"Management does not equal leadership. You manage processes, you lead people." That was one of the many take-home messages from U.S. Army Major General (Ret.) Vincent E. Boles when healthcare leaders gathered for the 2011 Fall IDN Summit, just days after the 10-year anniversary of 9-11, the attack that changed U.S. history forever. A decade ago, Major General Boles had just assumed command of the Army’s War Reserve equipment and was charged with leading the massive effort to move it into action in Afghanistan, Iraq and other areas around the globe.

IDN Summit attendees packed the general session room to hear Major General Boles deliver his keynote address, “Leading and Leveraging the Links in Your Supply Chain,” at the 2011 Fall IDN Summit, Wednesday, Sept. 14. His blend of humor and wisdom with real-life stories of his 30-plus years in supply chain management kept the audience engaged and provided numerous take-away messages for spurring action.

As a career Army officer with over three decades of leadership in the supply chain arena, General Boles had a wealth of experience to share with today’s healthcare industry leaders on the challenges he has faced and what it takes to become a “team of teams” in supply chain management. 

He described how he has seen some military units that were very well-equipped, yet they lacked leadership and consequently, young soldiers suffered. On the other hand, he has seen units that weren't provided with all the supplies they needed, weren't staffed as well as they needed to be, but they went on to do important and productive things that much larger units were unable to accomplish. The difference, explained the General, is that they had leadership.

Using a combination of humor and relating of personal experiences, Gen. Boles dispersed several bits of wisdom to his audience. There are very few things people can't do, but there are a lot more things they won't do, he noted. He told attendees that as leaders, they need to find out what things their people can't do and take the excuses away, then find out the things they won't do and push them harder. He also told his audience that metrics don't matter, the right metrics matter. And there are people who know the price of everything, but the value of nothing--those are the people to identify within your supply chain, he added. In discussing management styles, Gen. Boles reminded attendees to avoid any kneejerk reaction to shoot the messenger. Otherwise, as a manager, no one is going to tell you anything of any significance. Lines of communication will break down and problems will go unaddressed. Instead, realize that bad things are going to happen despite best intentions and efforts, and plan accordingly.

Gen. Boles used the Department of Defense supply chain to relate a number of real-life examples, while describing the special supply chain challenges the Department had faced, and how those challenges and subsequent paths toward workable solutions could be applicable to healthcare organizations. Attendees learned the importance of providing leadership to the links in the supply chain, people, and the important roles of establishing structure, managing relationships, balancing risk and making decisions. 

"There are assumptions going on in your organization that everyone's nodding their head about, saying, 'It's only this much.' And you need to challenge those assumptions," he told attendees.< /p>

The audience also learned the nagging supply chain questions that kept the general up at night and he extended the invitation for attendees to ask him questions about the things that are keeping them awake at night as he closed off the session with questions and answers from his audience.

As a career Army officer with 33 years experience, Gen. Vincent Boles is well-suited to inspire IDN Summit participants as he shares insight on his experiences in operations and readiness. His leadership in logistics, supply management and preparedness can provide important examples applicable to today’s healthcare industry as it faces new challenges and new demands across the supply chain. Highlights of the General’s experience include managing the nation’s $27 billion ammunition account, assuming command of the Army’s War Reserve equipment six weeks before the attacks of 9-11, and flexing into operations in Afghanistan, Iraq and other locations, and deployment to Kuwait in preparation for the invasion of Iraq with142 personnel which grew to a force of 8,000 soldiers, civilians and contractors in 90 days when the invasion began.

From Kuwait, the General was forward deployed into Iraq where he assumed command of the 16,000 personnel responsible for providing all logistical support and services to the 150,000 members of the coalition. Following redeployment from combat operations, Gen. Boles then applied “lessons learned” as he led the doctrine, training and professional excellent of 120,000 soldiers. In his final Army assignment, he served as the Army’s Chief Operating Officer for Logistics Operations. Assigned to the Pentagon, he was responsible for; operations and readiness of Army equipment, the force projection and distribution of personnel and equipment around the globe and overseeing the logistics strategy for the 1.1 million soldier Army.

Today, Gen. Boles is president of Vincent E. Boles Inc., a leadership and logistics consulting service where his focus is on working with leaders and logisticians who need to maximize their return on their most important resource, their people. In addition, he serves as Adjunct Professor Life Cycle Logistics for the Department of Defense at the Defense Acquisition University and as a guest lecturer in logistics leadership for Defense and Business. His presentations are known for both inspiring delivery and valuable content.

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