“At the end of the day, we exist to try and help the procurement profession be more impactful. That’s the lens through which we look at everything.” - Philip Ideson, Founder and Managing Director of Art of Procurement In this milestone 700th episode, Art of Procurement Founder and Managing Director Philip Ideson has the tables turned on him as he’s interviewed by longtime friend and colleague Mark Holyoake, Owner and Managing Director of Holyoake Search.  In this special conversation, recorded face-to-face, Philip gets personal about his journey from an early career in automotive procurement to the motivations behind his decision to launch the Art of Procurement and how AOP’s evolution into a successful media and advisory company has challenged and strengthened Philip’s own leadership skills along the way.  Philip shares his insights with Mark on what it takes to succeed as an entrepreneur and how resilience, continuous learning, and embracing change are essential to that success.  Highlights from the episode include:  How a rocky entry into the procurement profession was buoyed by his passion for travel and learning about new cultures Recounting the evolution of Art of Procurement from its early days of content creation to the most successful, longest-running podcast in the industry, along with a growing advisory and consulting arm that connects practitioners with subject matter experts The essential skills that have helped Art of Procurement achieve success, including forward-thinking, relationship building, understanding ROI versus just cost, and resilience in the face of challenges.  Links: Subscribe to This Week in Procurement Mark Holyoake on LinkedIn Philip Ideson on LinkedIn AOP Episode 001: Welcome to the Art of Procurement, with Philip Ideson The Journey to 1 Million Downloads of the Art of Procurement Podcast w/ Philip Ideson and Kelly Barner