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The Right Combination of Technical & Communication Skills ROCKS!
From:
Lisa Anderson M.B.A. - Manufacturing and Supply Chain Lisa Anderson M.B.A. - Manufacturing and Supply Chain
For Immediate Release:
Dateline: Claremont, CA
Monday, February 20, 2017

 

I am the Chair of the APICS West Coast student case competition, and we just wrapped up our 2017 event. We had 104 students from around the world fly into San Diego to compete. It was a really impressive group of students!

technical and communication skills

The competition is judged 50% on the technical score (the return on investment achieved after several rounds running a business simulation game) and 50% on the presentation to the Boards of Directors of the company. I have to say….some of the best presentations were those who didn’t perform as well on the ROI because they learned from it, took the positive attitude and used a creative mindset to show how they would improve in the future. With that said, just as is true in real life, you MUST have both the technical side (no empty suits can be successful long-term) AND the communications to back it up.

The team that won not only 1st place in the undergraduate division but ALSO was the top scoring team of undergraduates and graduates and so will represent us at APICS 2017 was Harvey Mudd College. Although I’m the chair of the competition and excited about how amazing EVERY team performed at the event, I am especially thrilled because Harvey Mudd is an APICS Inland Empire Chapter student team. CONGRATS Alexa LeJoe SinopoliShaan Gareeb and Katherine (Yoo Jeong) Shim! (And Kash Gokli, your academic advisor).

Harvey Mudd College

One tip to implement this week:

Take what these students did to heart and think about how you can continually improve your technical skills AND your communication/presentation skills. I find that my clients often think about investing in technical skills but rarely think about communication and presentation skills yet one without the other doesn’t work.

Deliberately sketch out a plan. Select 1 technical skill and 1 communication skill you’d like to improve. Even if you have a long list (we all do!), just select one in each category that you think will be especially beneficial to your career in the next year. My clients find that if they select intelligently and FOCUS in execution, they succeed. Let me know how it goes.

Looking for more ideas to keep your supply chain connected? Access more tips and resources on my blog. And keep connected by subscribing to my newsletter and email feed of “I’ve Been Thinking…”

About APICS

APICS is the premier professional association for supply chain and operations management and the leading provider of research, education and certification programs that elevate supply chain excellence, innovation and resilience. APICS Certified in Production and Inventory Management (CPIM), APICS Certified Supply Chain Professional (CSCP) and APICS Supply Chain Operations Reference Professional (SCOR-P) designations set the industry standard. With over 43,000 members and more than 300 international partners, APICS is transforming the way people do business, drive growth and reach global customers.

The Inland Empire Chapter covers the inland empire region of Southern California, which spans the easternmost portion of Los Angeles county in addition to San Bernardino and Riverside counties.  The chapter offers educational classes, programs and special events in the hotbeds of manufacturing and distribution activity including Ontario, Riverside, and Temecula.  APICS Inland Empire partners with other organizations supporting manufacturing and distribution such as the DMA (Distribution Management Association), neighboring APICS chapters, industry leaders and government officials in support of furthering the region’s workforce development and growth.

 

About LMA Consulting Group – Lisa Anderson, MBA, CSCP

Lisa Anderson is a leading expert in selecting & implementing strategic priorities and ranked 16 most influential in supply chain by SAP. Anderson is Board approved in Supply Chain strategy by the Society for Advancement in Consulting, is an APICS Certified Supply Chain Professional (CSCP) and won the APICS Southwest District’s Milt Cook Award in 2011. Named a top 100 supply chain blogger on SupplyChainOpz, she has the unique ability to zero in on the critical strategic priorities and bridge the gap between strategy and execution to achieve dramatically improved service levels, accelerated cash flow and increased profits. With a keen focus on elevating business performance, Anderson is passionate about not only synthesizing strategic priorities that will deliver business results but also in designing an implementation approach that delivers rapid results.

Anderson, also known as The Manufacturing ConnectorSM, is currently working on a book entitled “The Amazon Effect” detailing a business roadmap to thriving in an ultra-competitive marketplace. A regular content contributor in topics including supply chain, ERP and SIOP, she has been interviewed for articles in publications like Industry Week, tED Magazine and the Wall Street Journal. She actively posts educational blogs three times weekly and has two newsletters, Profit through PeopleSM and “I’ve Been Thinking.”

Prior to founding LMA Consulting Group Inc., Anderson was the Vice President of Operations and Supply Chain of PaperPak, Inc. Her twelve-year tenure included transitions and promotions through the company transformation from a $100 million family-owned business, through a merger and acquisition of three businesses into one $350 million dollar global company, followed by a management leveraged buyout in combination with an investment banking group.

A sought-after writer and speaker, Anderson has spoken at the Global Supply Chain & Logistics Summit, the APICS International Conference and as a visiting lecturer at the University of Southern California’s Entrepreneurial Program. Anderson is the author of “Leverage Social Networks to Drive Business Results,” has published hundreds of articles and has been quoted in the media including The Wall Street Journal, ABC News and Industry Week.

With a blend of management, finance and operations, Lisa received her MBA with an emphasis in Finance from California State University Fullerton and her BSBA with an emphasis in Operations Management from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.

She has traveled extensively throughout North America, Central America and Europe, including a summer in Oxford when attending the University of North Carolina. Lisa tries to make as many stops as possible at in New Orleans to enjoy a beignet at the Café de Monde. And, in recognition of her extraordinary tenacity to accomplish goals, her colleagues fondly refer to her as “pit terrier.”

News Media Interview Contact
Name: Lisa Anderson
Title: President
Group: LMA Consulting Group, Inc.
Dateline: Claremont, CA United States
Direct Phone: 909-630-3943
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