12 ailments of outsourcing CRE: What they are and how to prevent them Corporate Real Estate Journal — article by Kate Vitasek and Michele Flynn. Here is a link to CREJ: https://www.henrystewartpublications.com/crej/forthcoming
12 Ailments
Paying the Piper
The old saying goes, “He who pays the piper calls the tune.” The adage dates back to medieval times and emphasizes the fact that the person paying someone to do something decides how that something gets done. Paying the Piper makes a great deal of sense in transactional deals; if Company A is footing the bill, shouldn’t it call the shots? […]
In This Case the Mask is Way Better
Congratulations to the Chicago Blackhawks and their thrilling Stanley Cup victory last week, their third in six years. It made me think of a great story that Robert Martichenko, CEO of LeanCor, told me recently about hockey masks and the history and evolution of the goalie mask. Not so long ago it was considered a […]
John Ruskin and Penny Wise and Pound Foolish
My friend and colleague Andrew Downard sent along a quote from the 19th century English artist, critic, socialist, and philanthropist John Ruskin in The Common Law of Business Balance that resonates incredibly well with Ailment #1 and the danger of being Penny Wise and Pound Foolish and focusing only on price. The quote attributed to […]
Do Your Sales Reps Suffer From “Deal Heat”?
The urge to close the deal and move on to the next one—no matter how disadvantageous—is a common situation that I somewhat jokingly refer to as “Deal Heat.” Basically sales reps are so hot to close a deal, perhaps after a long negotiation with a really big new client, that they don’t see the big picture. […]
Do You Know a Pit-bull of Procurement?
You probably have come across someone that I call the “pit-bull of procurement” – basically, that’s the person with a severe case of the Penny Wise and Pound Foolish ailment, making decisions based only on costs, the quick fix and the short term bottom line. The pit-bull is a major contributor to an organization’s optimization […]
12 Ailments Series – Introduction
Is your business relationship ailing – or worse on its deathbed? Several of us on the Vested faculty were practitioners before joining the academic community, and we know that sinking feeling of having worked so hard to find the perfect partner only to see frustration kick-in is as that “partner” seems to forget all about leveraging […]
You Can’t Drive Your Car with Your Rear View Mirror
While safe driving tips usually say you should check your mirrors frequently, there’s a good reason why the rear-view mirror covers only three percent of the size of your windshield: if it is too large it’s a distraction that obscures the view ahead. If this is such good advice why do so many companies spend […]
Beware Strategic Drift—it’s Ailment No. 12
Even the seemingly most well-crafted contracts and business relationships can suffer from a common but dangerous ailment that I call Strategic Drift. Strategic drift occurs when buyers and suppliers don’t work to maintain their relationship, or put in the work needed to keep abreast and update their strategic priorities as business happens. I’ve witnessed Strategic […]
High-level collaboration and micromanagement don’t mix
Ever wonder why your collaboration effort has stalled out? Or why your supplier is lacking innovation? I’d hypothesize it might be micromanagement. In fact, micromanagement lurks at the heart of several of the most common ailments that plague or destroy business relationships, including the Outsourcing Paradox, the Activity Trap, Measurement Minutiae, and the Junkyard Dog Factor. Jessica Marie’s article on LinkedIn’s […]