The Vested Executive Education course is a crash course on the why, what and how of Vested and is ideal for potential champions of a Vested agreement who want to immerse themselves in the fundamentals of Vested. This highly interactive course provides an intimate Executive Education setting, enabling participants to challenge the Vested faculty with their questions and barriers. The course is offered both as an open enrollment course in key cities around the world and is also available as a private course where UT Faculty members will come to your location.

The program kicks off with participants taking the Five Rules online course (provided free for enrollees – a $495 value) where they learn the basics of Vested before they ever enter the classroom. In addition, attendees are asked to come to the course having done a self-assessment on an existing relationship to increase the impact of the learning. Participants participate in RealPlay® exercises over the three days where they learn how Vested will change the game of how they work with potential business partners. It is common for executives and leaders in charge of strategic business relationships for their organization to attend the course with a business partner. Group rates and private breakout rooms are provided for organizations bringing a team.

Participants leave with a solid understanding and resources for applying Vested in your business.

What’s in It for You?

• Work through five essential questions you need to know before moving to the implementation phase where you will create a Vested agreement with a business partner.
• Understand the fundamental business model differences between traditional approaches to business relationships and Vested relationships. As part of the course you will get hands-on practice completing a Business Model Map critical to determine if Vested is right for your situation.
• Develop an appreciation for the power of having a Vested mindset and learn from the case studies of progressive companies to create win-win relationships.
• Learn tips, tricks and tools for enabling more trust in your business relationship.
• Get hands-on experience with RealPlay® exercises, applying some of the most popular Vested tools during the course.
• Leave with access to soft copies of over 50 tools and resources that will help you kickstart your Vested journey.
• Network with others also considering or are already on a Vested journey. The course creates an intimate setting where attendees learn from each other. Attendees can opt to join a more formal network for continued learning after the course ends.

Enrollment

The University of Tennessee offers the Vested Executive Education course in both open enrollment, virtual, and private/customized options.

Winter 2025 Class Sessions are Open for Registration!  

The winter course offering is delivered as an in-person virtual course delivered over Zoom and consists of 5 virtual sessions

Dates: January 23, 30, February 4, 13 and 20

Times: Classes start at 9am Eastern / 3pm CET and each session lasts for four hours

Tuition: $2,975; $1,487.50 if repeating the course. Group pricing is available with 15% discount for a group of three or more.

Download the course brochure to learn more.

Please contact Mike Watts ([email protected]) for registration assistance.

Spring Course Dates will announced March 1, 2025

Private/Customized Course Options:

The private course option is ideal if you have over 15 people. The course format can also be customized (no additional charge) to meet your unique needs. For example:

• A buyer and supplier had a long-standing – but transactional – relationship. The parties used the 3-Day Executive Education to help them decide if Vested was a good fit for their relationship.
• A buying organization wanted to explore if Vested was a good fit in five spend categories. The company created five “teams” around each spend category to explore if Vested was a good fit for each situation.
• A supplier was down-selected as part of the Request for Partner process for a large IT outsourcing deal. The buyer’s intended to enter into a Vested agreement as part of their RFP process. The supplier used the course as a launching pad for getting their entire deal team up to speed on the why, what and how of Vested. The knowledge allowed gave the deal team the knowledge and confidence to customize their solution to follow the Vested Five Rules.
• A buying Organization selected two suppliers who would both become strategic partners as part of a large, complex outsourcing deal. The course included team members from the buying organization and both suppliers who would be going through the contracting phase.

FAQ

“HOW MUCH TIME DOES IT TAKE TO DO THE PRE-WORK?”
The pre-work consists of ten self-paced online modules. Plan on spending 7 hours to complete the pre-work. The pre-work can be accessed anywhere in the world with an internet connection. You will get access to the pre-work after you registered. Attendees typically start the pre-work 2-3 weeks before the course start date.

“I NEED HELP REGISTERING”
Reach out Mike Watts – program Chief of Staff – who can answer questions and provide personalized help in getting registered. Mike can be reached at [email protected].

“CAN MY COMPANY PAY FOR THE COURSE WITH A PURCHASE ORDER”
Most individuals simply pay for the open enrollment course with a credit card. However, we can arrange for you to pay via a Purchase Order. Please Reach out Mike Watts – program Chief of Staff – who can answer questions so UT can properly invoice you. [email protected].

“HOW MUCH DOES A PRIVATE COURSE COST?”
The breakeven cost is typically 15 people, but it depends on the location and hosting arrangements. Customization – if any – is typically included in the cost and is provided as a value-added service. Mike Watts – program Chief of Staff – can work with you to give you a firm cost for a private course for your situation. We are also happy to have a planning session to understand your customization needs.

“THE DETAILS OF OUR RELATIONSHIP AND CONTRACT ARE CONFIDENTIAL. HOW CAN YOU ENSURE CONFIDENTIALITY DURING OPEN ENROLLMENT REALPLAY® SESSIONS?”
We provide private breakout rooms for attendees where they can confidentially discuss and apply the RealPlay® exercises to their situation. We do encourage attendees to ask faculty members questions to enhance their learning. In some cases, you may consider these questions confidential. Faculty members can sign an NDA before the course starts if desired.