From Power to Partnership: Why Automakers Have to Reinvent How They Do Business

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Ford just made waves with news of a $30,000 EV pickup built on a universal platform. It promises fewer parts, lower costs, and faster assembly. But Jan Griffiths asks a bigger question: if automakers can reinvent the product, why not reinvent the way business gets done?

That’s where Kate Vitasek comes in. As the creator of the Vested Methodology, Kate has spent more than 20 years studying how companies negotiate. She joins Jan to unpack how the old “win at all costs” mindset still lingers in the industry and why it’s holding leaders back.

Kate walks through the history: the 80s and 90s were all about leverage and power. The 90s brought interest-based bargaining, which used data instead of bravado. More recently, companies are experimenting with collaboration, where both sides actually work together to solve problems and create value.

But change doesn’t come easy. Short-term wins might seem like progress, but they often backfire. Kate describes this as “shading,” when the other side feels mistreated and resists or retaliates. She uses examples from union negotiations, supplier relationships, and even global trade disputes to show how this cycle keeps repeating.

Collaboration offers a different path. Instead of focusing only on price or concessions, it creates agreements that match intent with execution, protect both parties, and provide space for innovation.

Kate explains how her Vested framework turns adversarial supplier or union relationships into productive, long-term partnerships built on trust and results. Still, consistency is key: you can’t have one division trying to collaborate while another sticks to power plays.

Jan ties this back to leadership. Command-and-control might have worked decades ago, but it doesn’t inspire people now. Negotiation that depends on control and bravado is outdated in the face of current challenges. Leaders who show up with openness, clarity, and a willingness to co-create solutions will succeed.

And the advice for leaders listening? Start small. You don’t need to change everything overnight. Pilot a collaborative negotiation on one deal, measure the results, and use that success to expand the approach. 

Themes discussed in this episode:

• The shift from power-based negotiation to collaborative partnerships in the automotive industry
• The evolution of negotiation models from the 1980s to today’s business environment
• The role of trust, transparency, and shared outcomes in strengthening supplier relationships
• Why authentic leadership aligns with collaboration better than command-and-control management
• How adversarial union negotiations can transform into long-term, cooperative agreements
• The connection between cultural consistency and successful collaborative business models
• Why outdated power tactics undermine innovation and efficiency in global supply chains
• How the Vested Methodology creates sustainable value for both buyers and suppliers

Featured guest: Kate Visatek

What she does: Kate is a recognized authority on strategic partnerships and the creator of the Vested® business model, a framework that helps organizations move from “what’s in it for me” to “what’s in it for we.” An accomplished author of seven books and a faculty member at the University of Tennessee, she combines award-winning research with real-world experience from companies like P&G and Microsoft to show leaders how to build collaborative, innovative, and sustainable business relationships.

Mentioned in this episode:

• Getting to We: Negotiating Agreements for Highly Collaborative Relationships
•  A New Approach to Contracts by David Frydlinger, Oliver Hart, and Kate Vitasek
• What Is Vested?
• Collaborative Contracting Course
• Vested Executive Education Course

Episode Highlights:

[04:30] From Power to Partnership: Negotiation has evolved from leverage and bravado in the 80s to today’s growing shift toward collaboration and shared value.

[10:31] The Illusion of Short-Term Wins: Power-based negotiation might deliver quick gains, but it breeds resentment and retaliation. Kate explains how this “shading” effect, seen in cases like GM’s bankruptcy talks, shows why leaders must shift toward long-term collaboration.

[13:17] Collaboration Isn’t Slower: Power-based negotiations drag on with endless trade-offs, while collaborative deals set clear principles from the start. Kate explains how the Vested Methodology not only delivers better results in the same timeframe but can even turn toxic, adversarial relationships into trusting, long-term partnerships.

[17:56] Power’s Hidden Costs: Monopoly deals may lower prices upfront, but they trigger retaliation and rising long-term costs. Kate explains why leaders need clear strategies and collaborative processes to break out of this cycle.

[20:56] Ego Kills Deals: Lack of trust can be fixed with education, but ego is harder to overcome. Kate explains how power-driven egos fuel win-at-all-costs behavior that destroys collaboration.

[22:41] When Ego Shapes Policy: Trade disputes over rare earth magnets show how ego-driven moves spark retaliation. Kate argues that transparency and co-creation, not power plays, are the only way to stabilize high-stakes supply chains.

[24:28] From Intent to Action: Broad agreements often fall apart in the details. Kate explains how the Vested Methodology links vision, principles, and contract clauses so companies actually buy the outcomes they wanted, not just transactions on paper.

[26:31] Culture Must Be Consistent: One division’s collaborative mindset can’t succeed if another clings to power-based tactics. Kate shares how a billion-dollar aerospace deal collapsed because the company couldn’t honor that balance.

[28:36] Defining How You Negotiate: Few leaders ever sit down to define their company’s negotiation style. Jan and Kate stress the need for those conversations and encourage leaders to start small, piloting collaborative deals one at a time to build real cultural change.

[30:53] Quickfire Takeaways: In a rapid round, Kate shares what leadership style is dead, the trait every negotiator need, and the one word that should never enter a deal.

[33:00] Start with a Pilot: Kate’s advice for leaders: don’t overhaul everything at once — test one deal, learn from it, and build change step by step.

Top Quotes:

[10:04] Kate: “By being transparent, leaning in and saying: You know what? Let's create a trusting environment. Let's look at transparency. Let's look at the total cost of ownership. And now, let's work to solve a problem to lower our cost structure to make our supply chains more efficient. Because if I can work with you to drive efficiency in the supply chain, it reduces the cost structure. We can both win.”

[12:23] Kate: “What a collaborative approach does is it takes this win-lose out, and it actually says, 'Let's choose to create a trusting relationship through transparency, through problem solving, value creation.’ So, not value extraction, not value exchange, value creation.”

[16:05] Kate: “If I'm going to the flea market, I'm never going to see the guy again. Don't use the Vested Methodology. But on a deal where the stakes are high, you have repetitive, you're seeing those players again and again. They're your key supply chain partners, your unions. You're not just firing all the union. You've got to deal with them. And so, when you have these repetitive relationships, changing the nature and using a more collaborative value creation is game-changing.”

[33:32] Kate: “You don't have to change every single thing that you're doing, but just give it a try. If you've got a deal that's stuck, a supply chain relationship, if you're stuck with your union, like with Island Health and the Hospitalist, learn and try.”