 Should Professional Certification Become Mandatory?
A growing number of contracts and commercial professionals believe that professional standards should become mandatory. Certainly, the dramatic growth in the number of people gaining IACCM certification suggests this is now understood to be of real career and functional status value. [Click Here] |
Competitive Bidding Gains A Boost
The announcement of an end to 'earmarks' - a system whereby legislators awarded deals to favored suppliers - should be welcome to all who seek value for money and greater transparency. But it should be seen as an ethical move, rather than one of broader procurement strategy. [Read More] |
Insights On Negotiation
A recent edition of HBS Working Knowledge offers a series of short articles with interesting themes, including negotiation with a non-negotiable partner and how women can negotiate past gender stereo-types. [Click Here] |
Most Read Topics
In the last 60 days, there have been almost 3,000 visitors to the Commitment Matters blog. What are the topics that most interest them? [Read More] |
Sales Depend On Contracting Competence
Sales teams are under pressure. Higher quotas; an increasing number of bids that result in no award; growing competitive pressures. Are we assisting, or contributing to the problems faced by those seeking to win business for us? [Click Here] |
Why Supply Chain Matters
An article in Strategy+Business provides a case study that illustrates why contracts professionals on both buy-side and sell-side should care more about supply chains. [Click Here] |
IACCM Monthly Highlights for January 2010
These highlights are sent to members who have selected to be included in the Community of Interest - All Areas: Send me a monthly summary. Please find below the listing of IACCM articles, projects, events, etc. for the past month. Many of these items, articles and recordings are available in the IACCM Executive Library and News Archive. * [Read More] |
Contract Flexibility: Are We Entering A New Era?
Contracts and contract negotiations are changing. Economic turmoil, the frequency of change, the recession - there are many factors resulting in new pressures on the role and execution of contracts. [Click Here] |
Now in the library!
The Global Economy Report is now in the IACCM library. The latest IACCM survey of the global economy confirms continuing improvement in business conditions, with all world regions now showing net positive sentiment. [Read More] |
Contracting & The Realization Of Business Benefits
There is increasing appreciation that many of the hoped-for values and goals of business relationships will be lost unless there is more investment in raising the quality of the contracting process and skills. [Click Here] |
Contracts & The Law
Business today requires a faster, cheaper and more predictable framework for contracting than the current legal system can provide. Alternatives are increasingly being discussed. [Click Here] |
Failings in Governance - and Contracting
A recent article in The Economist highlights the governance challenges facing international corporations, especially those in cultures where heirarchies have been feared and protected. Improvements also depend on improved contracting and commercial skills. [Click Here] |
Why is communication so important?
The networked world has created a dilemma for many of us. On one level, communication has become cheap and easy. On another, its management has become far more complex. That creates real challenges for contracts, procurement and legal professionals. [Click Here] |
What does a good contracting strategy look like?
Increasingly, many of the assumptions of recent years are being challenged. Supplier consolidation, mega-deals, prime contracting are no longer seen as the universal solution to business needs, as focus switches from low cost to higher value and performance. [Click Here] |
IACCM Board Elects New Officers
At its annual strategy and planning meeting, the IACCM Board of Directors elected the officers for 2010. Diane Homolak, from Hewlett-Packard, is the new chair of the association, replacing UK-based General Counsel Tim Cowen, who has served for the last two years. [Read More] |
World Trade Impacts on Contracting
The latest quarterly report from IACCM shows that the focus of negotiations has changed and that the patchy recovery in world trade patterns will place increased pressure on contracting skills. Members can learn more on our next live webcast [Click Here] |
Commercial Agility
There is widespread agreement that organizations must become more flexible and adept at managing change. This was a the subject of a presentation at IACCM's recent meeting in London. [Click Here] |
Upside Software Recognized
IACCM corporate member, Upside Software has been recognized as one of Canada's 50 Best Managed Companies for 2009. [Click Here] |
The Recession & Insurance
Our recent interview with Bruce Hepburn provided a compelling and highly informative view of risk and current approaches to its management. Listen to the recording of this interview. [Click Here] |
A Tale Of Two Negotiators
How and where we spend our time negotiating makes a massive difference to results. Low-perfroming companies tend to invest heavily in negotiators - but then use them to overcome organizational inadequacies. [Click Here] |
