Last time, I talked about the need for collaborative innovation in strategic relationships that emerges from both inside and outside companies. At Procter & Gamble innovation has always been a prime imperative. That focus intensified in 2000, when A.G. Lafley took the helm as P&G’s CEO. He set out to reinvent the company’s innovation business […]
Kate Vitasek
Outsource Magazine — October 2013
Getting to We: Time for a New Negotiating Paradigm Column/blog by Kate Vitasek, Jeanette Nyden and David Frydlinger If your recent experiences with new or renewal contract negotiations are something akin to visiting the dentist for a root canal, we’d like to introduce you to a much better – and pain-free! – way to go […]
Innovate Your Innovation Strategy (Part I)
I think of innovation as a big potluck gathering: you know, where everyone brings their favorite—and best—dish. The more scrumptious and imaginative the dishes that are brought to the table, the better and more successful the potluck! It’s the same with innovation. The best and most durable innovations come when everyone attends the party, bringing […]
General Mills, Suppliers, Innovation Strategy and the Power of We
Some interesting and encouraging insights regarding the company-supplier interface came out of the recent General Mills 2013 Supplier Summit where Tim Coats, vice president of Worldwide Sourcing for General Mills, kicked off the spring event by sharing his belief in “The Power of We” with a theme of Connect, Create, Elevate! Maerenn Jepsen, an external […]
RVCF Link – September 2013
Five and Ten: Five Rules and Ten Steps for a Successful Supplier Contract Article on the Five Rules and 10 Elements by Kate Vitasek and Joe Tillman. Alignment, communication and collaboration are crucial for an effective buyer-supplier retail value chain. That’s easy to say, not necessarily easy to accomplish… Here’s the link: https://www.rvcf.com/page/RVCF_LINK_13_09_02/?
Is Your Goal Hairy and Audacious?
Do you have a BHAG? Or several? If you or your company don’t have a “big hairy audacious goal” perhaps it is time to find one and get to work on it. Or maybe you simply need to prioritize from that long wish list of corporate goals and recognize one or two as your BHAG. […]
Logistics & Supply Chain World — September 2013
5 Steps to improving your outsourcing relationships Article by Andrew Downard and Kate Vitasek in the September 2013 issue of Logistics & Supply Chain World Magazine, which is published in India. The article begins on page 5. Here is the link: http://www.kamikaze.co.in/september_issue%202013.pdf
Outsource Magazine — September 2013
Dyer and Singh: The relational view for alliances and alignment Column/blog by Kate Vitasek published on September 6. This month Academics of Outsourcing highlight goes to professors Jeffrey H. Dyer and Harbir Singh for their influential work on the topic on what they call the “relational view,” of working in highly strategic alliances… Here’s the […]
CH2M Hill’s Run as a Top Environmental Firm Began with Rocky Flats
When I saw that CH2M Hill is the top U.S. environmental firm, according to Engineering News-Record’s Top 200 Environmental Firms list, I had to smile. Not that I was surprised in the least, but because it confirmed what I already knew about the company, given its history with the Rocky Flats Nuclear Production facility. What […]
Taking Stock of Getting to We
Earlier this month I had the opportunity and great privilege to chat briefly with Pimm Fox on Bloomberg Radio’s Taking Stock program about the publication of our latest Vested book, Getting to We. To say that I’m enthusiastic about this book and its paradigm-shifting approach to the process of negotiating agreements is a distinct understatement. […]
