Mary Walker

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Career advice from your bank?

You would never think you would receive career networking tips from your local bank, but that’s just what I received this week and they’re actually pretty useful. So useful, I’ll share them now. My bank sent along “Seven Ways to Maximize the Value of Networking Meetings” by Bruce L. Katcher, who considers himself an industrial/organizational psychologist.... More

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Effective public speaking: Avoiding the AH word

If you have ever attended a Toastmaster’s meeting, you are familiar with the “ah” counter. They let you know how many times you use the “ah” word while making a speech. It might surprise you if you did it yourself in your next presentation. Often, the success of a project may depend in large part on the effectiveness of the communications that go along... More

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ISM membership for sales: What's in it for you?

As many people may have heard, the Institute for Supply Management is voting to allow salespeople into the organization. I ask the question to the salespeople that want to join our organization, what’s in it for you?In our local ISM-Dallas affiliate, we continue to strive to find ways to show benefits to people in the purchasing profession as to why they should belong to the local... More

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Can purchasing professionals keep up the multitasking?

Whoever said the more things change, the more they stay the same probably wasn’t a purchasing professional. With so much change, it seems the core part our job is disappearing.In the old days, you, the buyer, got to the office, sat down at your desk and you started ordering “stuff.” You got right into the buying process. In those days, you typed the purchase orders, making... More

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Tax tips for trade shows and business travel

While preparing for our ISM-Dallas affiliate and the Southwest Forum trade show, I started thinking about how much harder it is to get suppliers to attend? Of course, with the rising cost of travel and higher demands on most businesses, attending a show can get costly. Especially if you travel by plane, car rentals, hotel bills and meals can add up quickly. That’s why I found this... More