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As impacts from the war with Iran become more evident around the world, and more serious, we dive into how one highly experienced supply chain manager is managing the disruption. Hint, planning is key, but existing relationships (or lack thereof) with suppliers can play a significant role in your response.

Jeff Zudock, a veteran of ExxonMobil and an expert in supply chain management and troubleshooting, shares his insight into how companies are handling this emerging crisis. More product shortages are likely in the coming months as material storage is drawn down and not replenished. What can you do about it? Jeff offers up his perspective for VPs and senior managers working these critical issues.

We talk about why the Iran conflict is not just an “oil story,” but a transportation and capacity story, where vessels get trapped, lead times stretch, and costs surge even when material still exists somewhere in the world. Jeff explains how modern global supply chains depend on invisible feedstocks like methanol and other industrial chemicals, and why some specialized fuel additives are made by only a handful of producers across limited regions.

From there, we zoom out to the management systems behind the scenes: just-in-time inventory, minimal safety stock, and the harsh math of rebalancing supply across oceans, rail, and truck when ships and containers are out of position. Jeff shares a practical crisis management approach for procurement leaders: map your gaps, set trigger points, segment customers, communicate early and often with suppliers, and empower the people closest to the work to run tactical solutions while leadership steers the longer-term plan.

If you want a clearer view of supply chain risk, procurement strategy, and business continuity planning under real pressure, listen now. Subscribe, share this with a colleague, and leave a review: what part of your supply chain would break first?

Reach Jeff Zudock on LinkedIn here.

#supplychain #iranwar #crisismanagement #procurement

We'd love to hear from you. Email the show at Tom@leadinginacrisis.com.

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Supply chain disruptions, like those we're seeing now around energy supplies from the Persian Gulf, can cause long-term business and profitability impacts. Leadership skills in those tense situations can make or break a company's response to these unforeseen events. Jeff Zudock, a 35-year veteran of ExxonMobil and an expert in commercial and supply chain management, joins us to share his insights around managing a major supply disruption. Jeff shares with us details of a major incident that he worked at Exxon and the cascading series of challenges that leadership faced navigating the unexpected outage.

The stakes are high when raw materials go in short supply, and quick action is needed to avert losses that can quickly reach millions of dollars per day if manufacturing facilities are idled owing to a kink in the supply chain.

You'll hear Jeff discuss leadership principles that help guide him when leading a crisis team, and he also offers insight into best practices to avoid supply chain disruptions.

This episode originally aired in November 2023.

#supplychain #supplychaincrisis #crisis #crisiscommunications

We'd love to hear from you. Email the show at Tom@leadinginacrisis.com.

Send us Fan Mail

Twelve tons of Kit Kat bars get stolen, and suddenly the internet is doing what it does best: turning a real-world incident into a meme factory. We dig into why that kind of viral corporate humor can be a smart PR play in the right context, and why it can also become reputation roulette when the facts change. I’m joined by Natalie Gibson, founder and CEO of Songue PR, to talk about where the “fun” ends, how to think about risk, and what crisis communication looks like when everyone online is a commentator.

From the Kit Kat tracker to brand pile-ons, we look at how social media narratives form in minutes and how quickly a light story can turn serious. We also talk about a bigger concern: memes can desensitize audiences, especially when the same formats get used around geopolitics and violent events. That shift matters for crisis management, because tone is no longer just a creative choice, it’s part of how people process harm, responsibility, and trust.

We then jump into the burger wars and the surprising power of one CEO bite on camera. Natalie shares how to define leadership persona, how to coach executives for viral moments, and when a follow-up response helps versus when it makes things worse. Finally, we get practical about social listening and media monitoring across platforms, why no single tool is enough, and how rumor control and misinformation response have become central to modern crisis communications.

Reach Natalee Gibson at Songuepr.com

We'd love to hear from you. Email the show at Tom@leadinginacrisis.com.