Hi everyone,
In my last post I mentioned that I was looking forward to my parents’ visit from Germany. They’re here as I write this, and we all just returned from a 10-day vacation in Aruba. It was phenomenal! The island is really lovely, with beautiful beaches and great snorkeling. We went out every day and saw an incredible variety of animals, including sea turtles, sea snakes, octopus, and of course hundreds of colorful fish. It was so relaxing, especially after a bit of a crazy winter.
As soon as I returned, I attended our first-ever procurement practice knowledge leadership meeting. All of the senior expert colleagues (for newer readers, “experts” at McKinsey are focused on a particular industry or function and we split our time between serving clients and developing knowledge) met at our Chicago Design Lab for a day and a half of strategizing, sharing, and networking.
We talked a lot about our practice’s priorities and the latest innovations in the world of procurement, like DTV (design to value) 4.0. The leader of the practice, Bill Wiseman, facilitated most of the meeting and he gave excellent advice for dealing with some of the challenges we face as experts. In addition to the professional development aspects of the meeting, it was also an excellent networking opportunity. I love spending time in-person with colleagues, especially those who are based far away and those I’ve never met in person before.
I’ll be back with another update soon!
Britta<