Previously I posted on Stephen Johnson’s work about how innovations that are built on slow hunches, serendipity and having an attitude that embraces sliding doors that open new pathways is conducive to driving innovation. These posts brought to mind the evolution of the Vested business model itself and how it relates to a powerful quote […]
Kate Vitasek
SSON — July 2014
Next in the” Vitasek on Vested” series for SSON: Don’t Fall into the Activity Trap There are many “perverse incentives” in buyer-supplier relationships that can disrupt or even doom outsource relationships, but perhaps none of them are as perverse and downright dangerous as the one I call the Activity Trap… Published online on 22 July […]
Parallel Tracks to Innovation
Lately I’ve been thinking about the paths taken and not taken in business and life, the choices made, and how that impacts a company’s success. Last night I was watching Sliding Doors, a 1998 movie starring Gwyneth Paltrow and John Hannah. It is light romantic comedy/fantasy fare, but there’s a cleverly conceived message inside the fluffy story. […]
Outsource Magazine — July 2014
Avoid Buyer and Seller Remorse: Get What You Pay For Article by Kate Vitasek published 17 July 2014 online and in the magazine’s Summer 2014 digital edition. At some point a buyer and supplier will talk about pricing, maybe not right away – but it’s always the elephant in the room. Pricing is also potentially […]
Leave Space for Serendipity
In a recent post I wrote about Steven Johnson’s insights on innovation in his book, Where Good Ideas Come From: The Natural History of Innovation. I want to narrow in on his chapter on “Serendipity.” In it, Johnson says hunches and dreams have a place in the canon of great ideas and innovation. For example, Johnson […]
Information Week — July 2014
Suppliers Held Hostage To Procurement Platforms, Services Commentary by Kate Vitasek in IW’s Strategic CIO published 14 July 2014 Pricing models penalize suppliers for increasing their business with retail, other customers… link: http://www.informationweek.com/strategic-cio/executive-insights-and-innovation/suppliers-held-hostage-to-procurement-platforms-services/a/d-id/1297246
SSON — July 2014
Are You Embedding Perverse Incentives in Your Outsourcing Agreement? Article by Kate Vitasek posted on SSON 7 July 2014 Incentives are usually considered a good thing, right? They encourage engagement, investment, and innovation. Then why has the topic of “perverse incentives” gotten so much traction? For one thing, the economist Steven D. Levitt (and Stephen J. […]
Have Faith While Walking the Walk
We’re all on journeys both in our personal and business lives. It’s a cliché to say that life is a journey, but it’s also a basic truth. These thoughts come to mind after recently watching The Way, starring the wonderful Martin Sheen. The movie is an inspirational story about family, friends, and the challenges we […]
Outsource Magazine — July 2014
Avery W. Katz: Dealing with the Incomplete Contract Kate Vitasek’s monthly column/blog for Outsource Magazine. Published 4 July 2014. Avery W. Katz, professor of law at Columbia Law School, tackles the conundrum of “incomplete contracts.” The challenge? How can organisations fashion a contract that is both economically flexible enough for a business relationship to move […]
Avoiding the Dishonesty Germ
When Dan Ariely writes about the importance of “establishing rules that can safeguard ourselves from ourselves,” I immediately think about how resonant that thought is with the Vested mindset. After all, Vested’s Five Rules are designed to transform business relationships and provide effective safeguards to counter the various ailments that can plague those relationships, such […]
