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 […]
contract terms
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 […]
What do the 2016 Nobel Prize winners in economics teach us about Vested and alternative Sourcing Business Models? – Pt 1
This post was written by David Frydlinger, Kate Vitasek and Henrik Järleskog. On October 10th we learned that the 2016 Nobel Prize in economic science was awarded to professors Bengt Holmström (MIT) and Oliver Hart (Harvard) for their work in contract theory. This Nobel Prize is of great practical importance in daily business. For […]
Forbes — 26 September 2016 — Guardrails
Flip Your Negotiation On Its Head: Demand ‘Guardrails’ Upfront Articles by Kate Vitasek published by Forbes on 26 September 2016. How often does this scenario occur during contract negotiations? The parties are inches away from closing the deal or signing the contract when the legal and/or financial department jumps into the fray. You are in […]
It’s All Personal!
It’s time to bury that old excuse for bad or questionable behavior in business – you know, the one where the executive “kindly” remarks after stepping all over someone, “It’s not personal, it’s just business.” At the International Association of Outsourcing Professionals (IAOP) conference this week I was sitting in on a session on negotiation […]
Forbes – 12 November 2015
Contract Terms Remain Stuck On Old-School Negotiating Tactics Article by Kate Vitasek published by Forbes on 12 November 2015. Add to the list of things that never seem to change are the go-to terms that contract negotiators always put first… Here’s the link: http://www.forbes.com/sites/katevitasek/2015/11/12/contract-terms-remain-stuck-on-old-school-negotiating-tactics/
An Oldie but Goodie: The Service Contract Manifesto
I ran across this great blog declaring the need for a Service Contract Manifesto. It’s a bit old (2008) but very good. The manifesto is a “declaration of customer-contractor interdependence.” In simple words it lays out some highly Vested conclusions: that “both sides want more,” and that both the buyer and the service provider “recognize the need for […]
Forbes — May 2015
Driving Integrity: Relational Contracting On The Rise Article by Kate Vitasek published by Forbes on 20 May 2015. Here’s the link: http://www.forbes.com/sites/katevitasek/2015/05/20/driving-integrity-relational-contracting-on-the-rise/
Forbes – May 2015
Courts Rule For Ethics And Honesty In Contracting Article by Kate Vitasek published by Forbes on 11 May 2015. Here’s the link: http://www.forbes.com/sites/katevitasek/2015/05/11/courts-rule-for-ethics-and-honesty-in-contracting/
Forbes — March 2015
Procurement Departments Negotiating ‘Too Aggressively’ Article by Kate Vitasek published by Forbes on 3 March 2015. Link: http://www.forbes.com/sites/katevitasek/2015/03/03/procurement-departments-negotiating-too-aggressively/
