Vested

Based on research with…

Don’t just learn Vested®. Achieve the impossible.

Every workshop is customized to your team, your relationship, and your barriers. Shift from what’s in it for Me to what’s in it for We, put the Vested Five Rules to work on your own situation, and leave the room with decisions made and deliverables started.

Reserve Time with Kate Browse Workshop Topics

REALPLAY®

Created by Kate Vitasek, RealPlay takes role playing to the next level. Instead of working assigned roles, your team applies each concept immediately to your own situation, creating tangible decisions essential for a Vested relationship.

Built around you

Kate customizes every workshop to your unique needs, or connects you with a regional Vested Center of Excellence for larger initiatives.

Combine and extend

All topics can be mixed and matched into longer sessions. Pair an assessment with a deep dive for a full day of momentum.

Grounded in research

Every session draws on University of Tennessee research and a rich case study library of real companies creating win win relationships.

Custom workshops and strategic events

Kate also partners with organizations on fully customized experiences, from customer summits and sales kickoffs to leadership offsites and relationship resets. Open each area to see how recent clients have put them to work.

Kate partners with organizations to create exclusive, high-value experiences that strengthen relationships with their most important customers and prospects. Some recent examples include:

“Kate’s insights on fostering win-win relationships by shifting from a WIIFMe to a WIIFWe mindset – along with her five rules for strategic partnerships – offered our participants practical tools for long-term success.”

Sanjay Vasudeven

Head of Key Client Management, Maersk

MAERSK Top 25 Customer Summit
Maersk invited its top 25 customers to an exclusive summit featuring a highly interactive discussion with Kate about her Vested Outsourcing research. Kate facilitated a RealPlay® session that enabled participants to explore how the concepts could be applied directly to their relationships with Maersk.

BORDER STATES Alliance Advisory Board
Border States, a $4 billion utility and energy-sector distributor, hosts an annual Alliance Advisory Board for 15 of its top utility clients to identify industry-wide challenges the company is uniquely positioned to help solve. For the past three years, Kate has served as the event’s recurring “edu-tainer,” weaving emerging supply chain trends and practical collaboration strategies into each year’s strategic theme.

UPS New Customer Event
UPS designed a full-day experience to introduce prospective customers to its integrated supply chain capabilities, including tours of UPS Worldport’s sorting and air-freight hub and specialized warehousing operations in Louisville. Kate engaged with customers throughout the day and delivered a customized dinner keynote focused on collaboration between the UPS Small Package and Supply Chain Solutions groups helping attendees see UPS not simply as a vendor, but as a strategic partner.

Kate creates high-energy, customized experiences that help sales teams and strategic partners strengthen relationships and shift from selling products to creating meaningful customer value. Through tailored keynotes, workshops, and interactive exercises, she equips participants with practical strategies they can immediately apply with customers, partners, and one another. Some recent examples include:

“Kate helped make our Asset Management conference a big success. Her presentation was forward thinking and thought provoking, and yet a practical and effective technique to negotiate in today’s diverse business environment. She truly energized the entire room with her passion for this well-researched topic. We were so pleased with Kate’s contribution that we booked her for our next event before she left this one.”

Dave Staples

VP of Services, SKF Group

United Air Cargo 250-Member Global Sales Team
With strategic accounts central to United Air Cargo’s success, Kate delivered a keynote for 250 global sales team members, followed by a half-day interactive workshop. Breakout teams translated the concepts into a practical “Three Things to Do on Monday” action plan for strengthening customer relationships creating high energy and immediate impact.

SKF Group Distributor Partner Event
SKF, a $9 billion Swedish industrial multinational and global leader in bearing and sealing technologies, hosted its distributor partners for a two-day event centered around a major NASCAR race. Kate delivered a customized keynote that connected directly to the event’s theme, then facilitated deep-dive working sessions that helped partners apply the insights to their own businesses before everyone capped off the experience at the race.

Kate creates customized leadership experiences that help teams align around strategic priorities, address barriers to collaboration, and translate big-picture goals into action. Combining research-based insights with candid discussion and interactive exercises, she helps leaders move beyond functional silos and leave with practical, shared commitments for advancing the organization. Here are some recent examples:

United Nations Procurement Leadership Workshop
Kate designed and facilitated a full-day workshop for the United Nations procurement team focused on strengthening collaboration with innovative suppliers to advance the UN’s Sustainable Development Goals. She opened with an inspiring case study, guided participants through a self-assessment of current procurement practices and concluded by helping the team co-create an actionable plan for the year ahead.

Software Company Annual Leadership Strategy Meeting
At a software company’s annual strategy meeting, the CEO convened the organization’s top 75 leaders to align around ambitious growth priorities and address functional silos that had emerged as the company scaled. Following the CEO’s morning presentations, Kate delivered a customized keynote and facilitated candid “Elephants in the Room” and “Barrier-Busting” sessions, enabling each function to leave with concrete plans to reduce silo thinking, strengthen collaboration, and support the company’s growth goals.

“Kate has the unique talent to make difficult concepts simple for the audience. After her session, the team was energized and enthusiastic about incorporating her methods into their work.”

Patricia Moser

Chief Procurement Officer, UNOPS

Kate creates customized supplier experiences that help organizations recognize the strategic importance of their supplier ecosystem while strengthening trust, transparency, and collaboration. Through tailored keynotes and interactive working sessions, she brings buyers and suppliers together to turn relationship-building principles into practical actions and shared commitments. Here are several recent events:

“Kate’s message could not have been any better.  She did a fantastic job of setting the stage and helping to start the discussion with our most strategic suppliers.  We all left super energized and with some clear ˜homework’ to help us improve our relationships.“

James Sipe

EVP of Supply Chain, Border States

Border States Top 50 Supplier Summit
Supply chain is the heartbeat of Border States, a $4 billion energy and utility distributor, making strong collaboration with its top 50 suppliers essential. Kate shared research on trading-partner trust, highlighted common trust gaps, and equipped Border States and its suppliers with practical tools to strengthen trust, transparency, and performance.

Husqvarna Supplier Program Launch
Recognizing that suppliers are critical to Husqvarna’s success, the Chief Procurement Officer engaged Kate to support a supplier event launching new programs designed to strengthen strategic relationships. In addition to delivering a customized keynote, Kate facilitated breakout sessions where category managers and supplier partners worked together to explore how to operationalize the new initiatives.

Kate designs customized workshops that help organizations build trust, transparency, and alignment essential for successful strategic partnerships. Using her proven Getting to We® methodology, she guides partners through candid, structured conversations that strengthen relationships, establish shared expectations, and create a practical foundation for working together. Here is a recent trust based workshop example:

“Kate’s RealPlay workshop really delivered! We created an amazing foundation for a new strategic partnership – 100% virtually.”

Todd Walthall

EVP & Chief Operating Officer Blue Shield California

Blue Shield of California Getting to We® Workshop Series
As Blue Shield of California sought to elevate an existing supplier relationship into a more strategic partnership, the organization recognized the need to first establish a stronger foundation. Kate designed and facilitated a customized Getting to We® workshop series that aligned the partners around shared intentions and expected behaviors resulting in significantly improved trust and a stronger platform for collaboration.

Kate helps organizations repair strained strategic relationships by creating a structured, neutral environment where stakeholders can address underlying tensions, rebuild trust, and redefine how they will work together. Her customized Alignment Workshops move partners beyond unproductive patterns and toward shared expectations, practical commitments, and a more collaborative path forward. Here is a recent successful reset workshop:

“It was very freeing to think that we could kind of ditch all of the negativity and old history and choose to go with the new in the space of six hours. It was a miracle.”

Dr. Jean Maskey

“There was a profound change, and we started working together on what our goals were.”

Dr. Ken Smith

Island Health Authority and South Island Hospitalist Association Three-Day Alignment Workshop
When the relationship between Island Health Authority and the South Island Hospitalist Association became trapped in a negative cycle of friction and frustration, Kate facilitated a three-day Alignment Workshop to help both parties reset and rethink their partnership. The result was a lasting transformation from a relationship described as “broken,” “distrustful,” and “strained” into one grounded in strength, collaboration, and trust.

Where is your team on the journey?

Filter by what you need right now. Most teams start by getting up to speed, assess where their relationship stands, then build and align around a Vested agreement.

  • 5 min – 1 hour presentation
    Get Up to Speed

    About the University of Tennessee Research

    Many organizations like to include a brief 5-10 minute overview about the University of Tennessee’s research into Vested and Sourcing Business Model theory. Typical questions are:

    • Which companies have applied Vested in X spend category?
    • Which companies have applied Vested in my industry?
    • Which companies participated in the research?

  • 1.5 day
    REALPLAY®
    Align and Launch

    Alignment Workshop

    An Alignment Exercise is ideal for helping organizations think about “what is next” for their relationship. Often Alignment workshops are combined with a Compatibility and Trust Assessment or a Deep Dive into How to Structure a Vested Agreement, where the team identifies structural flaws in their existing relationship that are holding them back or creating friction within the relationship.

  • 30 min – ??
    Get Up to Speed

    Ask the Expert Open Discussion/Dialogue

    Is your group curious? Lots of questions? An open discussion/dialogue session is ideal to:

    • Challenge the concept (“have you seen it work when…”)
    • Address key concerns (“what do we do if….”)
    • Brainstorm ideas (“what do you think about..”)

    Team members can use the University of Tennessee’s Vested Orientation or the Vested Five Rules online courses as pre-work for getting up to speed on Vested prior to the workshop and can submit questions in advance.

  • 1 – 2 Hours
    REALPLAY®
    Assess the Relationship

    Barrier-Busting Breakout Group Exercise

    Like the idea of Vested, but have lots of internal and external barriers preventing you from moving forward? This workshop topic is excellent for identifying “barriers” to implementing Vested. Larger groups are divided into smaller breakout groups to work through how they can overcome the top barriers.

  • 2 – 4 hours per spend category
    REALPLAY®
    Structure the Deal

    Business Models Mapping – In Practice

    Not sure if Vested is right for your situation? This interactive working session allows team members to create a Sourcing Business Model “map” which helps team members identify the most appropriate Sourcing Business Model for their situation. This exercise is ideal for real teams that have a real sourcing initiative. For existing supplier relationships, ideally, the buying organizations and their supplier complete the exercise together. The time is based on the number of attendees and the number of functions/companies completing the exercise (e.g., the buyer and supplier working on the same deal will take longer than just getting the buyer’s perspective).

  • 2 – 8 Hours
    REALPLAY®
    Assess the Relationship

    Compatibility and Trust (CaT) Assessment Workshop

    This workshop creates an open and transparent dialogue sure to kick-start a different discussion leading to a more transparent and trusting relationship. Teams complete an online and anonymous Compatibility and Trust survey prior to the workshop. The workshop shares the results and facilitates the group on how to align on gaps in trust, transparency, and compatibility—essential foundations for any successful relationship.

  • 2 – 6 hours
    Structure the Deal

    Deep Dive: How to Structure a Vested Agreement

    This workshop topic helps participants learn the 10 essential elements for structuring a Vested agreement. The session gives real examples of some of the best practices for closing gaps in each of the 10 contractual elements. This workshop provides an excellent platform for a full-day workshop when a team wants to get up to speed fast.

  • 2 – 6 Hours
    REALPLAY®
    Structure the Deal

    Deep Dive: How to Structure a Vested Agreement

    This workshop topic helps participants learn the 10 essential elements for structuring a Vested agreement. The session gives real examples of some of the best practices for closing gaps in each of the 10 contractual elements. This workshop provides an excellent platform for a full-day workshop when a team wants to get up to speed fast.

  • 2 – 8 hours
    Structure the Deal

    Deep Dive: Request for Partner

    Getting to a Vested agreement requires a more collaborative and transparent approach than used in a traditional Request for Proposal. This session provides an overview and discussion of how to change the lens of how you pick a partner, outlining a step-by-step approach for incorporating collaborative touch points with suppliers where potential partners develop a solution designed around the Vested Five Rules. We share a case study to show how Vancouver Coastal Health applied a collaborative “request for partner” process to enable Canada’s first-ever Vested deal. Some organizations choose an interactive RealPlay® session where the team develops the high-level roadmap for their RFP.

  • 60 – 90 minutes
    Get Up to Speed

    From Theory to Practice

    Want to go behind the scenes and see how organizations are putting the Vested theory into practice? Kate can tap into her rich case study library and share insights from how real companies are challenging conventional transactional approaches to create highly collaborative win-win relationships.

  • 1 – 4 HOURS
    REALPLAY®
    Assess the Relationship

    How Healthy Is Your Relationship?

    This RealPlay® interactive workshop allows team members to see firsthand how healthy a relationship is using the University of Tennessee’s “12 Ailments” assessment. Workshop duration depends on if the team does pre-work and how much of a deep dive they want to go into.

  • 75 min – 2 hours
    Get Up to Speed

    Interactive Game: Winning at the Game of Buying and Selling

    This interactive game is an excellent way for teams to physically “see” the pitfalls of traditional buyer-supplier relationships. Team members will learn firsthand the power of creating a true win-win buyer-supplier agreement. The game is an excellent addition to larger team meetings where organizations want to expose team members to the power of creating win-win relationships.

  • 30 Minutes – 2 Hours
    REALPLAY®
    Assess the Relationship

    Readiness RealPlay® Exercise

    Not sure if your organization is ready to make the shift to a Vested relationship? This interactive RealPlay® session allows your team to identify and discuss the six key “readiness” factors essential for moving forward. Workshop length depends on the level of pre-work done prior to the workshop.

  • 1 – 4 Hours
    REALPLAY®
    Align and Launch

    Roadmapping RealPlay® Exercise

    This workshop is ideal for those ready to get started adopting the Five Rules. This RealPlay® exercise will help your team develop a roadmap for how to close any gaps they have against the Five Rules. Many teams combine this workshop topic with the Deep Dive: How to Structure a Vested Agreement workshop.

  • 1 – 6 hours
    Structure the Deal

    Sourcing Business Model – In Theory

    Sourcing Business Model theory first emerged in 2011 when researchers at the University of Tennessee suggested that sourcing should be thought of as a “system” that created a “business model” between the buyer and supplier. In 2015, researchers released the book Strategic Sourcing in the New Economy: Harnessing the Potential of Sourcing Business Models for Modern Procurement detailing seven sourcing business models and how to craft them. The book has been widely endorsed and is now being adopted as “the gold standard” for teaching category segmentation by the Sourcing Industry Group and NEVI, the Dutch Association for Procurement. This session will provide an overview of Sourcing Business Model Theory—including the why and what. The session can be combined with a detailed RealPlay® session—Sourcing Business Models in Practice.

  • 30 minutes – 2 hours
    Assess the Relationship

    Stakeholder Analysis

    A stakeholder analysis is a perfect exercise to combine with a barrier-busting and readiness exercise. Use the information revealed in one or both of these exercises to help you begin your stakeholder analysis.

  • 1 – 4 Hours
    Get Up to Speed

    Vested 101

    This popular workshop gives organizations a way to get up to speed quickly on the key concepts of Vested. A typical “101” module includes:

    • What is Vested?
    • Why does it work?
    • How is Vested different from conventional transactional and performance-based approaches?
    • The 5 Rules of Vested

Role play works on someone else’s problem. RealPlay works on yours.

Instead of merely being assigned roles and a pretend problem, RealPlay allows workshop attendees to take concepts they are learning and immediately put them to work on their own situation.

Vested team members sitting on the floor around sticky notes during a RealPlay workshop session
Teams work their own initiative in the room, not a hypothetical.

Learn the concept

Kate introduces a Vested principle grounded in University of Tennessee research and real case studies.

Apply it to your deal

Your team works the concept against your actual relationship, agreement, or sourcing initiative in the room.

Leave with decisions made

You walk out with tangible decisions and deliverables essential for a Vested relationship, not just notes.

Built on 20 years of University of Tennessee research.

Vested emerged from University of Tennessee research into why some complex partnerships achieve remarkable results while others flounder. Two decades later, the methodology is documented across eight books and taught through 10 courses in the Certified Deal Architect program, with success stories from organizations like Intel, bp, JLL, Discovery Health, EY and the Canadian government. Many teams open their workshop with a short research overview to build credibility with internal stakeholders.

150+

Vested initiatives to date, spanning five continents

46

leading organizations profiled in Vested success stories

27

open source white papers shared in the Creative Commons

50+

universities and trade associations teaching the research

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Design your workshop with Kate.

Tell Kate about your team, your relationship, and your goals. She’ll customize a workshop to meet your unique needs or point you to a regional Vested Center of Excellence for a more hands on approach.

Reserve Time with Kate