In an age when college students are urged to choose an area of study based on financial returns, philosophy has become a much-maligned major.

But those who dismiss philosophy as something with no practical use are overlooking how studying Aristotle, Plato, Socrates, and others has real-world applications in business.

One thing philosophy encourages is critical thinking, which a number of well-respected thought leaders around the country have said we could use a lot more of. Not only is critical thinking a desired skill set for employers, but it’s also an important skill in life in general. 

 I recently read an article about what Apple CEO Tim Cook looks for in job candidates and was struck by how much a philosophical mindset plays into his approach to hiring.

 He’s interested in things like whether you are willing to trust your gut and how you want to change the world. He wants to know that the people he hires can answer these big questions. The way to answer them is to have a good understanding of Philosophy 101.

A few reasons why studying philosophy is worthwhile for anyone, include the following.

• It helps employees interact better with co-workers. Hiring managers are finding that many employees who are whizzes with technical skills or coding, for example, are completely lacking when it comes to the ability to interact or collaborate with those around them. They often have trouble understanding other people or listening to other points of view. One of the benefits to philosophy is it helps with how we think and how we interact in the workplace. Some people have just been taught hard skills, which are important, but they don’t equate to a well-rounded employee. Wisdom is the ultimate soft skill.

• Philosophy can help with career advancement. Many CEOs and others in leadership roles have looked to the wisdom of ancient philosophers as they advanced in their careers. Lucio Tan Jr., CEO of Tanduay Distillers Inc., says the teachings of Confucius have served as a guide for his approach to leadership and life. Netflix CEO Reed Hastings has used ideas expressed by Aristotle to grow his business. The real opportunity and the real way to excel in your career is to be this well-rounded thinker.

• It is well-suited for the challenges that colleges face. Higher education has been deeply disrupted by the pandemic and college students could find that a philosophy class could give them the foundation for overcoming those disruptions. Philosophy is perfectly suited for remote learning and also offers tools and ideas that enable students to study and progress. It’s like learning about something that directly addresses all the challenges they face as students to begin with.

• Philosophy comes with many role models. For young people pondering philosophy as a major, role models aren’t hard to find because plenty of successful people earned an undergraduate degree in philosophy. They include Peter Thiel, co-founder and former CEO of PayPal; Carly Fiorina, former CEO of Hewlett-Packard; Larry Sanger, co-founder of Wikipedia; and Supreme Court Justice Stephen Breyer, among many others.

The problem with philosophy’s reputation is that it conjures images of a lone figure thinking deep thoughts, but never taking action. That’s far from accurate.

Philosophy is not meant to be taken out only when your yoga mat is unfolded or when your life is perfectly in tune with the universe. It’s meant to be lived, used, and applied.      

Cristina DiGiacomo (www.cristinadigiacomo.com), author of “Wise Up! At Work,” is the founder of MorAlchemy, a philosophical consulting firm. 

On March 1, New York state announced its first confirmed case of COVID-19. As the global health crisis reached further into United States, organizations in all industries began to feel the impact. Operating a company since then has proven to be full of challenges never before seen or anticipated. However, with nearly a year under our belt, the trials and tests of the pandemic provide an opportunity to assess operational performance and potentially adjust strategies and processes to better position companies for more uncertainty ahead.

Overall strategy

Historically, many companies have aimed to decrease their inventory costs by simply reducing the amount of the inventory that they keep on hand. This is traditionally accomplished by shifting towards a just-in-time (JIT) inventory strategy where companies do not buy inventory until it is needed for production or sale. Though many businesses are unable to execute a true JIT inventory strategy, many have still managed to carry as little inventory as possible. The JIT inventory concept relies on stable, consistent customer and supplier demand and accurate forecasting to be effective. However, the unforeseen impacts of the coronavirus caused many companies that utilize JIT approach to experience a shortage of critical inventory, which in turn resulted in missed sales, longer manufacturing lead times, and dissatisfied customers.

COVID-19 supply-chain disruptions have demonstrated the importance of safety stock. Safety stock can apply to all categories of inventory, and it represents the additional inventory above and beyond a company’s forecasted needs. Finished-good safety stock provides a buffer for increased customer demand while raw-material safety stock may provide a buffer for delivery delays from a supplier. The level of safety stock is a function of a company’s risk appetite as well as the analysis of additional costs to hold that inventory, including storage, handling, insurance, and spoilage versus the hidden cost of stockouts and potential manufacturing downtime. Companies must also remember to assess their maintenance, repair, and operating supplies to identify if safety stock is required to keep machines and production up and running if there are shortages or delays in obtaining replacement parts. 

Now, more than ever before, companies should reassess the risks and costs associated with inventory management to determine if any changes in strategy or safety-stock levels are necessary.

Sourcing 

Many companies have created a single, linear source for specific material needs in order to reduce inventory costs. By concentrating purchases to few suppliers, companies are often able to leverage buying power to get priority treatment and favorable pricing and payment terms. Vendor concentrations also create additional risks to businesses, like increased dependency, especially during turbulent times. This vendor-dependency risk may have been at a tolerable level in the past, but now during the pandemic, companies should revisit the advantages and disadvantages of single and multi-sourcing. 

Procuring materials and services from multiple sources may lead to decreased vendor dependency, increased flexibility, and better overall vendor performance due to increased competition. At a minimum, companies should consider identifying and prequalifying potential alternate suppliers in the event of additional lockdowns or a specific shutdown at a major vendor’s plant and begin to develop redundancies in their supply chain.

Vendor relationships

Companies should also reflect on their relationships with existing vendors over the past year and ask the following questions: 

• Did my suppliers perform in accordance with our contract?

• Were my orders successfully fulfilled on time?

• Were specified quality standards continuously met?

• There are my vendors geographically located?

Based on the answers to these questions, a more detailed supply-chain analysis may need to be completed, but now is a great time to revisit major contracts and purchase commitments and reset expectations with vendors. Enhanced communication should strengthen these relationships and help companies understand what they can expect if additional shutdowns or disruptions occur.

Inventory-management strategy, sourcing, and vendor relationships are just a few of the most fundamental things organizations should reconsider during these turbulent times. Though operating a company during COVID-19 has proven to be full of new challenges, now is the time to reassess strategies and processes across multiple disciplines. Doing so will better position companies for any uncertainties ahead and lead to continued success. 

Terrence Burns, CPA, is a manager at The Bonadio Group, a Rochester–based accounting firm that has Central New York offices in Syracuse and Utica.