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12 SMT007 MAGAZINE I AUGUST 2024 Philosophically, this works, but how do you really achieve any of it? Figure 1 shows the model I've developed over my years in the industry. Thriving in Real Life ere is no one practice that ensures a thriv- ing relationship and continuous supply of parts, and even all of them together may not get you where you need to be. Nevertheless, I don't think you can thrive in the absence of these behaviors. When I initially moved into supply manage- ment and started applying many of these prac- tices, I used to tell my suppliers that my goal was to gain an unfair share of their attention, support, and parts. Eventually I quit using the word "unfair" in my supplier communications. ere is nothing "unfair" here. is is about differentiating yourselves from other customer choices your supply base oen makes and engaging them in your mutual success. Set High Expectations A true thriving environment does place more pressure on both parties to perform. Setting expectations of being a preferred customer is appropriate. I was pleased when a supplier would describe me as tough but fair. Set high standards for your suppliers and make sure you tell them what they are. I will talk later about the importance of making sure your actions demonstrate those high stan- dards. At the same time, if you don't want to be treated like every other customer, then set high expectations of yourself as well. Be warned that high expectations may drive some unintended short-term consequences. I recall a few trips to poor performing suppli- ers early in my supply management days that did not result in the outcomes I had hoped for. Instead of seeing marked improvement in per- formance aer a visit, we received substantial price increases instead. e suppliers gave up and decided to harvest the business as opposed to working together to make improvements. I was actually very pleased that we had learned it was time to move on very quickly even as my team sometimes threatened to ban me from visiting a few key suppliers as a result. I never lowered them but admittedly learned to be a bit gentler with expectations over the years. Invest in Building Relationships Relationships still matter. Despite all the tools and technology of today, you are still dealing with people and, ultimately, they are Figure 1: A model for telling your story.