert support that will be at the physician’s elbow whenever they need it during the early weeks of the implementation. Their comfort level will greatly increase, in most cases, by having someone nearby to help them 1:1, instead of calling a support desk or opening up a ticket with an issue. The key here is ready, timely assistance that is competent to the physician’s needs; local voice – when part of a larger system implementation, make sure that the local hospital, clinic, office, surgery center, etc., has a voice in the development of the system, process, and roll-out; customization – where possible, allow for the creation of standard orders, practice order-sets, and other processes when a) they are clinically proven; and b) won’t conflict with other systems in place. It’s important to take into consideration these customized practices that, in many cases, create better outcomes and improved efficiencies for patients, physicians and patients. There are often ways to make this happen fairly easily; presence – this is a key strategy in general, not just for cpoe implementation, but it is so important it is worth stating again (and again!). A leader will not have an effective implementation without being present in the areas and with the users being affected. Rounding, effective communication, and open forums, on all shifts, will ensure you have a good sense about where the barriers may exist, the support for the initiative, etc. Be present, as a good leader should be; key metrics – develop, track, communicate and use key metrics that should be established early on to understand the success of the implementation, and areas that may need to be addressed. Ongoing metrics (perhaps not all of them, but some key ones) should continue to be measured long after the implementation is completed. For example, in the three weeks post “go-live” we saw our volumes drop by over 40%, yet we had excellent compliance with orders being submitted via cpoe (88%), low verbal order usage (about 5%), and a 7% increase in patient satisfaction (due to the increase presence with the patient, et. al). We knew where we needed to focus and successfully reversed our declining volume within four weeks after “go-live.” While no list of strategies can claim to be perfect in all settings, the ones I’ve included here (some of which were only understood fully in retrospect) should provide good direction for a successful cpoe implementation. As with anything, a well-defined map and strategies, coupled with the right talent to execute it, should lead to success in any setting. But always keep your eyes open, as there is often a bump in the road and your response to it will determine the final outcome! Overall, I believe our patients, physicians and staff benefit from this digital setting, and yet another advancement in healthcare. strategy & delivery, leadership, 2010-10-12T05:19:17+00:00 http://visular.com/index.php/site/some_it_leadership_principles_for_ceos_business_leaders http://visular.com/index.php/site/some_it_leadership_principles_for_ceos_business_leaders#When:20:31:39Z I updated this post from awhile ago. The quick list of points is still at the beginning with some more detailed notes below. I recently was asked to participate on a panel of technology leaders presenting to a group of CEOs. As I only had 10 minutes to give some advice and tips on how to effectively leverage technology, I did my best to pare down my thoughts to a short set of principles: First People – Then Process – Then Technology Never abdicate your responsibility for your company’s technology Have a solid, documented IT strategy Practice Rhythm of Review Know your total cost of IT Strive for simplicity Proactively manage security and risk Be a very tough, but very fair customer Know ALL your “IT people” – treat them as one team You get what you pay for – invest wisely and as part of a plan Be wary of tech trends Detailed explanations for each principle follow . . .First People, Then Process, Then Technology This has become a bit of an overused cliche from consulting companies and IT professionals, but it's true! Focus your efforts and money in that order. If you don't have the best people on board and your business process isn't clear and simple, fix them first before you jump into any new technology. Remember, only you can be a true judge of whether you have A players on your team. Your IT vendors aren't going to tell you that the reason your technology project is failing is because your people are weak. They're just going to work longer, and most likely charge you more, to try to get the job done. Never abdicate your responsibility for your company's technology Many business executives are not comfortable dealing with the complexities of IT. It's fine to have the desire to say "I don't care how it works, I just want it to work!". But even if you've hired the best technology managers and vendors to run your company's IT, you still should give it a decent amount of your personal attention. After all, it's expensive. Sometimes the most expensive part of a company's budget. Remember, the business leaders (not the IT managers or vendors) own these systems and the processes they support. When I'm brought into a client to clean up a technology project or system implementation gone seriously awry, I'm pretty tough on IT vendors who mess up. But I'm even tougher on the business managers who hired them and did nothing about it. There is a big difference between delegation and abdication of responsibility. Overall, as a CEO, it's best to keep a "buc stops here" mentality on what has become possibly most critical tool in your business arsenal. Have a solid, documented IT strategy This builds on the above point. Be sure to invest time in this. Work directly with your IT managers and vendors to create a clear, holistic picture of where your technology is and where it's going. Their job is to worry about the details, but also to make technology simple for you and your non-tech business leaders to understand. Practice Rhythm of Review The best strategy, budget, forecast, or project timeline is worthless without regular checks on where you are vs. your plan. Put checkpoints and tollgates in your calendar up front and stick to them. Know your total cost of IT Have an exhaustive IT budget and monitor it regularly. It never fails to amaze me how many senior managers don't have even a rough idea of what they are spending on technology in total. It's easy to remember buying that expensive piece of hardware, or paying for a big new system to be put in. But it's when you total ALL areas of technology and look at both the one time and recurring costs that you get the big picture. Strive for simplicity As a company grows and runs over time systems and add-on technologies propagate like weeds. It may seem a bit counter intuitive, but less is better, cheaper, faster, and easier to cope with. It is challenging to create a simple IT Architecture, but definitely worth it. Fast companies value having the best technology, but are completely on top of it and don't allow unplanned complexity to bring them to their knees. Proactively manage security and risk Protecting your valuable business data and ensuring that your critical IT systems are always available gets more important every day as companies become more and more dependent on technology. Your job as a leader is to balance risk tolerance vs. IT spend at the appropriate levels for your company. Think broadly and holistically when you make a plan considering your data, your customers' data, system backups, viruses, hackers, malicious outsiders, disgruntled employees, accidents, and natural disasters. Then be sure to put the necessary policies and procedures in place. No one can spend an unlimited amount of time and money to make their IT 100% full-proof and it's always necessary to carry a certain amount of risk and tolerate some vulnerabilities. But in this area, it's far better to make conscious, informed decisions with your eyes wide open than to be caught by surprise. Be a very tough, but very fair customer Set up your IT vendors for a long term successful partnership with you, but hold them to a very high professional standard. Drive your IT suppliers (internal and external) to be business people first and technology people second. Expect your IT employees and vendors alike to articulate issues in a clear way that facilitates decision making. Don't ever let them bury you in techno-jargon. Know ALL your IT people - treat them as one team This includes anyone who affects your systems including full time employees, consultants and contractors, and outside tech suppliers. Even more importantly it includes your non-IT employees who have a big role to play in owning the systems they use. Establishing SuperUsers for each critical functional area / system is one of the best techniques I've seen for helping IT and "the business" work well together. You get what you pay for Realize that solid, worthy technology costs money, but wise investments up front (as part of a good strategy) will save money in the long run. Technology mistakes grow to become expensive mistakes even if they just seemed like an easy and cheap fix at the time, so be sure to really think through your technology investment decisions. Be wary of tech trends Innovation is crucial and early adopters of new technology can often gain a competitive advantage, but jumping on the latest bandwagon with no good reason just amounts to spending on technology for technology's sake. Work with your team to get good at making quick assessments of a new tech offering and determining if you should be an early adopter, fast follower, late adopter, or not use it at all. Readers' thoughts and input on this list are welcome as we plan to continually refine it over time. leadership, 2010-05-30T20:31:39+00:00 http://visular.com/index.php/site/workshop_follow-up_-_ge_leadership_values_in_action_-_washington_dc http://visular.com/index.php/site/workshop_follow-up_-_ge_leadership_values_in_action_-_washington_dc#When:18:15:42Z Thanks so much to everyone who participated in our first public offering of this workshop Hosted by American Office at the impressive Herman Miller showroom in Washington, DC. Below, attendees can find a link to download the presentation slides and other materials from the workshop at our protected file site. Workshop Materials for Download The information is protected with the password distributed at the meeting (found on the bottom of the Team Assessment Tool). Feel free to use this site to make any comments or ask follow up questions for continued group discussion under this blog entry or in the password protected area (link above). You can also e-mail me directly (e-mail link to the left) with follow up questions if you'd prefer. I thoroughly enjoyed the excellent discussion and appreciate your active participation in the session. Don't forget to do your quick and easy follow up homework! strategy & delivery, leadership, 2010-03-05T18:15:42+00:00 http://visular.com/index.php/site/ge_leadership_john_deere_pm_forum http://visular.com/index.php/site/ge_leadership_john_deere_pm_forum#When:02:35:55Z Deere PM Forum participants:  below you can find a link to download the presentation slides and other materials from the February 2010 workshop at our protected file site.  The post is protected with the password distributed at the meeting. Workshop Materials for Download Feel free to use this site to make any comments or ask follow up questions for continued group discussion under this blog entry or in the password protected area (link above).  You can also e-mail me directly (e-mail link to the left) with follow up questions if you'd prefer. Thanks for your participation in the session! strategy & delivery, leadership, 2010-02-05T02:35:55+00:00 http://visular.com/index.php/site/every_company_should_have_a_master_calendar http://visular.com/index.php/site/every_company_should_have_a_master_calendar#When:22:04:12Z Rhythm of Review was one of the most important management concepts I learned while at GE. Every manager (and most employees) knew the dates of the monthly financial closes as well as when the major strategy sessions with corporate were scheduled. These were big events where success or failure was objectively measured and the future of the company was energetically planned. Regularly scheduled rigorous reviews of results against plan (finance, sales, project status, inventory, etc.) are critical to ensure companies stay focused on their most important metrics. In particular, your IT department needs this rhythm to align their efforts well with the business strategy and flow. In my years as a consultant, I've been surprised to find that many companies of all sizes have no single calendar that shows when all their important management meetings are scheduled. And often these aren't planned at the macro level at all, so there is no communicated rhythm of review in place. If you're doing everything ad hoc, then chances are you're missing some necessary disciplines around both strategic planning and tactical execution. I've searched several times for a good calendar template and found none, so I created this Excel tool and have used it for several clients and my own consulting practice: visular---company-master-calendar-example---v02.xls This example is populated with dummy data for demonstration purposes - feel free to customize to meet your needs. Read on for instructions:Objectives of the tool: clearly see all fiscal and calendar dates at the quarter, month, and day level capture ALL important business events (yearly customer conferences, industry events, etc.) plan and show all core regularly scheduled business meetings show holidays and other business closing dates see the whole year on 4 pages (one per quarter) so you can spread this out on your desk or a wall to get an easy bird's eye view of your year allow for as many or as few "areas" (shown as columns) as you need for your business Doing this in Excel make the process very quick and you can get creative with font sizes, colors, shading and other formatting to make your calendar easy to read and work with. Using the tool: Your financial review and accounting process should drive the overall rhythm and other regular meetings should flow from there. Depending on the size of your company you may have a column for each division and one for corporate, or you may chose a column for groups of key functions (Marketing & Sales; Finance & Legal; Engineering & Manufacturing; HR & IT). I'd try to limit columns to 5 or 6 - by forcing the calendar to fit clearly on 4 pages you keep it manageable. Use the second tab to give more details about your big meetings if necessary (owner, attendees, objectives / description, etc.). See also Meeting Agenda template. Once you have some data in the calendar, physically print it out to look at your company's whole year. Key questions to ask: Do we have the right type and timing of key strategic and tactical check points? Do we have too many big meetings? Too few? Are the owners, objectives and agendas for all these meetings clear? Have we put key strategic meetings (board meetings, 3-year planning sessions) in at the right times? Are important operational meetings scheduled on a regular basis? Involve your senior leadership team in completing this and be sure they are bought in to the Rhythm of Review concept. Only top management can drive this and ensure it happens. At GE under Jack Welch it was like a religion. You NEVER missed the key dates and objectives and measurements were crystal clear. No small feat for one of the world's largest companies. I often preach about the importance of balancing business strategy with tactical execution and having a calendar like this in place this helps leaders do just that. Hope you find this helpful. strategy & delivery, 2009-05-28T22:04:12+00:00 http://visular.com/index.php/site/bad_performance_review http://visular.com/index.php/site/bad_performance_review#When:21:08:19Z No matter how experienced you are as a manager it's never fun to give a negative review to an employee, much less fire someone. I recently gave some advice to a colleague who was lamenting going into a performance review for one of his people who was delivering far below expectations. It was at the point where if major improvements weren't made soon he would have to be fired. My approach helped and he just e-mailed me saying the discussion went much better than expected, so I thought I'd share the leadership tip. When you sit down face to face with that problem employee for the dreaded bad review, before you go into your documented laundry list of their problems, weaknesses, and failings - let them talk first. There's a good chance they know that at least some bad news is coming and they'll feel better if they get a chance to articulate the problems right up front in their own words. An intro like "Bill, before I go into the details of this review, why don't you tell me how you think you've performed over the past X months" is a great way to kick off this session. It will give your employee a bit of empowerment during an uncomfortable situation and may also give you some examples you can refer to later where you know they already agree with your assessment. If you have a formal document with your feedback and scores in writing, turn it over face down on the table during this first part of the chat. Then, when it's your turn to talk you can show the ugly details after the ice has been broken a bit.In my experience this works just as well during a first negative assessment as when you have to threaten to put a person on that final warning before they will be let go. You may even be surprised that they are so aware of the bad fit between them and the company that they tell you they plan to resign before you have to go any further. Much better for both of you and for the company than a formal firing. An important caveat: I'm assuming you have a clear role document / job description for everyone on your team and documented goals and objectives to measure people against. If those aren't in place you have some ground work to do before you can be too harsh on someone and still be fair. At a minimum make an as objective as possible list of issues backed up by concrete examples. Focus on tangible deliverables and results that have been missed. Otherwise you risk violating the No Surprises Rule with employees. One of the worst things you can do as a boss is catch someone on your team totally off guard with a negative review. Your people should always know where they stand with you and how they're doing on the job. Give bad news early, constructively, and fast no matter how small the issue. Don't let problems with your people fester for a second! It's always easier to address something the moment it happens than bringing it up much later. And it feels absolutely terrible to have an employee say "but you never told me you weren't happy!" Negative reviews are a necessary evil in the business world, but take courage in the fact that honesty is always the best policy when it comes to your team's performance. Hope this helps - your comments are welcome. people, leadership, 2009-05-01T21:08:19+00:00 http://visular.com/index.php/site/goals_for_software_vendor_search http://visular.com/index.php/site/goals_for_software_vendor_search#When:22:10:35Z Finding the right software or other technology solutions to meet your needs is critical. There are more and more options available to solve all kinds of business problems arriving on the market every day. So many companies and managers still have an "old school" overly competitive mentality when it comes to dealing with vendors. They tend to use the "I'm the customer" approach to a fault, driving such hard bargains and beating up tech vendors to the point where they are doomed to failure once the contract is signed. Ironically these same folks often abdicate their responsibility to vendors for their own business processes and defining requirements saying things like "you're the experts in XYZ, you tell me how it should work". As anyone who has seen me in action will tell you, I tend to hold technology vendors to an extremely high standard and can be pretty tough on them, especially when I find instances of a supplier being lax or unprofessional. Fundamentally, however, I take an approach of setting up vendors for long-term successful relationships and am just as hard on company managers who don't take full responsibility for their business processes. After all, it's their choice where to spend money on technology. Here are my goals for conducting an effective vendor search: Find and evaluate as many vendors / solutions / options as possible - quickly and with minimal cost and effort Make your search process repeatable to save time (create clear documents so all you have to do is send the same stuff over and over as new vendors are identified) Educate vendors (especially your short list) for highly effective demos and proposals Enable vendors who are not a strong fit to self-select out early (saving time) Set up key vendors for success to build an effective long-term relationship and avoid surprises later Demonstrate your company's tech and business savvy throughout to encourage great vendors to want to work with you Be a very tough, but very fair customer As you do your prep work to create a Request for Information (RFI), Proposal (RFP) or Quote (RFQ), keep these goals in mind and test everything you're doing against them. I plan to post more vendor management best practices here on our blog over time. Feel free to contact us for help in building the solid vendor relationships that are so critical to your company's success. vendor management, 2009-03-15T22:10:35+00:00