We Not Me
Episode 82 - Contracts for collaboration
Show Notes
Contracts are so often focused on preparing for the worst, rather than setting up successful relationships. Effective contracts focus on establishing strong relationships, good communication, and problem-solving. Leading with these principles allows contracts to evolve from being blunt legal instruments to valuable tools for promoting collaboration and navigating uncertainties. Sally Guyer is the global CEO of World CC and a professor at Durham University. She is passionate about improving the way contracts are structured and managed, focusing on creating successful relationships and driving desired outcomes. She believes that contracts should go beyond just addressing legal aspects and must provide a scaffolding for navigating uncertainty and fostering effective governance.
In her discussion with Dan and Pia, she advocates for a shift towards relational contracting and emphasises the importance of communication and an outcome-focused approach in contract management.
Takeaways from Dan and Pia
Three reasons to listen
- To explore the importance of contracts in business and society, and how they can be improved to drive successful outcomes
- To learn about relational contracting and the principles that support strong and effective relationships
- To discover how contract management can contribute to the success of organisations
Episode highlights
- [00:11:37] What's wrong with contracts now
- [00:15:30] How to fix contracts
- [00:24:28] What good contracting looks like
- [00:33:54] Integrity of relationships
- [00:35:30] Takeaways from Pia and Dan
Links
Meet the guests
Executive, board director, mother and entrepreneur. Sally believes in the power of authenticity and that in life, you simply have to love what you do and do what you love. A boarding school education gave me the confidence to follow an unconventional path that has led her to being CEO of one of the world’s fastest growing non-profits. Sally's mission is to inspire and support the World Commerce & Contracting team and our global community to collectively drive positive change in the world of commerce of contracting. Having completed her law degree in London, Sally was drawn to the dynamic world of start-ups. Commercial Management was a field in demand, and Sally found myself in a series of fast-growth telecoms firms where she learnt by doing. Travelling the world, negotiating contracts and partnerships, working directly with and for top management. In the early 2000s children entered her world and in 2007 she struck out on my own, offering contract and commercial services to start-ups and SMEs. Sally's company flourished, in part through the strong link she had with the Association. In 2014, Sally was invited to join World Commerce & Contracting as a part-time contractor, leading its activities in Europe... a year later she found myself working full-time as COO, charged with bringing structure and discipline to the fast-growing and entrepreneurial association. The rest, as they say, is history... and it’s probably fair to say that Sally's golden retriever, Benjy, has a better idea of what she does than her two sons ever will!