The thought might be a bit uncomfortable around tax time, or if you’re Donald Trump – but it’s also true on a very basic level. If you have nothing to hide, why do you do it? Image: Hiding by Dave Bowen via Flickr CC
From the Blog
Get in Gear for your Everests
April marks the beginning of the season for climbers to tackle the biggest of all climbs – a Mt. Everest expedition. The Himalayan Times reported the first batch of climbers for the 2017 climb starting on March 27th. It is predicted that more than 500 foreign climbers are expected to attempt to scale the world’s highest peak […]
Procurement Think Tanks Join Forces to Introduce Palambridge
Palambridge is the brainchild of Philip Ideson, who runs the Art of Procurement website that has produced a series of podcasts over the last year or so that feature interviews with procurement leaders (including one in which I talked about Sourcing Business Models.) His partner in this venture is Kelly Barner, the owner/director of Buyers Meeting Point, also a well-known […]
Change the People – or Change the People!
Often when I teach or talk about Vested and its implementation, I say, “Change the people or change the people.” For some that have never worked in a highly collaborative, win-win relationship founded on transparency and trust, it can even be a leap of faith that is difficult to embrace fully. Two Harvard Business School […]
Adopt a “Two-in-a-Box” Partner for Efficient Outsourcing Governance
Supplier Relationship Management (SRM) is all the rage and for a good reason. Far too many “strategic” contracts have been developed (especially outsourcing contracts) that do not include sound SRM practices. It’s good to see that virtually all of the major advisory firms are now incorporating solid governance frameworks into their contracts. Software companies are […]
Into the Lists
This is the time of year when lists abound, usually featuring the numbers 7 or 10: The ten best articles of the previous year, the top seven trends that will shape the future of the coming year – it’s a time-honored tradition that has only become more prevalent in the internet age. Lists are also […]
Christmas Stocking Stuffers
What are professionals with a Vested frame of mind looking for as they place their Christmas stocking on the fireplace mantle this year? Here are some of the items I hope Santa will seriously consider leaving for procurement, outsourcing and supply chain professionals to prepare them for the post-Brexit, new-Globalization, and Trump World eras: A […]
The 10 Procurement Sins
Philip Ideson, who runs the Art of Procurement website and does a weekly podcast on procurement issues, recently looked back at some old Art of Procurement episodes and came up with a list of the 10 “sins of procurement.” He notes, “There are a lot more than 10! However, I had to stop somewhere! These […]
Master Services Agreement? Or Master-Slave Agreement?
Master Services Agreements: love ‘em? hate ‘em? The intent of an MSA is a good thing as it helps foster a more strategic relationship by typically creating a contracting vehicle where additional work can be flexibly added. In short, it sets out the legal “rules” of the relationship. However (and unfortunately) all too often the road […]
The Power of Ts and Cs – Squared
At the International Association for Contract and Commercial Management (IACCM) conference last week a speaker mentioned that the contracting community needs to rethink standard contract Terms and Conditions—or Ts and Cs. He challenged the group think about “squaring” them to include Trust and Collaboration, as in T2 and C2. Why? Because contracting remains stuck in the […]
