“I’ve been working from home for three, four years now, so working from home is nothing new. What I have not done is to work from home while simultaneously homeschooling my three children, cooking all three meals and all 97 snacks a day, cleaning the house, and managing all the laundry while my husband’s working at home with me. Handling all of those things at the same time as a working mother is extremely overwhelming.”

– Amanda Luton, Chief Marketing Officer for Supply Chain Now and the Founder/Owner of the Magnolia Marketing Group

So much has happened so quickly over the last few months that the Supply Chain Now team thought this was a good opportunity to pause and reflect on the big picture. In this episode, they share some of their key observations from three months of quarantine and then they hazard a few predictions for what may be next.

This episode also marks Amanda Luton’s podcast début. Amanda is usually working behind the scenes to get the word out about Supply Chain Now’s podcasts, videos, and events, but she goes on mic in this podcast to add her own perspective on these unique times.

In this conversation, Amanda joins regular Supply Chain Now Co-hosts Greg White and Scott Luton to discuss their observations from the last few months:

• The discovery that while no supply chain is perfect, most supply chains (and the people and organizations that comprise them) were far more robust and flexible than anyone might have expected
• The changes forced upon us by the restrictions of the quarantine that may never quite go back to the way they were, such as casual dress, more frequent working from home, and an increased reliance on eCommerce and food delivery services
• What will and will not happen in the aftermath of the pandemic: mass reshoring, traditional in-office workweeks, interconnectivity between the retail and commercial food supply chains

Intro (00:00:05):

It’s time for supply chain. Now broadcasting live from the supply chain capital of the country. Atlanta, Georgia heard around the world. Supply chain. Now spotlights the best in all things, supply chain, the people, the technologies, the best practices and the critical issues of the day. And now here are your hosts.

Scott Luton (00:00:29):

Hey, good afternoon, Scott Luton here with you on supply chain. Now, welcome back to the show today’s episode. We really are going to put our own team on the spot as, uh, our team’s going to sharing a few observations mainly about two things. First off, we’re going to share some key observations from the last three months of essential quarantine, at least where we live. And then secondly, we’re going to break out the crystal balls and offer a few fearless predictions for what is to come in the path ahead. So stay tuned as we look to increase your supply chain awareness IQ, quick programming before we get started. Hey, if you enjoyed today’s conversation, be sure to find us and subscribe wherever you get your podcasts from. Well, welcome in our fearless cohos featured guest stars. You name it on today’s show. We have got Amanda Luton, who is the chief marketing officer here at supply chain now, and the chief executive officer, certainly of the Luton household.

Scott Luton (00:01:29):

Amanda, how are you doing? Hey, I’m great. Thanks for having me, my world debut. That is right. Um, I’m gonna keep, I’m gonna try to keep from saying honey and babe and that kind of stuff, which our audience may not appreciate. All right. So joining Amanda of course, is mr. Greg white cereal supply chain tech entrepreneur, trusted advisor, regular cohost supply chain, adjutant [inaudible] entrepreneur whisper. You name it, Greg, how are you doing? I’m doing great. This is going to be fun. I think this is going to be fun. This is going to be a, certainly a departure from most of our 370 some odd episodes. Uh, but you know, okay, these are unique times and if there’s ever a time to huddle our team together and or some of our team together and kind of see what’s between the ears, uh, now’s a great time to do that. So Greg, you know, it feels like a good time to do it because all at least in the States, all 50 States have relaxed restrictions. Right, right. Quarantine restrictions, maybe it’s time for a little bit of a look. Yeah. Agreed. And you know, um, that’s a great point. We are seeing some good news there. We’ve seen some strides, uh, you know, that flattened occur, which, which was the mantra for so long. Um, yeah. We’ve made significant progress there. And Greg, one of the things I liked that you have injected a few times in these conversations, when that phrase comes up, is that the plan was never to eliminate the curve here in the States. It was an elsewhere, it was the flat in it, right?

Greg White (00:03:06):

Yeah. Yeah. I mean, the truth is, uh, it was, it was stated early, early on by a Harvard professor that, between it was inevitable was the word inevitable that between 40 and 70% of the population would get COVID-19 and in truth, uh, we really need to, to establish herd immunity and we’ve seen some successes in some countries that have been less restrict. Yeah. Um, I, you know, I think it’s, it’s going to be an interesting experiment and I’m glad we’re approaching it with the appropriate caution.

Scott Luton (00:03:40):

Yeah, absolutely. And who knows? We’re keeping our finger on the pulse. Uh, Amanda and Greg, but we may ended up being in the studio at least more than we are now come July. Right.

Greg White (00:03:52):

I sure hope so.

Scott Luton (00:03:53):

Yeah, absolutely. Okay. So Amanda’s just nodding her head. So I can’t wait. I’m a bit behind the scenes. I’m used to have to be quiet,

Greg White (00:04:07):

not out loud.

Scott Luton (00:04:08):

That’s right. I will not out loud. That’s the shirt. I’m breaking habit today. Alright. So, uh, so, so let’s talk about some of the key observations from the last few months of these very unique times. And Greg, we’re gonna put you on the spot first. What are you thinking? What stands out?

Greg White (00:04:25):

Well, the very first and very biggest thing we’ve been talking about for so long that it may not feel that big, but as you look back, you realize that this was really the moment, the, um, inflection point for supply chain supply chain.

Scott Luton (00:04:42):

Okay.

Greg White (00:04:42):

In the forefront supply chain, [inaudible] the, the point of discussion people actually knowing what you’re talking about. When you say supply chain, we had started to hear it. Yeah. Yeah. Officials, government officials were saying supply chain, as soon as the yeah. Mmm. And dynamic, and this seismic societal disruption hits, it came straight to the forefront.

Scott Luton (00:05:08):

Hmm.

Greg White (00:05:09):

So that, that’s one of the biggest high points. I think, you know, there are a few other things, um, the pivots that companies made to making, uh, PPE and some of the other humanitarian, um, you know, our favorite granddaddy memes started making, um, started making hand sanitizer though. [inaudible] arguable, if they really needed to pivot much to do that because they were making moonshine before, which is effective, probably rubbing alcohol. So you may have been just able to yeah. Yeah. That’s right.

Scott Luton (00:05:43):

If you have a hard day, you lick your hand.

Greg White (00:05:47):

That’s right. Um, I think, uh, you know, another couple of high points, uh, we discovered that the supply chain is flexible. It is agile and it is not brittle.

Scott Luton (00:05:58):

It is. Yeah. It did Kansas city chiefs, defense bend, but don’t break. Mmm. Uh, I think he was really encouraging to see that [inaudible] another awakening that we need to have as supply chain professionals we’ve seen. Yeah. In the general world and consumers have seen for themselves is that consumers of the supply chain. And we can take of an aspect of the supply chain. And I think those are all really left out at me during, during the last, you know, 10, 12 weeks. I think they bode well for us as well. They’re great indicators. Yep. Agreed, agreed, good points there. I’ve got three ammonia and Amanda, I’m Donna to learn more about your observation here in a minute, but I think three, three, three key things come to mind. There’s certainly others, but number one, Mmm. You know, the adjustments that are needed to be made in order to effectively lead and manage remotely, uh, you know, this is, this, the past few months was certainly not my first time in a, in a, in a largely remote business or organization.

Scott Luton (00:07:15):

Um, but really I’ve learned a lot of the, of my past mistakes from some of the things and some of the adjustments I didn’t make. And maybe some of the assumptions I made, even though assumptions are prob are arguably more dangerous when they’re made remotely versus in person. Definitely. Um, so I think so just some sheer leadership lessons learned and the adjustments that have to be made to really four, the organization to move forward and work for everybody in a remote environment. I think number two, um, you know, resilience is such a cliche these days and, and it just is what it is, you know? Um, it still is a great word. That means a very particular thing. And when I think of resilience these days, I think of the supply chain workforce and certainly the medical Frontline’s right. That goes without saying, but for our industry, you know, just how resilient the supply chain workforce was to keep things moving.

Scott Luton (00:08:15):

I mean, yeah, absolutely. We saw some shutdowns that is inevitable when you’re facing the most unique pandemic environment, at least in modern history. Um, and folks still were making it happen, whether they were driving trucks or they were, uh, picking, uh, some, you know, we basically went through for supply chain, a peak season twice. We’ll go through a peak season twice in 2020, and for things to stay moving, it realized despite all the automation and technology found in supply chain, thankfully they’re still, it takes people to make things happen. And I’m so proud of what we’ve seen. And I think, and the lasting legacy of this is that I think more leaders we’ll appreciate how we’ve got to protect that workforce based on some of these lessons learned and the threats we’ve faced, uh, for decades to come. And finally, something that is incredibly timely.

Scott Luton (00:09:14):

I think for June 3rd, 2020 is empathy and the power of empathy. I think, um, you know, working remotely, we, I mean here in Walton County, we’ve got three kids, we’ve got two dogs, we’ve got a couple businesses, we’ve got, you know, all the worries and concerns and anxieties that many households had during this, this a pandemic environment. Mmm. And so to be able to keep work moving, uh, we had, everyone had to be a lot more empathetic because you’re going to have interruptions working from home. So what does that mean? What is the, so what there? Well, I think the, so what, there is outside the pandemic, what is also making the current environment very challenging is the change that is going to be is going to happen. Um, too correct. A lot of the disparities out there, a lot of the lack of opportunities, a lot of the let’s face it, some criminal, but criminal behaviors, uh, taking place, you know, coast to coast lot while change has to happen. Well, a lot of that starts with the power of empathy. And I think if I’m hoping that in the last few months, as we have had to embrace and lean on that emotional skillset, more and more, that that experience and lessons learned are going to help us wage Mmm. Lead and move the needle, um, in ways that it should. So those are our three of my observations. Uh, Greg and Amanda, any initial responses before we move to getting Amanda’s observations?

Scott Luton (00:10:57):

Well, yeah, I think, you know, I think one of the things that, Mmm, we did a really good job empathizing with was those folks who were on the front line and, and a lot of them we’re, uh, unsung or unsuspected heroes, truck drivers, registered register operators, housekeeping people, right. Or cleaning up the hospitals where the, the medical professionals are. Um, and I think, you know, and I think we have to acknowledge also being empathic good, you know, being shuttered in for 10 to 12 weeks. Yeah. It’s not natural. And it has created a pent up anxiety that I think is in part responsible for some of the, you know, some of the actions that we’re seeing now. Yeah. And we have to acknowledge the

Greg White (00:11:53):

collateral damage seems to minimize it and conditions that have been impacted by our singular focus on this pandemic. Yeah. Acknowledge that we have negatively impacted some people’s health. Right. Singularly focused here. And we need to, we need to think about that as well. Figure out how to deal better with that in the future.

Scott Luton (00:12:20):

Yeah. Great point, great point. Amanda, feel free to weigh in on anything that Greg or I’ve shared. And of course, of course we want to also pick your brain on some of your key observations.

Amanda Luton (00:12:32):

Yeah. So I really have one main key observation as it kind of pertains to my personal experience during the pandemic. Um, you know, I’ve been working from home for three, four years now, working from home is nothing new. You know, I’ve kind of got my own routine. Okay. What I have not done. Yeah. Work from home while simultaneously homeschooling my three children while cooking all three meals and all 97 snacks a day for those three kids while cleaning the house, managing all the laundry while my husband’s working at home with me, different needs of his own, you know, with our internet bandwidth, this and that. Okay. Also thinking about older parents and other family and, and not to mention just managing the anxiety and uncertainty of a pandemic. Mmm. So all of those things all at the same time as a working mother is extremely overwhelming.

Amanda Luton (00:13:36):

Okay. Working from home sounds great. Uh, and initially, you know, it was, you know, if you think, you know, a couple of days or a week, I mean, we’ve had to do it when the kids are on school breaks or if they’re home sick or something like that, you know, a couple of days here and there is okay. Manageable, but long term working from home is very difficult for working mothers. Okay. Okay. From what I’ve seen, just with my personal experience and then some other working mothers that I’ve spoken with, um, working moms are kind of ready to get back to the office. Yeah. Mmm. They’re not as interested. And again, this is not a super broad statement of all working moms or anything, just, um, you know, the, the several that I’ve spoken with. And again, me and my personal experience. Mmm. They’re ready to get back to some semblance of normality there, you know, being around people, the social aspect of the workplace, um, uh, being around their peers, being around their leaders, being visible, um, to the leadership within their office.

Amanda Luton (00:14:43):

Um, I do a lot of work with show me 50 with, uh, Elba prey, hot Gallagher. And we do lean in circles typically a month, once every other month or so. And we did a zoom call last month. Um, and there were, I don’t know, probably 40 of us on the call, but Elba did a poll and, you know, ask the question, how many days a week would you like to work from home? You know, what’s kind of everything. It gets back to it, quote unquote normal. Okay. And it was something like that. 87% said one day a week. Wow. Which really, I mean, it surprised me because I work from home all the time. So it’s, that’s going to be five days a week, no matter what, but I was really surprised to see, you know, after they get a taste, so stay at home all day.

Amanda Luton (00:15:27):

And of course it’s different when your kids are at school, but, um, but it was not okay. I think it was a lot of the balancing and juggling everything all at once, but women want to be okay. They want to be with their peers. They want to be with their coworkers. They want to be out in front, but being visible, um, to the leadership within the office, um, you know, they also feel too, and I can relate to this a bit. Mmm. They miss out on kind of that work persona that you have when you work from home and your kids are ignoring your boundaries and you’re doing work in your pajamas. You don’t feel quite as powerful. You don’t feel like you’re contributing quite as much. You don’t feel. Mmm. Yeah, exactly. But, you know, I know that when I’m at work events or when, you know, at a show on behalf of the supply chain now Mmm. I have a very different type of confidence then I do when I’m working from home, you know, slogging away on emails and my pajamas. Um, so I think women probably miss that feeling too. They miss that powerful feeling. Okay. Yeah. Different side of themselves that they can okay. Yeah. Put out there at the office. Yep.

Scott Luton (00:16:40):

You know, going back, I called them back to what Amanda was saying about clothing. Uh, one of the first times. And so Greg, as you’ve mentioned for basically almost verbatim the last two months and three weeks, we have been home and not have been in the studio. All of our shows have been remote, like Mo like a lot of folks. Right. So naturally, if you don’t have to pop on a tie or trout or slacks or something, you dress very comfortably. Well, a couple of weeks ago I went out for the first time, had to pick some up for my children at their school. So to interact with other adults, well, halfway there, as I’m driving in my car, I realized I’m still in quarantine clothing, meaning nothing matched, nothing, dog hair, everywhere, everything is wrinkled a bead

Amanda Luton (00:17:37):

good thing. He did not have to get out of the car or 11 year old would have died on the spot.

Scott Luton (00:17:44):

Oh boy. Well,

Amanda Luton (00:17:46):

interesting. So

Greg White (00:17:51):

it’s not a big deal for me. And what I’ve realized is that a black Harley tee shirt goes with it just about anything. So I wonder what will, what will be the lingering effect here? Because, you know, a year or two ago, I had lunch with an HR leader at a very large, but also very buttoned down conservative company in Georgia. And one of the discussions of our launch was how resistant the senior levels of leadership have been for, um, casual Fridays. And how, if you’ve got to be on a certain level, what year was this lunch? This is about a year and a half ago, two years ago. Just about, are you serious? Yes. And get this. And so the policy was that if you had to be on the executive level of their corporate headquarters that Friday or not, you had to dress the part or wear a tie or at least wear a coat. I think so now fast forward now when, Mmm. Arguably at least this quarantine has, has, I think perhaps taught many taught us in some cases, what is really important in business. And what’s really important with relationships. Um, maybe not perfectly, but I think I’ve had a lot of lessons learned. Well, we see a spill over effect to make a lot more, uh, business interactions, a lot more casual. I don’t know. That’s a hunch.

Greg White (00:19:18):

Right. I don’t, yeah. I don’t know on that know, having worked in tech for so long. So I, you made me think back to a company at, in the nineties and we had to wear only white shirts, only blue suits every day. And even, I think it was 1998. We went to casual Fridays, a very, very prescribed casual khaki slacks and a polo shirt or whatever. But, um, but at least casual. Hmm. And I think about how out of touch, whatever company that is must be with today. Mmm. Or else what level of executive they must be dealing with. It must be fortune 100, literally. Okay. All day and all night. But I do. I think, I think we could see some of that part of the dynamic that we’ve got to understand two is. Okay. Okay. Mmm. And I’d like to get back to a couple of, of Amanda. One of the dynamics that we have to understand is we’ve been left largely to our own thoughts and our very inner circle. Okay. Thoughts for a long time when we do come back together, we might discover a bit yeah. Different then our Mmm. Self-focused perceptions. Right. I mean, I think, I think we’ll see some things, uh, go somewhat back

Amanda Luton (00:20:48):

to normal. I’ll tell you this.

Greg White (00:20:52):

I am no fan of Adam Newman, the founder of WeWork, and I’m going to enjoy watching him implode. Well, I mean, in all seriousness, right? We work, their model is the most flexible. And so many companies are talking about

Amanda Luton (00:21:10):

working from home.

Greg White (00:21:11):

Amanda, what you’ve found though is surprising

Amanda Luton (00:21:15):

counterintuitive,

Greg White (00:21:17):

Oh God. And maybe that isn’t going to happen. Maybe it’s not that people are going to break their leases. Now lots of companies are talking about that, but the fact is, if you’ve got a seven, five, seven or 10 years lease, you don’t just walk away from that because you still pay for it. That’s right. So let’s talk about another interesting company that is really unique. The last did you want a, do you want to weigh in before we move?

Amanda Luton (00:21:42):

I just had maybe one more comment share. Mmm. Well talking about kind of getting back to normal and women going, you know, going back to work, uh, and kind of figuring out what’s most important and figuring out, you know, where companies can cut back or make changes. Right. I think a lot of people, as they’ve been working from home have recognized a better work life or work family balance because Greg, your, your reaction, you know, surprise Scott, cheers too. I was pretty surprised to actually, you know, cause I thought women working from home would realize that it’s pretty great and it’s flexible and everything, but, um, I thought they would probably want to stay, you know, working from home. But, but we, you know, with a lot of people realizing this new work life balance. Okay. I think a lot of working moms had already kind of figured that out.

Amanda Luton (00:22:33):

You know, I know that, you know, my, my experience working from home yeah. I want to keep about, I want to make sure that I’m present for my kids present for my husband, you know, when everybody’s home. So the way that I’ve worked it all out is that once the kids go to school and I come back to work, come back home. I barely moved from my desk. I get all my days work done from eight 30, until three 30 when I go pick them up. So I have, I figured out kind of that work life balance already. Okay. Even though I really don’t think there’s any such thing as a work life balance, it’s really, uh, when you’re working, you’re working a hundred percent, when you’re at home with your family, you’re present a hundred percent. That’s very difficult and it’s a hundred times more difficult to do when it’s all combined and it’s all right there in the same place. Yeah. So, you know, their, their family work balance was already figured out. It was already working. They were working when the kids were at school or when they were home with their families, they were very present. And then to combine the two to mix it all up, um, was a real rude awakening or maybe not a rude awakening, but just a real shock to the system. Uh, and so, okay. Getting that they’re work life balance

Greg White (00:23:46):

back, I think, is going to be super important for them. [inaudible] okay. I wanted to throw that into, well, I think it’s interesting when you think about the perspective that so many people have, people will want to work from home and you think about the dynamic, the other dynamics that we’ve heard, which is people are having difficulty shutting off and they’re working two, three extra hours a day.

Greg White (00:24:10):

That was already our problem to start with. I remember, you know, my kids are older now, but I remember you work, you come home, do you play? I have dinner. You’re right. You read him a book or whatever, help them with their homework. You put them to bed, you go back to work. Right. And that’s exactly our routine and, and what’s difficult. Yeah. Is when it’s all combined and it’s fall, you have to do all of it at the site at the same time. Exactly. There are no boundaries, especially with small children. And you know, as a working mom, mom, guilt is a real thing. Mmm. And it’s real and present even when you’re doing a good job, but then when you’re juggling everything and you feel like you’re not doing a good job at anything, it’s 10 times worse and you’re still working just as hard. And you’re still giving all the time and attention that you have to your family. That’s very difficult. That’s why I feel like that’s okay. Yeah. W being a work from home, mom has just been so taxing and it’s so burdensome for a lot of women.

Scott Luton (00:25:10):

Hmm.

Greg White (00:25:11):

Yeah. And maintaining a routine is difficult. It is very difficult. Nobody has their own routine or boundaries anymore. Right? Mmm. Yeah. It’s, [inaudible] interesting. That’s a really interesting perspective. I’m glad you shared that because I had not thought of it that way, but see, that’s exactly the point that I was making earlier. I think when we are able to get back into our social circles or work circles and discuss these things, we’ll put some moderation into it because this was not a moderated response one day and literally for the three of us. Right. And all of our people that’s watching now, one day we were at work the next day. Yeah. Very true.

Scott Luton (00:25:59):

Well, uh, so let’s segue to the next topic because I think if we look at some of the things out there that made the transition, uh, easier, it’s never easy. Uh, and, and certainly made the quarantine easier. Some of the, the eCommerce services out there, right. Some of the digital services, uh, and one of them in particular that made our life easier here, Amanda was Instacart. Right. And the folks I’ll tell you, they never missed a beat. It seems like. And now I’ve read about other geographic markets and some of the challenges there, but here for us, we never experienced it. So some of our listeners, I bet, have never used Instacart. So keep that in mind, but I’d love for you to share kind of how we’ve utilized Instacart and what it is, how it’s worked and, and how it’s worked in particular the last two and a half months. Tell us more.

Amanda Luton (00:26:53):

Yeah. So, um, again, kind of work life balance, kind of a thing. I do, I meal plan for our family. I plan out all our meals as best I can usually about a week. Okay. Two and a half weeks out. Okay. But a while back, um, I love cooking. Cooking is a, it’s a real passion of mine. I really enjoy it. I mean, so that’s why I don’t do a lot of things that I don’t like to do. So, but cooking and meal planning really is one of them. Um, so always liked doing that. But grocery shopping is so time consuming and I don’t think anybody can disagree with that, especially when you’re planning meals. Mmm. But so way back in, in Scott and I, we really try to focus our time on things, you know, that either we’re dedicating time to the family or to the business, and if there’s something that we can make more efficient, we do it.

Amanda Luton (00:27:50):

So it’s been a couple of years since we started using Instacart, which Instacart okay. Is a group of wonderful people that will go grocery shopping for you. Yeah. Submit your list, you pay for it. They go and do all the shopping and then they bring it to you. Mmm. You know, depending on your geographical area, it can be, Mmm. You know, your local grocery stores, it can be a local pharmacy, our Instacart, um, we’ll deliver from Costco. I mean, there’s lots of different options, sprouts, you know? Mmm. Different types of grocery stores. Mmm. We typically stick with Kroger. Um, but they do a wonderful job and there’s a great app that I use on my phone. So if there’s something that’s out, um, the shopper will offer substitutions. They’ll take pictures to ensure that it’s correct items, all those kinds of things. So we’ve been using it for Mmm. For a while for my one weekly big shopping trip. Um, but we would still, you know, no matter what we, what we did, we’d have to stop into the grocery store for a couple extra things, or we forgot this or that, or the kids need some school supplies or whatever. Okay. But, so what’s the pandemics shit. And actually, I remember when we were, we were at mode X. Yeah. Thursday, March 12th, or March 11th, whatever that Thursday was.

Amanda Luton (00:29:12):

Yeah. Okay. So the 12th, we were all talking about, you know, we need to get home, you know, who knows what’s going to happen. And I was literally on my computer at our booth at mode X placing my Instacart order for it to be delivered, you know, by the time we got home, um, because I knew I didn’t want to go to the grocery store. Mmm. I’m high risk for COVID-19 because I have asthma. So I knew that I wanted to stay at home as much as physically possible. Mmm. Why not utilize this amazing service that has really done great by us for, for several months prior? So we have then ordering, I don’t think Scott or I has stepped foot in the grocery store. We’ve had a couple of other trips too, you know, random places here or there, but we’ve not had to go into the grocery store at all, you know, for going on three months now because of the great people at its cart that will shop for you and provide that service.

Scott Luton (00:30:09):

Yeah. I love that. I mean, those people going back to Greg and you’ve done a great job in particular of keeping those retail workers in that conversation. When we talk about protecting the supply chain workforce, because they are absolutely critical. And they’re perhaps amongst, amongst the most at risk,

Amanda Luton (00:30:28):

they’re around so many people right there and kind of the ground zero.

Scott Luton (00:30:34):

Uh, so, you know, God bless every single one of those Instacart workers that kept things, again, keeping things moving. And, and while we are, while you know, Amanda, um, yeah. Shared that, that we do have that at risk component in our family, still there’s many other families that had a much bigger, um, component of that because maybe they, maybe they they’re, their parents, they’re senior elderly parents live home with them or somebody other, other conditions that really makes the pandemic even much more dangerous. So to think of how Instacart serves those families as well, um, it’s just really amazing how that has digitized, but despite the fact that, of course, you’re going to have physical goods until, until who were talking about earlier today about digital Oreos, Greg, I came here, they don’t taste quite as good. It’s delicious. Mmm. Yeah. Air say, Oh, it was, uh, it was, uh, one of the leading supply chain associations, a leader that’s right.

Scott Luton (00:31:41):

It sure was. Yeah. I’d just like to say he maybe went a step too far. He wanted to have it transported right into your stomach. That’s no fun. No. I mean the whole, you should, you should have it be able to be made right in front of you, right. Oh gosh, the man Oreos. Right. And then you could also limit yourself. Right. I don’t know, three D printed. Yeah. And also a glass of milk that’s right. 2%. Um, but you know, the cool thing was, is, um, we saw folks that typically have leveraged services like that to train themselves. I mean, Hey, look, I I’m, I’m, I’m part of the slowest thinker out of the, uh, certainly out of these three here on this podcast. Uh, so I’m slow to learn anything new, but, um, my mom jumped on Instacart once she found out about it.

Scott Luton (00:32:42):

And she also, uh, you know, she, she liked most folks. They stay home during the quarantine, they started using it. And while when we had wipes, we probably wiped down some of the packages as they arrive. You got. Yeah. But still it was, it was really a success story for e-commerce a food industry, grocery business, retail, you name it. And, um, just high five, all those people over at Instacart that’s right. Okay. Barely missed a beat. I think the worst delay we have was, you know, I placed an order at five o’clock. It had to be delivered the next day. Cause there were enough people shopping, I don’t know about eight or whatever, but they really stayed on top of it. And they, they provided a service Mmm. For a lot of people meet people that needed to be home for, for medical reasons. They, you know, somebody high risk in their family or whatever, didn’t feel like getting out and being exposed.

Scott Luton (00:33:41):

So that last mile supply chain, you know, we’ve talked a lot about this Greg, about how supply chain is going to lead us right out of this pandemic. Well, you know, I hate to make this too dramatic, but this last mile of supply chain of Instacart delivery really, I think served a lot of families and helped us flatten the curve in a very meaningful way. So, um, don’t want to make this an Instacart commercial, but it’s just, it’s one of those, it’s one of those case studies. Yeah. We probably it’s one of those case studies. I think, you know, all the different topics through all the different episodes that we talk about when it comes to supply chain. Of course, those that probably mean, uh, that are easiest to digest is what you use in your home. Right. They, you know, day in, day out, week in, week out that’s, that’s where I think that that intersection of business and industry with you as a consumer is so fascinating. So, um, anyway, uh, Greg, before we, we pivot once more and we’re, we’re using our newest friends, uh, Luke and Amalia’s favorite term there. Um, and one of the most used words, one of the most used apps. Yeah, absolutely.

Scott Luton (00:34:57):

We’ve got them all covered now. We’ve got okay. So what w was there any, any new technology, new platform, new tool that, um, you and your family, um, either use more of or came across and started using these last three months? Anything come to mind? Yeah, we didn’t really use it, but we did get my father Instacart because he lives fairly close to us and we were going to get his groceries. And at some point I just said, okay, we’re in the peak of this thing, no one is going to get your groceries anymore.

Greg White (00:35:37):

Here’s here’s the Instacart.

Greg White (00:35:39):

And he had already been using ClickList at Kroger, which is order and buy it online, personal shopper. And they bring it out to you in your car. So he was familiar with how to do it. All they had to do was wait for delivery. So, Mmm. So, um, I’m trying to think if we did, I can tell you this, uh, my home studio looks a lot different than it did before pandemic. Uh, there are a few and thanks to you guys, by the way, for sending me a couple of headsets. There, there are a few electronics that I’m using that I wasn’t before, but Mmm, gosh, I’m trying to think. I don’t know. I don’t think so. You know, a lot of what, Mmm. A lot of what we have discovered is, Hmm, Mmm. It’s more, what do I want to say? It’s the cereal than that, right? It’s not, what does that mean?

Greg White (00:36:39):

You know, things we’ve discovered in our heads, right? You mentioned it, you mentioned one kind of discovery, lesson learned, whatever you want to call it, Amanda. Which is even the most, essentially even the most introverted among us or more social, then we have been for the last 10 to 12. Yeah, great. That’s right. I saw the funniest meme. That was something like, I know I’m a home body, but man, I’d like to go on one or two places. It wasn’t that bad having to stay home all the time, but after six weeks or whatever, I’m like, all right. I’d like to go somewhere. No, actually, actually, now that you say that you said meme and it made me think of Facebook. So I haven’t actually used Facebook and I have a friend she’s she was in a retail exactly. When I was just coming into retail technology, uh, Dean of Schumann and Mmm.

Greg White (00:37:36):

And she was a heavy, heavy hitter, a general merchandise manager at a big retailer, always very confident, funny, a great leader, incredibly knowledgeable on retail. And now she is collecting like 10 or 12 memes a day and posting them. So I see, aye, I guess I got a random alert from Facebook and that got me actually using it. And some of those are hilarious. So I am using Facebook. And that also leads to a recognition that we saw, which is more people are using Facebook business, pseudo business platform. Yeah. Because we get a ton of listens, tens of thousands of listens views of our, of our content on Facebook now. And we were, we were already still in shock Instagram becoming a business platform and then Facebook hits us in the well, and you’re right. Um, the city’s micro trends take place and we’ll see which ones stick, which is kind of where we’re headed to next.

Greg White (00:38:43):

But yeah, it’s been a fascinating, it really has. So Greg, before we go into our crystal ball, where are we going there now? But go right ahead. I’d love to share a few lessons learned and maybe elicit a few lessons learned Hmm. From you all, some of these are higher level and some of them are, Mmm. You know, [inaudible], they’re not, you know, they’re not celebration so much as just a lesson learned. Right. So most introverted thing is one of those. Mmm. And I think there are some of these that we need to take forward into the future. We’ll shape our forward look or should shape our one is that we can live without many of the things we thought we needed. Right. I mean, how many people are buying, uh, Gucci right now? I can tell you not many because, uh, lots of those big brands are going right.

Greg White (00:39:39):

The big luxury brands. Right? Mmm. I think one thing that Scott, we probably knew, but we didn’t realize until we had to give a half dozen or a dozen interviews to TV and radio stations and news networks, is that right? Mmm. A couple of things. One that thing that we talked about earlier, the supply chain is more resilient than I think even I expected. And the other is that no supply chain methodology is prepared for, uh, a disruption, not of the pandemic because the pandemic wasn’t even the biggest disruption. This is seismic societal disruption is as Brad Jacobs is going to phrase, uh, wherein we essentially ceased, uh, normal society ceased normal commerce where that impacted things so broadly. Mmm. You can’t predict that. For instance, toilet paper was always a big topic. Right. And I think people blamed things like lean or just in time inventory.

Greg White (00:40:42):

But the truth is demand went up 753% in one day. Yup. Product of any kind in any supply chain using any methodology could survive that. So those are things that, um, I think not only we, as professionals, [inaudible] professionals need to learn, but we need to also communicate that to our fellow consumers, to have them have that recognition. Yeah. It’s in feasible it, yeah. Two plan for the kind of disruption that we’ve just recently had. Yup. So here’s lesson learned, um, and you know, managing expectations is really important and you know, and we’re guilty. We’re not pointing the fingers. We’re guilty of it right here in our household. And we expect things to beat to happen just when you need it. That instant gratification that we as consumers, especially here in the States have come to expect. And again, I’m, I’m guilty as charged. Uh, and, and those expectations become highly unrealistic as we see some of the challenges roll out across the globe.

Greg White (00:41:48):

Um, and, and, and, and also as you point out when, when, when demand, uh, due to hoarding behaviors and other things, a move 700 points and more year over year, Holy cow, who can keep up with that, um, seismic demand shift to steal some of your phrasiology there. So, uh, well said as always Greg, as always, are you ever not? Well-spoken Greg, that’s the trade. In other question, I’m terribly poorly spoken. You gave me 15 minutes to prepare, which is a tremendous as anyone who’s watched. Our show knows that they must believe that 15 minutes of preparation is a tremendous amount compared to what I usually do. Sorry.

Greg White (00:42:40):

Good point, Scott. And that is, I think we need to, the hoarding was, uh, a reversion as consumers to our lizard brain, right. To our survival. Thanks. Yeah. One of the things that I saw is that we need to, we need intervention to throttle our survival instincts. It hurts me to say that I’m not a huge fan because I know who’s going to intervene. Right? Mmm. Not a huge fan of disrupting commerce. We need some sort of intervention because, okay. As you said, guilty as charged, we didn’t mean to do it. Um, but we now have more toilet paper than then we need. Right. Huh. Posted an article about the returns retailers are expecting because of the hoarding behavior and, and pantry stuffing. Yes. Whoever coined that phrase, that’s brilliant pantry stuffing that people have done and the things that they expect people to return.

Greg White (00:43:38):

So, Mmm. I think that’s it. That’s an important recognition we need to, and it’s difficult too, when you’re mine is yes. It turned upside down. Right. We need to throttle ourselves. But to whatever extent we can, I think the retailers have stepped up. [inaudible] good measure to do that. And to be fair on behalf of the rest of society agreed a yeoman’s work is taking place. And it’d be interesting to see just how much better supply chain professionals, supply chain leaders, global supply chains, uh, you name it are better off and much more prepared in the months to come. So, um, alright. So let’s talk about the months to come. Let’s talk about some bold fearless predictions that there are no guarantees, no guarantees in life to begin with,

Scott Luton (00:44:33):

but Greg, we’re going to put you on the spot first. And we’re going to ask that you drag that, uh, Kansas city, chief red colored crystal ball from your closet where you have all of your Atlanta tennis champion golden plates. Okay.

Greg White (00:44:51):

Right, right now, tennis tournament. I think that’s a great point. We heard your I’ve heard you’re quite the player. So I’m a little bit afraid. I heard that you blew the last guy you played right off the court. So

Scott Luton (00:45:07):

to shower, to remain nameless. Alright, so let’s, let’s talk, let’s talk. Uh, what’s. What lies ahead. Break out your crystal ball, Greg, and give us a fearless prediction or two

Greg White (00:45:21):

mass reassuring will not happen.

Scott Luton (00:45:24):

Yup.

Greg White (00:45:25):

Mmm. I think we all want it to happen and we believe that it can, but a mass reassuring will not happen. Mmm [inaudible] we may see some near shoring. We’ll see some China plus one, two, three. We will see some reassuring. Mmm. Yeah, it won’t be, um, we won’t bring back, quote, unquote, bring back in the, in the macro sense, manufacturing, on the other hand, automation technology, digital transformation robotics will be ignited and will enable mass production at a reasonable cost to enable China plus one plus two plus three. Okay. Manufacturing. Mmm. And it will enable us to do it at a reasonable, so probably higher costs. Then, then currently, uh, products are produced in China and it will have yeah. An actual beneficial impact on jobs that are reassured. So, but essentially what I’m saying is we have to replace some portion of it. 805 million person workforce in China in order to reshore jobs. That’s impossible. Even if you combine the economies of virtually every country in the world except India, um, we couldn’t do it. Okay. And, and moreover, those jobs pay approximately $10,000 a year in China. So we can’t practically do it. Yeah. Either. So, uh, we’ll see, some of those jobs come back in order to both. Mmm Mmm.

Scott Luton (00:47:09):

Okay.

Greg White (00:47:09):

At least approximate, if not equate the volume of production capacity that China has and at a value, um, that’s, you know, that is roughly $10,000 a year that will require absolutely require robotics. It will also require a certain type of product, right? Not every product can be produced with robotics strangely. Right. Um, maybe someday they will. Um, but I see us and, uh, fortunately I got to have a phone call with Tom Valentine yesterday, as you and I both did. And Tom recognizes that there are some regulatory challenges that forced a lot of these jobs off shore, for instance, a lot of pharmaceuticals, which we’re really, really concerned about right now used to be made in Puerto Rico, but the incentives yep. Big drug makers there and kept people employed. And, Mmm, okay. I would argue is right. Almost the 51st state, big Puerto Rico fan.

Greg White (00:48:07):

There’s a lot of friends down there. And, um, but what kept those people employed were a lot of those jobs. And when those jobs went away, we had it incredible Mmm. Uh, unemployment problem. And of course the government became insolvent and solvent Puerto Rico. So maybe we re-institute some of those incentives and, and bring the company’s back there. Yep. This is a big one. A lot of people won’t agree with this and I don’t care. We will realize that we made a bad decision by instituting a mass lock yeah. On a mass quarantine. Mmm. And doing so in such short, uh, dramatic and poorly construct order, we could have easily protected people like, Mmm, well like Amanda, right. And my father and your parents. Mmm bye. Quarantining, those people and the people who, you know, who deal work with them on a daily basis and that sort of thing, but mitigating earlier, and we could have been more, Mmm.

Greg White (00:49:17):

Open about the use of PPE. We could have done some of the things that were done in Sweden. I think Sweden is like a good example. Of course they have had a large outbreak, but not a true, okay know, not a and excessive amount Mmm. Relative to some other countries. But yeah, I think we’ll realize that shutting down the entire economy of the entire planet on a moment’s notice was a bad decision. Hmm. Mmm. And this is further, this, this is in my opinion, irrefutable, because it happens every single time we have a disruption like this and that is in seven to 10 years. It will be as if none of this ever happened. Right. Agreed. Um, and I’m gonna touch on some of that in my predict, fearless predictions, Greg, before we move over to Amanda, any, or have we, have we entered your crystal ball? You have, you have, okay. I noticed that there’s not a lot of discussion around it either, so just let me burn. Alright. So Amanda,

Scott Luton (00:50:29):

uh, and you know, it’s tough to challenge what’s going to happen. I mean, we’re all trying to look around corners. So I think you’ve made some, some very interesting points that we’ll, we’ll perhaps we’ll have to dive into in the next episode. So Amanda, lay it on us. What do you think is going to happen?

Amanda Luton (00:50:44):

Yeah, so my mind kind of, well directly relates back to my key observation. Okay. You know, we all think that working from home is going to be a major component of, um, know the new culture of most companies growing forward. Um, but I don’t, I think it’s going to be a full time or a five day, a week kind of thing. Maybe it’ll be an option. You know, companies that were strongly opposed to working from home options may bend a little, or if it was, you know, an option before maybe it will be a more broad option going forward. Um, maybe it’s one to two days, but I don’t think it’s, we’re going to have this massive shift from traditional offices and workspaces too. Kind of, it’s not going to be an all or nothing kind of thing. I think it’s going to be some sort of a blend, um, women will adjust.

Amanda Luton (00:51:31):

Mmm. They’ll create more flexibility, you know, as they work from home. Okay. Working mothers, especially. Okay. And you know, maybe that will mean a meal planning and child rearing and household responsibilities that typically, you know, generally I should say, fall two women will be adjusted and shared more with their partners. Yep. Burden is not so heavy on the mothers and the family in-person aspect, the social aspect of the traditional office. It’s still very important. And I think it’s especially important for women that are looking for more visibility in their jobs, in their positions, in their offices. Okay. You know, they want to be seen and they want to be heard by their leaders, which, you know, of course we’ve got zoom calls, but it still is pretty easy to be unseen during a zoom call. Even if you’re, you know, speaking out loud because people can go off the screen or they can be halfway paying attention.

Amanda Luton (00:52:25):

It’s very different still than being in person, right in front of somebody where you can read their body language, you can really directly see what they’re doing and what they’re thinking. Mmm. Women that are, that are looking for growth in their roles, in their organizations. Uh, you know, there’s a lot of debate about if the whole pandemic has set women back from the progress that they’ve seen in the workplace. Okay. Be more visible. Okay. Being in front of their leadership. Yeah. So I think it’s going to be in, like I said before, there’s, there’s a lot of working moms that are, that are anxious for their kids to go back to school and it may look very different of course. And it may be lots of flexibility and lots of creative, um, work from home juggling and you know, who knows what that’s gonna look like. Um, but I don’t think I don’t see it as an all or nothing thing. I think it’s going to be a real good blend, hopefully good blend of, um, a flexible kind of working conditions. Okay. You know, as far as being at home versus the office.

Scott Luton (00:53:23):

Yeah. Love that. Um, there’s gonna be so much from just a workforce management, how work gets done, how stuff gets done. So many dynamics that, and key takeaways from the last two or three months will impact all of that for so many organizations. I mean, look, uh, you know, automotive manufacturers is kind of tough to work from home and, and build cars. So naturally, you know, they’re going to have less key takeaways. However, I would, uh, my, one of my hunters is some of their engineers and some of the other designers that could work from home. Yeah. Their marketing teams. And, uh, so there’ll be certain plays they can take out of the playbook. And as we all know, as, as spent some time in the recruiting side, that’s what a lot of top talent wants. They want that flexibility. And so I think smart and true to organ organizations will we’ll figure out how they can get their cake and eat it too. How can they get stuff done while still affording as much flexibility as possible? Even more than that? Yeah. It’s a flexibility. They want the choice of the flexibility to have the option of working in the office or working from home. I think a lot of people, you know, coming into the workforce don’t necessarily like to be told how they are going to work. Right.

Scott Luton (00:54:45):

They can choose what works best for their family, for their situation, for their circumstances. Yep. Agreed. Alright, good stuff there. I’m going to, I’m going to be really quick on mine and then we’ll close out maybe with a couple of final thoughts from Greg and Amanda. So three things here, first up, I’m going to piggyback on what Greg shared about nearshoring and reassuring. Yeah. You know, we’re going to see some activity come out of China, undoubtedly. Right. It’ll be, it’ll be moved to other parts of Asia. It will be, some of it will be reassured. Some of it will be near, near shored. Some of it will go to Europe. I’ve seen reports related to five G uh, infrastructure and, and some of the companies that some of European companies that could be big winners there. However, this is how did Greg put it irrefutable?

Scott Luton (00:55:39):

This is the irrefutable truth. That China is a critical player in the global manufacturing, uh, uh, industry. And, and w what’s also irrefutable as American consumers in particular. I won’t speak for others cause I’m not a European consumer, but we are still in love with low prices. Right. And that’s one of the biggest reasons we have global supply chains. And so if we can mitigate, um, a large degree of the quality issues and the safety issues we’ve seen in, in, especially in recent months related to PPE and, and, and there are some big questions is great. Put it in pharmaceutical, uh, pharmaceutical industry, but there’s also some long-held alliances and deep rooted segments of supply chain that is in China and India. And that’s going to be next to impossible to move, especially when you’re serving a, um, a consumer or at least a big segment of the consumer here in the States.

Scott Luton (00:56:34):

That’s on a fixed budget. Nope. Okay. Let’s reassure all the pharmaceuticals and then pay tenfold what they were. I mean, imagine, and I’m, I’m being a bit dramatic, but prices will go up. Well, if, for many of the products, we, even, if we come back to Puerto Rico, you’re right. That’s right. Okay. So that’s 0.1. Uh, and, and, and again, it’s important to point out. I love the aspect, the idea of reassuring and building us manufacturing industry. That’s good. That’s, that’s, that’s great. It’s not just great for the country. It’s great for the industry. However, we gotta be practical about this. Secondly, the food supply chain, Greg loved the episode, Greg and Amanda Love the episode with Tasco. We’re big fans of Mike Watson and Aubrey Dunkin love how much they’ve grown and love what their model does in food industry and reduces so much waste, empty miles, all that stuff.

Scott Luton (00:57:29):

Mmm. What we’ve also learned w a food supply chain is we’ve got these, these twin channels, commercial, right food from growing it to, to, um, uh, processing it, to packaging it, to delivering it. That commercial channel looks a lot different than a retail channel. And, and a lot of the inside. It’s hard to knew that, but I think a lot of consumers have painfully. [inaudible] learned that lesson in recent months, as we’ve seen, uh, as Greg termed the culling of the livestock, because they couldn’t get it into processing plants for a variety of reasons. So, two thoughts here, I think number one, we are absolutely going to see more interconnectivity and, and a lot more effective overlap as needed between these two channels. I mean, undoubtedly, there’s gotta be some things that they, that they could repackage that can serve both channels or, or there’s going to be some, some improvements there, undoubtedly, to avoid a lot of the waste we’ve seen here in recent months, unfortunately.

Scott Luton (00:58:33):

And secondly, and Greg, we’ve talked about this lean is a good thing. There are companies and leaders that have misused lane. They have wrapped workforce reductions in the lean flag, so to speak, right. That is not lean. That is not lean. Um, so, uh, as grocery supply chains and management practices have really leaned and streamlined the amount of product that’s in these regional distribution centers. So there’s less Mmm Mmm. A lot less product that they can be sent out to store six Oh seven, that, that all of a sudden has had to run on sugar or whatever. Um, w we’re going to see some revisiting of some of the, those ratios and those methodologies so that they can be better prepared to fulfill, uh, in broader disasters. Um, not quite a bit tough, always a plan for a global pandemic, but we’re going to see some, some revisiting of those methodologies.

Scott Luton (00:59:30):

And finally, what pains me to say it, Greg, do you like Tom travel? I don’t know. I’ve never even seen bill and Ted’s as well. That is one of the more disappointing facts about Greg white. I have heard in a long time, bill and Ted are legends in this house. Um, but we’ve all love the notion I think of traveling back in time. Right? Sure. Greg, absolutely. Well, we should all be very envious then major league baseball because the owners, Oh boy, front office and the players are not acting like it’s 2020. They literally are back in 1994. Right. We need baseball Americans, the world needs baseball. We need a departure. Other countries have figured out how to make it work. And we’ve got major league baseball and we’re not going to cast one party over the next, all of them can’t figure it out.

Scott Luton (01:00:33):

And it’s like, they’re living in a vac in a, um, a vacuum right. Years ago. Yeah. And so my bold prediction is unfortunately, there is not going to be a 2020 season. And that is a travesty. It’s a shame, a will hair away, a friend of the show, great cargoes fan. He could explode without a Cardinals game. You’re right. We talk a lot and we would love to talk more baseball this time of year. He, he let off a work related text to me just last week about how the Braves and Cardinals should just be wrapping up a recent series and we should be giving each other a hard time. It is a travesty. It is a travesty. And, and, you know, I got to say this, I am disappointed in Rob Manfred’s leadership as commissioner of major league baseball. I was disappointed with how he handled, uh, in, in Houston.

Scott Luton (01:01:21):

I love you. It’s nothing to do with the city, but the Astros cheated. And I did not like, I think he really let down the sport. Yup. And, uh, with how that was handled. So I’ll stop there, but it really does pain me as a, as a huge Braves fan and comfort food braise. Baseball’s comfort food around here. Okay. Okay. The Braves playing in the background is as much yeah. Commonplace, you know, background noise is the kids yelling at each other. That’s true. It’s a part of our lives. And it really is a shame. Actually, the other night I was making dinner. That’s like Scott, out of turn the brains game on. Yeah. Yeah. That’s a shame. So on a much lighter note there, I mean, if, if, if, if the worst thing, the worst challenge that the three of us will face and our listeners will face is, um, avoid a baseball. That’s not a bad life, right. That’s times are still good. So trying to keep things in perspective, because as we all know there much bigger issues

Greg White (01:02:20):

that we’re all struggling to solve and to drive change and we’ll touch on more, a lot more of that, um, in the weeks to come, let’s close out there. So, um, you know, I want to ask both of y’all for final thoughts and final brief thoughts. You know, I think three of us set out to do a 30 minute conversation and we start talking about things we love to talk about. I’m going to go an hour. So, um, Greg, we can’t be bad at all, actually not be bound. What is your, uh, the phrase, Greg, uh, your F your infamous tagline is I refuse to be bound. Oh, yes. I’m willing to acknowledge reality, but I’ve refused to be loved that love that. And it’s so true with Greg white. Okay. So Greg final, final thought for our audience here, as we wrap up a really unique episode, kind of a look back and a look ahead, it’s rare that we I’ll share only our views.

Greg White (01:03:16):

And, uh, I’m glad we did it. I feel like, and I think Amanda got it that you might’ve overheard this conversation. We were thinking with, Mmm. You know, the triggers sort of, of all 50 States having relaxed restrictions. It was a great time for look back and I’m glad we did it. And I think frankly gave me some opportunity to have some perspective on the last 10, 12 weeks. Um, it allowed us to do dredge up some things that seem like they never happened. You know, Amanda, when you talked about, and Scott, you talked about other things that happened so long ago, it seems like it wasn’t really that long ago. Right? Mmm. I have to tell you, I am chomping at the bit embracing the opportunity for society. Yeah. To some sense of normalcy. And I’m not going to say those words. Yes. Two words irritating the people right now.

Greg White (01:04:13):

Mmm. But to get us back to, Mmm. Moving the direction of getting back to being a society and, Mmm. I see this as a point of encouragement. Look, we may deal with them. COVID-19 for the rest of our lives. Just like we leave deal with the common cold, just like we deal with pneumonia. We may have to learn to live in it. Mike. Great. The concern is that like we’ve had, [inaudible] the ice age and the stone age and the industrial age and, and whatever age. My great fear is that point in history, people will look back on this and say, this was the hysterical age where we overreacted to so many things. And one of the things I want two, aye, I want them ownership of myself. Aye. I want to not be hysterical. Two. I encourage people to dig deep and discern deeply to understand what’s really happening to understand beyond the Mmm

Amanda Luton (01:05:16):

yeah. Sound bytes from government officials and whatnot to really think through what’s happening and you’re gonna have to dig deep journalism is dead. I think we all have to acknowledge that.

Scott Luton (01:05:34):

Yeah. Discernment is, is something we all could, could, um, benefit from having a lot bigger doses of in our day to day decision, a decision making and, and, um, perspective. Really. All right, Amanda,

Amanda Luton (01:05:52):

you know, I had kind of a realization just now that I’d like to share, okay, no, I’ve sat through and listen to how, how many, 370 something episodes now and loved every moment of it now. So I’ve listened to all these episodes, but you know, just a little bit ago when Scott said, I’d like for you to join us on, on the podcast, I’m like, what do you mean? Like on the, actually on the podcast, not just listening and, you know, engaging with listeners. Mmm. And I got super nervous. I got it. I got really nervous. Um, but I said, yes, I’m going to do this. I’m going to step out and let myself [inaudible] in the spotlight for a moment. Okay. And it’s been great. I mean, you know, I hear a lot of guests say, well, gosh, that wasn’t as bad as I expected.

Amanda Luton (01:06:40):

Or that was really fun. You guys made this so fun, but you know what we’re noticing too, in the, um, you know, on, on LinkedIn, we’ve seen a lot about how there’s not a lot of women on panels. There’s not a lot of women being, being featured on podcasts. After we asked a couple more questions. It’s not that women are not being asked to be on the shows or on the panels, but that a lot of women are saying, no, they’re getting scared or they don’t have that confidence or they’re suffering from imposter syndrome, which is certainly such a real thing. So I would like to challenge women, if you could offer them a panel, you know, position, take it, just say yes, just do it. Mmm. You know, it’s not as scary as you think it’s going to be. It’s 10 times worse worrying about it.

Amanda Luton (01:07:26):

And Greg, you said that, you know, it’s a good day. If you prepare 15 minutes for a podcast, I was literally, you know, up until 10 minutes ago, still scribbling notes, you know, for what I was going to say, still trying to prepare myself. Okay. But just say, yes, you know, just commit to it, do it, do your homework be prepared, but then have some confidence in your expertise, in your position, in your role, and then show people yeah. What you can do. Mmm. It’s not that scary, you know, and, and, and we need to hear more females, voices, you know, I’m sure that Scott lives with me 24 hours a day, but I’m sure he didn’t realize the, you know, the perspective as a

Scott Luton (01:08:05):

right.

Amanda Luton (01:08:05):

From a working mom on the burden of the pandemic and what it’s, how it’s affected me. Okay. People need to hear our voices and need to hear our stories. So I challenge women to say, yes, love it.

Scott Luton (01:08:16):

I love a good challenge at the end of an episode. Yes, that is. That’s great. Yep. Appreciate that, Amanda. Thanks for joining us. And thanks for stepping through that, that door on a last minute invite, it was really fun. When’s the next one? Can I be on tomorrow? Let’s do it now. Well, this has been great. Really enjoyed it to our listeners. If you’ve made it this far, of course, this is a lot different than I think one of our shows, but it’s good to sit down and, uh, reflect a bit and especially reflect as a team, uh, because you know, you spend so much time, you know, knocking out work, driving production, um, you know, managing and delivering relationships. You name it, but rarely do you sit down and spend, you know, about an hour 15 reflecting as a team on where we’ve been and where we’re headed.

Scott Luton (01:09:11):

And that’s really what makes up this episode. Hopefully our listeners dig it as much as we have enjoyed it. Um, alright. So with all that said, Scott Luton here, I’m going to close out for Greg white and Amanda really appreciate their time today to our listeners. Be sure to check out our wide variety of industry thought leadership resources@supplychainatradio.com of course, find us and subscribe wherever you get your podcasts from on behalf of the entire team. Scott Luton wishing you a very successful weekend. Lots of change has got to happen, but you know what? Undoubtedly in the weeks and months ahead, everyone is going to have much, much more brighter days. So we’ll see you next time here on splotchy now. Thanks everybody.