Gary M. McKown
Executive – Supply Chain Management
Phoenix, AZ
Gary McKown has been involved in supply chain management his entire career, spanning over 35 years. He has worked in a variety of companies—large and small—industries, and positions, ranging from individual contributor to vice president positions. He has also been involved in consulting for several years, serving in a wide array of capacities, adding tremendous value to each engagement.
Colleagues know him as a top-performing supply-chain-management leader with wide-ranging experiences in developing, leading, planning, organizing, evaluating, and developing high-performing teams equipped with a laser focus on adding value to the business.
He is a self-motivated team player and collaborator with strong work ethics and an impeccable track record of exceeding aggressive goals, supporting market-share gains, driving margin pick-up, and improving critical metric performance. His priority is always to help make the team better by being a business partner and thought leader while applying strong creative skills.
His education includes a Bachelor of Arts (BA) degree in Material & Logistics Management, currently referred to as Supply Chain Management, from Michigan State University (East Lansing, MI). His focus during undergraduate studies was Purchasing and Operations Management. Later, he earned a Master of Science (MSc) degree in Management from Walsh College, (Troy, MI), graduating with High Distinction.
www.linkedin.com/in/garymckown
Introduction: Why is This Book Important?
As you transition from one phase of your life to the next, preparing yourself for the changes and challenges that will inevitably come your way is important. Combining your experiences, education, knowledge, and skills with the tips provided in this book will position you for a good start in your career and ultimately lead to your career growth.
Unfortunately, people often enter new phases of their life under the impression that they are prepared but quickly learn such is not the case, which can lead to unintended consequences. Some consequences may be visible; others may not be. In a work setting, some of these outcomes set the pattern of your career trajectory and risk establishing unflattering perceptions that are challenging or time-consuming to overcome.
Consider the case of football players studying a new playbook in the offseason—interpreting, memorizing, and rehearsing—to gain a firm understanding of the actions and responsibilities in each play. They feel pretty good about their efforts until they get out on the field, engage with others, and face a whole new set of circumstances to learn from and adapt to. Complicating circumstances may be posed by other players on the same team, depending on how they are prepared and react. The other team shall also make efforts to prevent them from meeting their objectives, and coaches may adjust on the fly to improve plans as well. These additional nuances have a whole new learning curve associated with them. Properly reacting to and handling challenging circumstances are necessary for attaining personal success.
Well, transitioning from the classroom to the work environment is very much like the above case of football players adapting to a new playbook. This book is written to prepare those coming out of university to primarily succeed in supply chain management and to serve as a supplement to your formal education. An education may have equipped you with a sound foundation of knowledge and skills; however, even the best education can leave you void of (1) a clear understanding of how to succeed in the unpredictability of the work environment, (2) the awareness necessary to avoid easy, preventable mistakes, (3) a grasp of key practical elements of the job, and (4) an understanding of the importance of building relationships, not only within the organization you work but also cross-functionally within the enterprise and with external parties with whom you engage.
As this book is not a research-driven work, it is not a clinical, how-to, step-by-step guide, per se. It is written based on my experience in the supply-chain profession spanning over 35 years. Having experienced both successes and failures, I have learned some things over time and feel this text, based on my experiences, can offer some insights into how to approach supply chain, drive value for the business or organization you represent, and prepare yourself for a long and successful career. Supply chain, regardless of how it is structured or staffed, its roles defined, titles parsed out, work divvied up or managed, is present in every organization, business, public-sector entity, and, frankly, household.
For one book or one person’s experiences to cover all potential circumstances is impossible, but this book covers enough ground to get you headed in the right direction, help you avoid early career mistakes, and put you on the path to learn from your experiences to positively shape your career journey and personal successes.