Tactical vs Strategic Procurement

We live in a hectic world at a very fast pace which drives short-term tactical behavior.  We have constant interruption from cell phones, desk phones, Blackberrys, email, texts and numerous other devices meant to support us on a daily basis.  We all become a slave to these devices and needlessly allow these tactical devices to dictate how we spend our day. 

This same mentality drives most of us to perform short term tactical tasks the greater portion of our day and we wait for “breaks in our day” to focus on the longer term, high-value activities.  Being able to “check off the box” is fulfilling on a short term basis, but costly and time-consuming on a long term basis. 

We are not recommending we abandon our devices, but it is imperative we all learn how to think and act more strategically.  The diagram below highlights activities in a two by two matrix and how they relate to strategic activities.  I have shamelessly stolen this matrix from Stephen Covey, author of “The Seven Habits of Highly Effective People”, but I am hopeful he won’t mind us leveraging the concept.