The Vested Way: Redefining Winning in Business Relationships

“Nothing personal—it’s just business.”

This outdated attitude is the foundation that most business relationships are built on—a zero-sum game where one party wins at the expense of the other. Organizations say things like “valued employee,” “strategic partnership,” and “healthcare system,” but the reality is they are stuck on a transactional treadmill focusing on this task, this time, this deal, and under these terms. The relationships they create are static and the results are status quo.

Author, educator, and business consultant Kate Vitasek has cracked the code on how to truly create successful win-win relationships. Kate’s evocative and edutaining Vested Way® keynote unpacks Five Rules that turn transactional relationships into transformational relationships. Her keynote takes attendees beyond the theory of “win-win” and is packed with real stories from real organizations getting real results by applying the Five Rules.

You can trust Kate for her expertise. Kate Vitasek is an international authority on how to build better business relationships. Her award-winning research is the subject of seven books and she has been featured as an international authority on how to build better business relationships on CNN International, NPR, Bloomberg, and Fox Business News. Kate regularly shares her insights as a Forbes contributor in her column on the art, science, and practice of highly collaborative relationships.

Getting to We: Five Steps for Creating an Engaged, Collaborative Culture

The vast majority of business relationships operate with an “us vs. them” mindset: management vs. union, buyer vs. supplier, health care providers vs. payers, boss vs. employee and functional silo vs. functional silo.

Organizations say things like “valued employee,” “strategic partnership,” and “healthcare system,” but the reality is they are often stuck with policies and practices and functional metrics that pit organizations, departments, and even team members against each other. The result is a culture that feels like a virtual tug-of-war with team members pulling against each other rather than collaborating for mutual success.

Kate’s Getting to We® keynote shares five proven steps for creating an engaged, collaborative culture. Her keynote inspires audiences with behind-the-scenes stories of how organizations such as Island Health and their hospitalists transformed their culture from a tense, troubled, and toxic relationship to one team members proudly call trusting, collaborative, and innovative. Kate will leave you with tangible advice, tips, and tools for making the shift from a What’s-in-it-for-Me culture to a What’s-in-it-for-We culture.

You can trust Kate for her expertise. Kate Vitasek is an international authority for her award-winning work on how to build better business relationships. She has been featured on CNN International, NPR, Bloomberg, and Fox Business News. She is the author of seven books. Kate regularly shares her insights as a Forbes contributor in her column on the art, science, and practice of highly collaborative relationships.

The Power of T: Choosing Transparency and Trust to Enable High-Performing Teams

In our fast-paced and interconnected world, the success of any organization hinges on the strength and productivity of its teams. High-performing teams are not merely a result of chance or luck; they are cultivated by fostering an environment built on transparency and trust. But all too often individuals and organizations have a mantra that trust must be earned. What if we shifted our mindset and chose to lead by trusting?

Join Kate in her evocative and edutaining Power of T keynote speech as she shares profound insights from her groundbreaking research. Kate’s inspiring and interactive presentation will help you challenge traditional notions of how to build trust and demonstrate how viewing transparency and trust through a new lens can unleash the full potential of teams.

You can trust Kate for her expertise. University of Tennessee supply chain professor Kate Vitasek has been researching the power of choosing to lead with transparency and trust for over 20 years. Her work has led to seven books and she has been featured as an international authority on how to build better business relationships on CNN International, NPR, Bloomberg, and Fox Business News.

Vested Outsourcing: Five Rules that Transform Outsourcing Relationships

Many outsourcing deals are structured with fundamental flaws in the business model that prevent transformational results. The problem is not outsourcing itself, but rather the outsourcing business model. The vast majority of outsourcing deals are structured using a conventional transactional business model. This buy-sell transactional mindset pits buyers and suppliers across the table in a virtual tug-of-war when business needs change.

Join Kate in her evocative and edutaining Vested Outsourcing keynote where she will share how to flip the conventional outsourcing approach on its head with her award-winning Vested Outsourcing business model. You will learn how to align the interest between a buyer and supplier with Five Rules. The result? A highly collaborative win-win outsourcing relationship where the parties are vested in each other’s success. Walk away inspired by the art of the possible when outsourcing and learn from real case studies from those making the switch to Vested Outsourcing

You can trust Kate for her expertise. University of Tennessee supply chain professor Kate Vitasek —lauded by World Trade Magazine as one of the Fabulous 50+1 most influential people impacting global commerce—is an international authority on outsourcing. Her pioneering research on Vested Outsourcing has sparked a movement to flip conventional outsourcing on its head with over 10,000 people from over 500 companies taking her Executive Education courses with dozens who have gone on to achieve award-winning results from their outsourcing partners.