On October 12, Sourcing Nederland organised a seminar “an alternative view on sourcing“. We heard an interesting story about mediation from Lieneke Viergever and Patrick Wit. I was provided the opportunity to share some thoughts about alternative ways of selection and contracting. Many of my suggestions are inspired by the world of Agile Software Development, […]
Contracting the terms in a business relationship involves a bizarre dynamic: the more you regulate, the more you have to regulate. It often starts with working out a limited number of situations, but soon the conversation becomes more detailed. This can descend to a level where all sorts of theoretical scenarios and risks are outlined, […]
Outsourcing engagements should be based on trust and collaboration. Isn’t that obvious? Apparently, it is not. Outsources typically don’t set up their selection process based on that premise. Clients often act like they don’t trust potential vendors. They leverage a competitive process with multiple vendors to get an optimal result. Most time and effort during […]
When companies decide to outsource part of their activities, this will require serious preparation. They invest time and effort in a sourcing strategy, considering what should or should not be outsourced. There is attention to the scope (involving one or more vendors), and a business case will identify at least the financial benefits. A key […]
What kind of year was 2022? This time of year is a time of reflection. Last year Covid was top of mind. In this part of the world, that is entirely different now, but in China, the worst is likely to come. Things are returning to normal while we seem to be able to keep […]
Reflections on 2021… Last year this time, I thought Covid could be a one-year thing. I was proven wrong. Two vaccinations later, we’re scheduled for a booster in early January, and the end is not yet in sight. Even so, the upsides of a pandemic also continue to apply. Multiple non-commute days a week and […]
Looking back… In the grand scheme of things, 2020 will obviously be the year of the Corona-virus. But despite (and sometimes thanks to) Covid-19 it has also been a good year. In 2020 we re-invented the concept of family dinner into actually having a meal together at the same time. Well, at least five times […]
When starting as a freelancer, people warned me that I might get stuck. Some colleagues at the time were afraid that my development might come to a halt. Without the R&D back-up of a company or corporation, how would I come up with new ideas? It turns out there is nothing to worry about. Over […]
Recently we launched our Agile Sourcing proposition, created to support organizations that want to generate more value in the collaboration with their IT suppliers. Inspired by various Agile principles… including a complete set of refreshing insights, innovative tools, active collaboration techniques and over 25 years of sourcing experience, we help parties to forge a sustainable […]
Recently I came across a Google Talk with John Cleese who was interviewed about his memoirs “So, Anyway…”. To call it an interview is a compliment to Jason Sanders who did his best to guide the conversation. Despite the no-doubt well-prepared questions, his guest didn’t need a lot of cues to engage in a very […]
Lately I came across the work of Benjamin Zander. He was the conductor for the Boston Philharmonic Orchestra for 20 years. He is also a renowned music teacher with students from all over the world. Apart from his musical career he co-authored a book called ‘the Art of Possibility’. In a TED-talk about the Transformative […]
In my current engagement I came across the ideas of David Marquet, a captain in the US Navy with interesting ideas about leadership. He isn’t the first articulating these kind of ideas but his context is unique as a nuclear submarine is an unlikely environment for a social experiment. Moving from a leader-follower culture to a leader-leader […]