In this episode of Supply Chain Now, Scott Luton sits down with Billy Ray Taylor, CEO and President of LinkedXL, to explore the foundational principles behind high-performing supply chain organizations. Drawing on his decades of leadership at Goodyear and his work with industry teams today, Billy Ray shares how speed, clarity, and connected systems drive real, measurable change.

He breaks down five timeless yet urgent considerations for modern leadership—from rethinking KPIs as KPAs, to cultivating ownership and alignment across the organization, to architecting operating systems that empower people at every level. As Billy Ray says, “Speed is the currency of leadership”—and in today’s rapidly evolving world, it’s not just a competitive edge, it’s a necessity.

Jump into the conversation:

(00:00) Intro

(03:59) Billy Ray's career journey at Goodyear

(07:05) Key lessons from turnarounds

(10:52) Current endeavors and LinkedXL

(15:48) The importance of execution over strategy

(19:06) Speed of execution as the new competitive advantage

(22:08) The double-edged sword of modern business

(22:59) Customer loyalty and speed

(23:38) The role of clarity and ownership

(28:15) Leadership presence in the digital era

(35:01) The connected business model

Additional Links & Resources: 

• Connect with Billy Ray Taylor: https://www.linkedin.com/in/billyrtaylor/ 
• Learn more about LinkedXL: https://www.linkedxl.com 
• Learn more about Supply Chain Now: https://supplychainnow.com 
• Watch and listen to more Supply Chain Now episodes here: https://supplychainnow.com/program/supply-chain-now  
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• WEBINAR- Supply Chain Orchestration with SAP: https://bit.ly/4jFJn9q
• WEBINAR- In Chaos We Create: Bridging the Critical Raw Materials Gap Through Strategic Convergence: https://bit.ly/459BzIQ
• WEBINAR- When to Walk Away from Warehouse AI - and When to Go All In: https://bit.ly/4dFgCYq

This episode was hosted by Scott Luton and produced by Trisha Cordes, Joshua Miranda, and Amanda Luton. For additional information, please visit our dedicated show page at: https://supplychainnow.com/five-key-driving-organizational-change-2025-1439