I’ve been reading Susan Scott’s Fierce Conversations, which I find is a practical, insightful and life-affirming guide for achieving success in life and work—“one conversation at a time.” I feel a certain kinship with Scott, though I don’t know her personally. For one thing she was raised in Tennessee and now lives in Seattle. She […]
Kate Vitasek
HFS Resource Business Transformation Center – April 2014
Beyond Gainsharing: Understanding Different Economic Models/ Incentives in Outsourcing Agreements (Vested) Article by Kate Vitasek and Astrid Uka, published 17 April 2014. It’s time to look beyond gainsharing when thinking about collaborative business and outsourcing relationships… Here’s the link: http://bpo.horsesforsources.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/04/HFS_BPO_gainshare-article_UniversityTennessee.pdf
Navigate the Priceberg
In an article this month for Material Handling & Logistics Magazine, I reiterated a point I frequently make, that is, outsourcing and off-shoring are not interchangeable terms and the decision to outsource does not automatically mean that jobs are lost to another country. In the article, “Don’t Re-Shore the Priceberg” I note that the decision […]
Paying for Performance in the Legal Profession
About one year ago I wrote about a common problem in the legal profession—overbilling—as a prime example of the Activity Trap. It was a frightening example of “billable hours” gone bad and becoming a perverse incentive at a major law firm. So I was really pleased to read an article in the ABA Journal about […]
Material Handling & Logistics Magazine – April 2014
Don’t Re-shore a Priceberg Article by Kate Vitasek in the April 2014 edition of Material Handling and Logistics. Before deciding to re-shore business or suppliers look beneath the surface at the costs involved… Here’s the link: http://viewer.zmags.com/publication/d5adc33c#/d5adc33c/16
CEO Briefing Newsletter – 6 April 2014
Five Rules How CEOs Can Redefine Winning with Strategic Suppliers Article by Kate Vitasek published on April 6, 2014. Here’s the link: http://chiefexecutive.net/five-rules-how-ceos-can-redefine-winning-with-strategic-suppliers#sthash.a5ao7gle.dpuf The University of Tennessee set out to research some of the world’s most successful strategic partnerships—including those at P&G, McDonald’s and Microsoft—to see how and why these relationships added value. The research identified […]
Getting What You Pay For
Whether you’re at the shopping mall or negotiating a contract, there’s no truer saying than “you get what you pay for.” But even more important are some related questions, like “Do you really know what you are paying for?” and “Do you know why and how you are paying for what you are getting?” That’s […]
Going “All-In” on Innovation
If you are taking a low-risk approach when it comes to innovation, you may not be doing much innovation that’s truly worthwhile. It’s an interesting take on innovation – and one that was shared in this Industry Week article, “Innovation: The High Cost of Low Risk.” The article takes the stance that “not all innovation […]
Outsource Magazine — March 2014
Churchman, Rittel and Webber: The “Wicked” Problem Monthly column in Outsource Magazine by Kate Vitasek published 27 March 2014. Also published in OM’s Spring 2014 edition #35. Do you have one of those really tough business problems that seems to plague you? No matter what you try, nothing seems to solve the problem?… Here’s the […]
Driving Change in a Procurement Organization
In my last blog, I noted that change is never easy. Attempting to drive change in a procurement organization is no different. Mickey North Rizza, VP of Strategic Services at BravoSolution, recently outlined the challenges in a Procurement Leaders blog post, “Five Reasons Why Procurement Transformation Fails.” “Procurement processes have stayed the same for years […]
