By Jon Hansen | Procurement Insights | January 2026
In 2014, I wrote a piece called Buyers Need Not Apply — a reflection on the reality that not every procurement professional would make the transition into what the function was becoming. The same principle applies today, but the stakes are higher.
The Hansen Fit Score isn’t for everyone. And that’s by design.
Over the past several weeks, two practitioners engaged with our work. Both were intelligent. Both held senior roles. Both understood the logic of readiness-first transformation. But only one will become a client.
Here’s why.
The Differences Between Practitioners We Will Work With and Those We Will Not
Practitioner A: The Practitioner We Work With Optimizing for Getting It Right
- Engagement: Asks questions to understand how to act
- Response to Difficult Truths: Wrestles with implications
- Relationship to Failure Data: Sees patterns as warnings to heed
- Risk Posture: Willing to advocate internally
- Investment of Self: Puts skin in the game
- View of Readiness: Something to be built before action
- Relationship to the Torrent: Wants to know where to step
- When Offered Structured Engagement: Asks how to make it happen
- Underlying Belief: Failure is preventable
Practitioner B: The Practitioner We Decline Optimizing for Not Getting It Wrong
- Engagement: Comments to signal familiarity without commitment
- Response to Difficult Truths: Rationalizes inevitability
- Relationship to Failure Data: Sees patterns as things that happen to others
- Risk Posture: Cites obstacles as conclusions
- Investment of Self: Keeps distance while staying adjacent
- View of Readiness: Something to be managed after adoption
- Relationship to the Torrent: Assumes they’ll be swept along anyway
- When Offered Structured Engagement: Reports why it can’t happen
- Underlying Belief: Failure is inevitable — just don’t be blamed for it
Why This Matters
We work with Practitioner A — not because they’re smarter, more senior, or better resourced, but because they’re oriented toward action.
Practitioner B isn’t wrong. They’re navigating real constraints, real politics, real organizational inertia. But the Hansen Method requires something they’re not willing to give: a commitment to clarity before the decision is made.
The Fit Score doesn’t measure intelligence or experience. It measures whether an organization — and the people leading it — are ready to hear what readiness actually requires.
Some are. Most aren’t.
We’d rather work with the few who are than spend our time educating the many who will nod, agree, and do nothing.
If you’re wondering whether you qualify — you probably already know the answer.
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Procurement Insights
Do You Qualify For The Hansen Fit Score?
Posted on January 21, 2026
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By Jon Hansen | Procurement Insights | January 2026
In 2014, I wrote a piece called Buyers Need Not Apply — a reflection on the reality that not every procurement professional would make the transition into what the function was becoming. The same principle applies today, but the stakes are higher.
The Hansen Fit Score isn’t for everyone. And that’s by design.
Over the past several weeks, two practitioners engaged with our work. Both were intelligent. Both held senior roles. Both understood the logic of readiness-first transformation. But only one will become a client.
Here’s why.
The Differences Between Practitioners We Will Work With and Those We Will Not
Practitioner A: The Practitioner We Work With Optimizing for Getting It Right
Practitioner B: The Practitioner We Decline Optimizing for Not Getting It Wrong
Why This Matters
We work with Practitioner A — not because they’re smarter, more senior, or better resourced, but because they’re oriented toward action.
Practitioner B isn’t wrong. They’re navigating real constraints, real politics, real organizational inertia. But the Hansen Method requires something they’re not willing to give: a commitment to clarity before the decision is made.
The Fit Score doesn’t measure intelligence or experience. It measures whether an organization — and the people leading it — are ready to hear what readiness actually requires.
Some are. Most aren’t.
We’d rather work with the few who are than spend our time educating the many who will nod, agree, and do nothing.
If you’re wondering whether you qualify — you probably already know the answer.
-30-
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