You may have heard the fable of the scorpion and the frog, which has some very definite lessons about trust, collaboration, self-interest and the basic nature of humans. This fable provides a wise lesson for those in the outsourcing business as well. In the story, a scorpion needs to cross a river but wonders how he […]
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Consider the Outsourcing “Not” List
Most people in this industry, me included, tend to write about what outsourcing is, or should be. That’s a natural and normal approach, especially as we develop concepts and systems and the right way to outsource—such as (ahem) the Vested Outsourcing way! But sometimes looking through the other end of the lens can bring a […]
Outsourcing, Trust and Stewardship Delegation
Sometimes it is worthwhile to go back to the future—especially when it comes to pulling Stephen R. Covey’s, The 7 habits of Highly Effective People, off the shelf for a quick review. Covey’s classic bestseller on personal effectiveness, published in 1989, has huge lessons for business and leadership effectiveness; it also has great resonance for […]
Lawyers Who “Get” the True Nature of Outsourcing
Last time I talked about two lawyers who “get” outsourcing deals as much more than a legal exercise to reduce costs, mitigate liability and avoid risks. With today’s post I’ll follow up with some thoughts on three more, Jeanette Nyden, George Kimball and Jim Groton, and how they also understand the importance of using the […]
Lawyers Who “Get” Outsourcing as a Partnership
It’s really refreshing when lawyers understand outsourcing as much more than a cost reduction and risk avoidance exercise. This is an important point to ponder as The Vested Outsourcing Manual hits the bookstores this week, because it has extensive guidance about the priorities that attorneys for companies and service providers should bring to modern outsource […]
Outsourcing T&Cs Can Cost You!
The old adage about being careful what you ask for applies to contract terms and conditions in spades: you may think you are properly protecting an outsourcing arrangement and insulating it from risk, but the flip side is that numerous T&Cs mean more costs that eat away at profits. Copious, onerous and (often) unnecessary T&Cs […]
Outsourcing: Collaboration is More Than a State of Mind
The true test of collaboration occurs when you really have to collaborate, say during a crisis or when the powers that be ask you to do more or to do something radically different. In short collaboration is a nice word but it’s only truly effective and real when what you’re collaborating on is difficult, uncomfortable […]
Spend Outsourcing Time on Outcomes, Not SLAs
If you’ve been involved with outsourcing long enough, and if you’ve paid attention to the basic message of Vested Outsourcing, then then you probably know that service level agreements—SLAs—are somewhat lacking when it comes to forging collaborative and transformative relationships. That’s mainly because task-oriented SLAs generally are too one-sided in favor of the company outsourcing. […]
University of Tennessee/Vested Recognized for Academic Advancement
Recognition for groundbreaking work from the peers in our industry, namely from the Supply Chain Council this week, is both a wonderful honor and also great challenge. SCC announced the winners of the 2011 North American Supply Chain Excellence Awards at the annual Supply Chain World conference in Baltimore. There are three award categories, operational […]
Tap into the Power of And By Avoiding Either/Or
In outsourcing and in the business world the mind-set regarding ideas and innovation is often too full of ‘buts’ and ‘either/ors.’ Vested Outsourcing’s collaborative approach to driving supplier innovation and flexibility depends on inclusiveness and eliminating the either/or. Filippo Passerini, P&G‘s CIO and president of Global Business Services, is a big proponent of avoiding the […]
