Why am I passionate about this?

I am an international authority for my award-winning research on the Vested® business model for highly collaborative relationships. I began my research in 2003 by studying what makes the difference in successful strategic business deals. My day job is the lead faculty and researcher for the University of Tennessee’s Certified Deal Architect program; my passion is helping organizations and individuals learn the art, science, and practice of crafting highly collaborative win-win strategic business relationships. My work has led to seven books and three Harvard Business Review articles and I’ve shared my advice on CNN International, Bloomberg, NPR, and Fox Business News.


I wrote

Strategic Sourcing in the New Economy: Harnessing the Potential of Sourcing Business Models for Modern Procurement

By Kate Vitasek, Bonnie Keith, Karl Manrodt , Jeanne Kling

Book cover of Strategic Sourcing in the New Economy: Harnessing the Potential of Sourcing Business Models for Modern Procurement

What is my book about?

Today’s business environment is filled with volatility, uncertainty, complexity, and ambiguity. Sourcing Business Model theory is a revolutionary approach that…

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The books I picked & why

Book cover of The Procurement Value Proposition: The Rise of Supply Management

Kate Vitasek Why did I love this book?

The authors view procurement transformation as a continual transformation evolving to meet dynamic economic, political, and supply chain requirements. I fully support Chick and Handfield’s premise that raw power will be replaced with collaboration. “Collaboration is the new way,” they assert, adding. “The old adversarial posture of procurement is as outmoded as it is inappropriate.” Chick and Handfield call for a clear break between older or past-generation procurement practices and those of today. In short, they argue that everything done and learned in the past will not be useful in the dawn of procurement’s new value proposition, where the goal for all parties is value, not just lowest cost pricing.

By Gerard Chick, Robert Handfield,

Why should I read it?

1 author picked The Procurement Value Proposition as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

WINNER: ACA-Bruel 2015 - Grand Prix Businesses are going through rapid change due to an increased focus on sustainability and corporate responsibility, technological advances, geo-political and macro-economic change, and demographic shifts. If purchasing and supply chain managers are to embrace these challenges they must develop new ways of thinking about supply structures and processes as well as new skills and competencies. The Procurement Value Proposition examines these important changes that will have a profound effect on the way future procurement is carried out. It considers the implications of global economic transformation for procurement set against: changes in business contexts, purchasing…


Book cover of Procurement at a Crossroads: Career-Impacting Insights into a Rapidly Changing Industry

Kate Vitasek Why did I love this book?

This book hits the nail on the head with an accurate assessment of the frustration buyers and suppliers have as they go through a virtual tug of war on procurement: procurement practitioners are pressured to become more strategic and innovative, and at the same time are pressured to save on costs. Organizations want solutions to close the gaps when they lack core competencies. Yet suppliers argue that investing in unique customer requirements or innovations is risky because buyers will simply take their ideas and competitively bid on the work. Hence the industry is at a crossroads, with buyers and suppliers wanting innovation but neither willing to invest due to the conventional transaction-based commercial structure of how buyers and suppliers work and procure together.  

By Jon Hansen, Kelly Barner,

Why should I read it?

1 author picked Procurement at a Crossroads as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

Foreword by David Clevenger, Senior Vice President of Strategy and Organizational Development at Corporate United, and six-time honoree of the Inc. 5000.The procurement profession is at a major crossroads. Practitioners are responding to pressure from executive leadership to become more strategic, in some cases eliminating tactical work through outsourcing or automation. At the same time, performance metrics emphasize the need to continue negotiating savings and managing supplier performance. Procurement at a Crossroads: Career-Impacting Insights into a Rapidly Changing Industry aids practitioners in developing a vision for their medium- and long-term career goals, and shows them how to balance the need…


Book cover of Value First, Then Price: Building Value-Based Pricing Strategies

Kate Vitasek Why did I love this book?

I love how this book challenges strategic sourcing leaders to think of procurement as an enabler to create value for their organizations. This book notes one of the big lessons in modern procurement is that cost does not equal value. The book does a good job of articulating how a price-focused mindset limits the ability of suppliers to create value beyond standardized offerings. The editors have also recruited some of the world’s best thought leaders who share their insights in various chapters on how to make the shift from price to value, including providing wonderful examples of how to put value-based thinking into practice. 

By Andreas Hinterhuber (editor), Todd C. Snelgrove (editor),

Why should I read it?

1 author picked Value First, Then Price as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

Value-based pricing - pricing a product or service according to its value to the customer rather than its cost - is the most effective and profitable pricing strategy. Value First, Then Price is an innovative collection that proposes a quantitative methodology to value pricing and road-tests this methodology through a wide variety of real-life industrial and B2B cases.

This book offers a state-of-the art and best practice overview of how leading companies quantify and document value to customers. In doing so, it provides students and researchers with a method by which to draw invaluable data-driven conclusions, and gives sales and…


Book cover of Thinking in Systems

Kate Vitasek Why did I love this book?

This classic book provides a simple guide that shows business leaders how to address complexity through systems thinking. Meadows—often regarded as one of the most influential writers on systems thinking—illustrates her philosophy with the analogy of a Slinky toy, which seems to magically walk downstairs by itself. All that is needed is to take it out of the box, put it in the right place, and let it go with a gentle push. That gentle push releases energy latent within the toy’s design, making it possible for the Slinky to “walk” downstairs by itself. So how does this relate to strategic sourcing and why I am a fan? Because in my book we outline seven sourcing business models and how to design each model to create a unique system that is fit for purpose. Systems thinking is key! 

By Donella Meadows,

Why should I read it?

7 authors picked Thinking in Systems as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

The classic book on systems thinking, with more than half a million copies sold worldwide!

This is a fabulous book. This book opened my mind and reshaped the way I think about investing. Forbes

Perfect for fans of Kate Raworth, Rutger Bregman and Daniel Kahneman!

The co-author of the international best-selling book Limits to Growth, Donella Meadows is widely regarded as a pioneer in the environmental movement and one of the world's foremost systems analysts . Her posthumously published Thinking in Systems, is a concise and crucial book offering insight for problem solving on scales ranging from the personal to…


Book cover of Procurement and Supply Chain Management

Kate Vitasek Why did I love this book?

Professors Van Weele and Rozemeijer argue a revolution in purchasing is well overdue. They point to several trends turning procurement on its head including globalization, outsourcing, and a shift in purchasing skills and processes to create value, not simply procure goods and services. The professors argue—and I agree—these are no longer trends; they are a reality. If you are a strategic sourcing professional you should take stock of the trends the professors share and realize it’s time to join the procurement revolution, adopting a cross-functional end-to-end perspective linking internal processes with the needs and capabilities of suppliers and customers.

By Arjan van Weele, Frank Rozemeijer,

Why should I read it?

1 author picked Procurement and Supply Chain Management as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

Now in its eighth edition, this trusted Procurement and Supply Chain Management text provides a complete introduction to the important principles underlying the subject area using a flexible managerial perspective. Fully updated and restructured to reflect contemporary thinking and practice, this highly respected textbook covers the latest developments in procurement and supply chain management with clear and well-structured content. Strong case studies that are relevant and engaging complement the content and bring the subject to life.


Explore my book 😀

Strategic Sourcing in the New Economy: Harnessing the Potential of Sourcing Business Models for Modern Procurement

By Kate Vitasek, Bonnie Keith, Karl Manrodt , Jeanne Kling

Book cover of Strategic Sourcing in the New Economy: Harnessing the Potential of Sourcing Business Models for Modern Procurement

What is my book about?

Today’s business environment is filled with volatility, uncertainty, complexity, and ambiguity. Sourcing Business Model theory is a revolutionary approach that challenges procurement professionals to move up the sourcing continuum to create collaborative strategic relationships that shift from “price” to “value creation” and risk-shifting to collaborating to mitigate risk. Written from a practitioner's perspective, this book not only teaches the “why” and “what” of Sourcing Business Model theory but also “how” to apply it in practice. Whether you are Chief Procurement Officer or entry-level buying analyst, Strategic Sourcing in the New Economy shows how to create powerful cooperative alliances that will help organizations reach—and surpass their business goals in today’s dynamic business environment.

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What Walks This Way: Discovering the Wildlife Around Us Through Their Tracks and Signs

By Sharman Apt Russell,

Book cover of What Walks This Way: Discovering the Wildlife Around Us Through Their Tracks and Signs

Sharman Apt Russell Author Of What Walks This Way: Discovering the Wildlife Around Us Through Their Tracks and Signs

New book alert!

Why am I passionate about this?

Author Explorer Runner Mother

Sharman's 3 favorite reads in 2024

What is my book about?

Nature writer Sharman Apt Russell tells stories of her experiences tracking wildlife—mostly mammals, from mountain lions to pocket mice—near her home in New Mexico, with lessons that hold true across North America. She guides readers through the basics of identifying tracks and signs, revealing a landscape filled with the marks left by browsing deer, predatory weasels, and inquisitive bears, skunks, and raccoons. Master tracker Kim A Cabrera provides photos and illustrations.

Winner of the prestigious John Burroughs Medal, Russell also writes about community, a sense of place, and a renewed connection with the nonhuman world. She explores the health of…

What Walks This Way: Discovering the Wildlife Around Us Through Their Tracks and Signs

By Sharman Apt Russell,

What is this book about?

Did a red fox pass this way? Could that be a bobcat print there in the dirt? Do those tracks belong to a domestic dog or a coyote? Combining lyrical memoir with an introduction to wildlife tracking, What Walks This Way explores the joys of learning to recognize the traces of the creatures with whom we share our world.

The nature writer Sharman Apt Russell tells stories of her experiences tracking wildlife-mostly mammals, from mountain lions to pocket mice-near her home in New Mexico, with lessons that hold true across North America. With wit and compassion, she guides readers through…


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