“I Want To Break Free” – Is This Procurement & Supply Chain’s 2020 Theme Song/Anthem?
We asked our LinkedIn community for their top pandemic anthems, and the result was an awesome playlist!
Owing to the myriad Supply Chain disruptions this year, many of us suddenly found that the world was no longer our oyster – or if it was, it clamped shut and trapped us inside. On top of Supply Chain chaos, we had to deal with our own incarceration.
Were you Happy like Pharrel or, despite all your rage, still just a Rat in a Cage like Smashing Pumpkins? Did you Always Look On the Bright Side of Life a la Monty Python, or did you swing from Sia’s Chandelier?
Perhaps it wasn’t The End of the World as We Know It but Lord knows you wanted to break free.
Music can either placate your mood or provoke it; it can augment your voice or do all the talking for you. In whichever case, certain songs will already be part of your daily COVID-19 landscape.
We asked our LinkedIn community for their Supply Chain anthems – and here’s the top 10:
Highway to Hell – AC/DC
– Peter Rand, Mastercard
No stop signs, speed limit
Nobody’s gonna slow me down
Like a wheel, gonna spin it
Nobody’s gonna mess me around
When confronted with a crisis, do you let your hair down, throw your glass in the fireplace and yell “game on!”? You crank this rockin’ classic and take on the world!
Then you realise (as some of us did) these are problems we’ve never faced from a catastrophe we never imagined:
Help! – The Beatles
– Peter Rand, Mastercard
97% percent of organisations we surveyed reported a supply chain disruption – and few of us had ever seen anything like it. So if you found yourself thinking:
Help! I need somebody!
Help! Not just anybody!
Help! I need someone!
Help!
… You weren’t the only one!
One – U2
– Gale Daikoku, SAP
It wasn’t one single person or organisation who saved the world: the COVID-19 Pandemic was a textbook case of Procurement and Supply Chains working together:
We’re one, but we’re not the same
We get to carry each other, carry each other
But with the huge pressures of work and the stifling restrictions on freedom, you could be forgiven for not basking in solidarity.
So Sick – Ne-Yo
– Tim Elliott, McLaren Automotive
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eG2U2sjshTM
(It’s ridiculous) It’s been months, and for some reason I just
(Can’t get over us) And I’m stronger than this
(Enough is enough) No more walkin ’round with my head down
I’m so over bein’ blue
While working from home may be an introvert’s dream come true, for the rest of us the novelty is wearing thin. We all know this feeling of being locked up – especially Melburnians! Speaking of …
Locked Up – Akon
Warning: contains strong language
– Tim Elliott, McLaren Automotive
I’m locked up, they won’t let me out
No, they won’t let me out
There may not be grey walls and orange clothes, but isolation can still give off those incarceration vibes. Of course we can do most things from home, but …
I Want To Break Free – Queen
– Rhylee Nowell, The Faculty
While our Supply Chains may be more resilient than ever, we can only take so much:
But life still goes on
I can’t get used to living without, living without
Living without you by my side
I don’t want to live alone, hey
God knows, got to make it on my own
Or do you?
Bridge Over Troubled Water – Simon and Garfunkel
– Tania Seary, Founder, Procurious; Stephanie Shrader, Pridesports
when times get rough
And friends just can’t be found
Like a bridge over troubled water
I will lay me down
Just as one Supply Chain helped another, all sorts of people put their hands up to help.
With A Little Help From My Friends – The Beatles
– Imelda Walsh, Manager, The Source
What do I do when my love is away?
Does it worry you to be alone?
How do I feel by the end of the day?
Are you sad because you’re on your own?
No, I get by with a little help from my friends
When your personal network is as strong as your business network, its support takes on inertia of its own.
Don’t Worry Be Happy – Bobby McFerrin
– Greg Parkinson, Director, Turner & Towsend
The right frame of mind is the key to success: a little mindfulness, coupled with an Attitude of Gratitude a la Nicky Abdinor, goes a long way.
Thus set up for success, soon we’ll be poised to take on the world again:
I Want To Be A Billionaire – Bruno Mars
– Matthew Hadgraft, The Faculty
(Clean Version)Oh every time I close my eyes
I see my name in shining lights
A different city every night oh right
I swear the world better prepare
For when I’m a billionaire
Keep your dreams, goals, ambitions and plans intact because all this will change. Every Procurement and Supply Chain executive knows the importance of a Business Continuity Plan – make sure your own plans are articulated, because who knows what opportunities the future will bring?
Do you have any suggestions for additional songs? Comment below.
