A risk-averse mindset would never have landed us on the Moon during the heady days that followed John F. Kennedy’s directive in 1962 for the U.S. to “go to the Moon” by the end of that decade. I love to use story of how powerful Kennedy’s words were when I teach students and executives about […]
From the Blog
Think Right, Do Right, Add It Up Right!
I had a lively conversation with my good friend, colleague and co-author of The Vested Outsourcing Manual – Jacqui Crawford – who spouted off a wise quip I think is worth paying attention too. “Think right, do right, add it up right!” Those eight words contain a powerful message that’s embodied in the five rules […]
Needed: A “Getting to We” Negotiations Philosophy
If you are familiar with the Vested business model, you are probably aware of what we in the Vested universe actively promote as a What’s In It For We (WIIFWe) approach for developing and negotiating outsourcing contracts. A long time friend and expert in negotiations skills training – Jeanette Nyden – joined our UT faculty […]
Incentives the Wright Way
In my Vested books and speaking engagements I frequently cite the Wright brothers’ first contract as a great and early example of a win-win, outcome-based incentive plan. The challenge with any outcome-based plan is to understand the business at hand, align the parties’ interests and then clearly define and measure the results. The Wright brothers’ […]
Wells Fargo and Vested Ideas
Six leading outsourcing advisers have some interesting things to say about the current state of outsourcing, a good portion of them right in the Vested wheelhouse. Wells Fargo Securities recently issued its forecast for the outsourcing industry based on a conference call with outsourcing analysts at Alsbridge, Deloitte, Everest, HfS Research, KPMG and PwC. The […]
Outsourcing is No Longer “Out There”
Even as outsourcing becomes more and more mainstream confusion remains about its relationship to offshoring says Deloitte, the highly regarded tax, audit and financial consulting firm, in its latest survey on the topic. “The outsourcing market continues to confuse outsourcing with offshoring,” Deloitte says. “Many respondents still see the two processes as inseparable – even […]
Collaborative Outsourcing and Trust: A New Tack for MSPs
Charles Weaver, CEO of the MSP Alliance, last month wrote about a common problem that managed service providers encounter with their internal IT departments—“inherent suspicions” about the real motives of an MSP. “For as long as I can remember,” he says, “MSPs have struggled with how to disarm the threat of internal IT departments and […]
Reveal Intentions to Gain Trust
There are a couple of sides to trust and fostering trust, one being management competence—both operationally and politically—and another being character. Linda A. Hill and Kent Lineback, authors of Being the Boss: The 3 Imperatives for Becoming a Great Leader (HBR Press, 2011), have written about the trust aspects of leadership for the HBR Blog Network. […]
Buyer-Seller Chess Games Ultimately Don’t Work
In the ancient game of chess the object is to beat your opponent. A collaborative, trusting strategy has no place in this struggle for ultimate power and domination. Instead, players try to out-strategize and out-maneuver their opponent to get the “win.” It is very common for companies to use “strategic” approaches to win in the […]
Vested Implements Collaboration
I often comment about how outsource and supply chain companies talk the talk about “alignment,” “partnership,” “win-win,” “visibility” and “collaboration,” but often will fail to walk the walk on those terms once priorities or personnel shift, or the going gets tough. The Vested model requires true collaboration as the starting point for achieving all of […]
