Sharing your knowledge is regifting at its best.

December 16, 2014 Lynn Larson

Is it ever okay to regift, as in giving a gift you have acquired to someone else? Many websites address this delicate topic, but, in the professional world, I think the answer is simple. Regift your knowledge. The beauty of it is, as the giver, you retain something valuable, but others receive value, too.

When I started in the Purchasing Card arena more than 16 years ago, I had no prior card experience, so I embarked on a quest for knowledge. Fortunately, I encountered many people who were willing to spend time teaching me about things relevant to P-Card program management. Knowledge sharing is something we can all do (see related blog post on leadership). It is what drove me to launch this company last January.

Part of the mission of Recharged Education is making Commercial Card education readily accessible to all at little to no cost. The industry as a whole is stronger when end-users, providers and suppliers possess the fundamentals to help make card programs successful.

I’m excited to wrap up the year with more than 30 posts to the P-Cards Refocused blog and other free education on many different topics. Go ahead and regift the Recharged Education URL (www.recharged-education.com) to other industry professionals! I look forward to expanding the offerings in 2015.

Sharing with others what we learn is the best form of regifting.

A Note of Gratitude

I thank the individuals who have contributed to the complimentary online content this year: Jeff Avery and Paul Sammer, Jennifer Clark, Dan DeBraal, Matthew Dragiff, Greg Evans, Steve Evans and Paul Musselman, Jack Jania, Tiffany Lovelace, Dan O'Neill, Richard Palmer. Contributing industry providers include: Bora Payment Systems LLC, First Annapolis, Gemalto, LIMA3 Systems, RPMG Research Corporation, SunGard, Wind River Financial.

About the Author

Blog post author Lynn Larson, CPCP, is the founder of Recharged Education. With more than 15 years of Commercial Card experience, her mission is to make industry education readily accessible to all. Learn more…

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Four tips for repaving the path to P-Card success.

November 11, 2014 Lynn Larson

How do you take a leadership role and drive Commercial Card program success, especially if you lack card experience? Obtain tips from a pro who has been there and done that. Tiffany Lovelace, CPCP, Kansas City Southern, has taken a P-Card program from stagnant to sensational, including 150% growth in volume over four years! Following are her words, which are part of a three-page series about her journey and card program transformation.

Make Use of Your Unique Skills

If you have inherited a program, but lack direct card experience, don’t let that be a barrier to success. Embrace your inherent skill sets and transition them to the world of Commercial Card payments. I had no experience in Commercial Card payments or in the accounts payable arena. What I did possess was the knowledge and fortitude to successfully evaluate and market programs and products.

Build Strong Relationships

Build strong and consultative relationships with: (1) other organizations within the Commercial Card space, (2) your issuer and (3) internal peers.

Humility is a good thing. While you may have moved mountains in your previous positions, leaning on industry experts, admitting you do not have all the answers, and exerting the willingness to educate yourself will help pave the way for success.

Break the barriers standing in the way of your success and that of the card program.

Sync Up Your Strategy

We have a saying in our department: If it makes sense, do it. Our organization was willing to rethink how we utilize Commercial Card products and services. We created program goals and objectives to be in sync with accounts payable, strategic sourcing and treasury, as all three business functions are critical elements, contributing to the overall program success.

Market, Market, Market

My expertise in marketing provided the opportunity for our team and super users to become an extension of our issuer’s account management team. We launched surveys, formed focus groups, and created process maps to unveil issues plaguing our program. With this new-found knowledge, we birthed a new program and crafted targeted messages for our marketing campaign to promote solutions across our organization.

Read the complete series to gain additional tips from Tiffany.

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Rediscover the leader within you.

September 24, 2014 Lynn Larson

What can we gain from motivational speakers? A lot. The tough part is acting on their messages due to our ingrained routines and habits, but we should not give up. I am inspired to share what I heard last week at the Scotiabank Commercial Card conference.

Doug Keeley, The Mark of a Leader, told story after story about people who have accomplished amazing things against all odds. Here’s one: After reading a disturbing news story, a Canadian boy (age 12) founded an organization, Free The Children, to fight childhood slavery around the world. Very impressive. Hearing this, it would be easy to think, “I can’t do that” and then miss the real message. We can be leaders and make a positive difference, whether in the workplace or elsewhere, regardless of our status or situation. (See the P-Card success story of one end-user who initially lacked card experience.)

Doug emphasized that change is a choice. We choose to change or we stand still. He described various leadership attributes and the one that absolutely applies to everyone is helping others be their best. Consider your job. If you manage a card program, set your cardholders up for success through effective policies and procedures, and training. (See also the blog post about re-igniting a spark in your card program.) If you are an account manager for a provider organization, take the initiative to provide clients with ideas about how they can improve their programs; help program managers be their best.

Look around you. What direction can you take to demonstrate leadership?

There are endless ways in which we can be leaders. It does not have to consume a huge amount of time. My personal philosophy is “something is better than nothing.” This pushes me to take action even when I feel lacking in time, energy, confidence, etc.

I challenge you (and myself) to spend at least 10 minutes each day doing something that fosters leadership.

At work, this could mean you:

read an industry article relevant to your profession or employer, and report the findings to your manager
propose a new P-Card opportunity
extend a one-on-one training offer to a cardholder who seems to struggle with the responsibilities
listen to a colleague who is trying to resolve an issue

As Doug encouraged conference attendees, change something—stop doing or start doing…

If you have made a change as a result of a motivational speaker/writer, please add a comment below to relay your success story!