“Be true to who you are as a supply chain and be true to who you are in terms of how the supply chain enables your business.”

– Mike Griswold is the Vice President of Research at Gartner

Everyone learned a lot from 2020. Companies and individuals have now made the best decisions they can about how to manage themselves in 2021, despite the fact that uncertainty remains.

Mike Griswold is the Vice President of Research at Gartner, specializing in retail with a particular focus on forecasting and replenishment. He is responsible for Gartner’s annual Top 25 Supply Chain ranking and joins Supply Chain Now on a monthly basis to discuss the latest in retail supply chains from an analyst’s perspective.

Since his last visit, he has been put in charge of a team of five strategy and enablement analysts who focus on everything from talent organization design to environmental, social, and governance-related trends. This has given him good reason to think about coaching and leadership styles as well as to make a few new year’s resolutions.

In this conversation, Mike tells Supply Chain Now Co-hosts Greg White and Scott Luton:

· The importance of understanding all of the different communication styles (both speaking and listening) on each team in order to keep them moving in the same direction

· Why staying focused on proven supply chain fundamentals is just as important as emphasizing agility

· The ‘silver lining’ he sees from the challenging conditions of 2020