In the U.S., Thanksgiving always gets me thinking about my “personal team” — the business friends who aren’t just contacts, but people I’d go to battle with, side by side!

Over the years I’ve worked with all kinds of folks: employees, contractors, carriers, forwarders, logistics providers, IT help desks, facilities teams, suppliers, vendors, and professors back when I was earning my logistics degree. Every now and then, someone stands out. They pick up the phone. They answer the text. They don’t disappear when things get hard. Even if they can’t give you exactly what you asked for, they come back with options that might just save the day.

You often discover these people in stressful times: a COVID disruption, a capacity crunch in the ocean market, a factory screaming for product. That’s when you learn who shows up. I think of Darren, who ran a trucking company I used years ago. If he couldn’t pick up on time, he didn’t shrug and walk away. He worked the problem and brought me alternatives so we could still deliver on time. I had a young contractor like that too — still learning the business, but she never dropped the ball. We stayed in constant dialogue, solved issues together, and both got better.

These relationships are more than org charts and job titles. Sometimes they’re stronger than a standard employee relationship. You earn trust with each other. You carry that trust from job to job, company to company, season to season.

There’s an old African proverb I love: If you want to go fast, go alone. If you want to go far, go together.

My invitation to you: know who’s on your personal team. Write their names down, keep a simple log. Treat them well. Be that person for them, too.

This is exactly how WOWL works with our clients — and with the providers who serve our clients.

Happy Thanksgiving to all everywhere.

 AndyG@WOWL.io

#BusinessRelationships #PersonalTeam #SupplyChain #itms
#ordermanagement #originmanagement