Since the breakup of AT&T in 1982, the U.S. telecom carrier landscape has evolved rapidly, sometimes in dramatic fashion. Familiar names have come and gone – MCI, WorldCom, Qwest, Cingular and Nextel, to name a few. Today, with CenturyLink acquiring Level 3, AT&T completing its acquisition of Time Warner and Sprint looking to combine with T-Mobile, we see no signs of these changes slowing down.
Mobile phones have a long history from concept in the mid-20th Century – think comic strip detective Dick Tracy and the 2-way wrist radio in the 1950s through the fictional spy Maxwell Smart’s “shoe phone” in the 1960s, to the
This month’s column features big thinker Ronald Dworkin. I like Dworkin because he tackles and integrates major ideas in ethics, morality, equality, justice and the “unity of value.” One of his most famous of many books is entitled Justice for Hedgehogs.
Don’t let the humorous book title fool you; there’s no question that Dworkin is a heavyweight. Dworkin is a Professor of Philosophy and the Frank Henry Sommer Professor of Law at New York University and Emeritus Professor of Jurisprudence at University College London.
In ‘The Fog’ ("Mad Men" Season 5, Episode 3), SCDP’s creative director, Don Draper, delivers a memorable line for today’s procurement managers and professionals. After being endlessly nagged over the waste of office supplies, alcohol and time by the company's CFO, Lane Price, Draper levels this profound declaration:
"You came here because we do this better than you. And part of that is letting our creatives be unproductive until they are."
Avery W. Katz, professor of law at Columbia Law School, tackles the conundrum of “incomplete” contracts. The challenge? How organizations can fashion a contract that is both economically flexible enough for a business relationship to move forward efficiently and legally secure enough to satisfy the parties’ legal departments.
Outsourcing agreements come to an end, just as do some political treaties.
What can those steering the perils of partition learn from each other? There are few experiences as visceral as the turmoil of politics. As a British citizen, I have taken my part and cast my vote on 23rd June, 2016. The comparison of events since with recently managed outsourcing exits is the source of inspiration for this article.
Know The Rules
Most businesses like to blame failed or protracted negotiations on an inability to reach agreement on the financials, contract terms, legal issues or some other business measure - but after 30 + years of contract negotiations experience, I’ve rarely seen a deal lost on these items. Negotiations are far more likely to falter due to lack of trust, or due to a weak relationship amongst the parties.
The first driverless cars in the UK are now being tested on the streets. “Cognitive robot” Amelia is proving to be a more popular service interface with residents of the London Borough of Enfield than her human predecessors. Technology that was once the preserve of science fiction is now becoming a daily reality. The future is here, ahead of time.
Professor Horacio Falcão, a Senior Affiliate Professor of Decision Sciences at INSEAD, warns companies should not start – nor necessarily end – on “price” when it comes to negotiations.
Falcão has written on the concept of value for several years and his work includes the 2010 book Value Negotiation: How to Finally Get the Win-Win Right.
