“First, they ignore you, then they laugh at you, then they fight you, then you win.” The quote is attributed to Mahatma Gandhi, and I wanted to share it because I believe it is relevant to the Vested business model, and the way negotiations should go in a non-violent/nonconfrontational environment. The “ignore” part is the […]
From the Blog
Chess Masters and CDAs
If you are a self-proclaimed chess junkie you know there’s no such thing as a casual, friendly game of chess – for that try checkers! It can take years of practice and study to become even somewhat proficient at chess. Tournament players are exponentially better than chess players/fans, and Experts are beyond most tournament players. […]
Collaboration and Co-Creation
Collaboration is all the rage. As it should be. But far too many people and organizations can get demoralized when collaboration attempts seem forced or collaboration attempts produce less results than the hyped expectations. Why is this? I believe it is because far too many companies don’t get to real collaboration where co-creation is happening. […]
Learning is Hard; Un-learning is Harder!
We are all familiar with the old saying that once you learn how to ride a bike, you never forget it. And that’s good because there is basically one way to ride a bike, right? Well not necessarily – what if you were challenged to ride a bike that was geared so that the steering […]
Watching the Bee-Watcher
Vested Rule #5 tells us that our contract or business framework should embrace an Insight vs Oversight Governance Structure. Unfortunately, many organization believe that to be in control, they need to be controlling. The result? Micromanagement of your employees and suppliers! Micromanagement stems from a lack of trust and poor governance structures. If you trust […]
Working For vs. Working With
Does it bug you when you hear people say, “I work for xxxx…” or “xxxx works for me.” It does me! Shouldn’t it always be “I work with xxxx!” Here’s my take on “for” vs. “with”: We work for an idea or a principle – such as to achieve a cure for arthritis or cancer, for example, or a […]
The Rise of the Dinobots
For now, the human element is an essential part of negotiating collaborative and shared-value contract relationships.
Are You Dealing with Godzilla?
I wanted to share a few thoughts – or afterthoughts – after my previous blog that revisited the Gorilla and the Elephant. As I noted, many organizations can relate to and “see” gorillas and elephants in the midst of their own deals. Someone responded on this idea of gorillas and elephants, saying it was a […]
The Gorilla vs The Elephant (revisited)
Vested is all about avoiding the toxic conditions created by the 800-pound gorilla. A Vested approach thinks beyond the short-term bottom line, beyond immediate gratification at the expense of those you’re working with.
The Red Queen and Coevolution
“Now here, you see, it takes all the running you can do to keep in the same place.”
