ABSTRACT
This chapter focuses on the impact of contracts and contracting on manager's business and how their company can benefit from them. For today's managers, contracts and contracting mean business, as they are important enablers for one's business, bargains, deals, and relationships. As war is too important to be left to the generals alone, contracts and contracting are too important to be left to the lawyers alone. Contracts have become important risk management and governance tools. Organizations possess a wide range of contract-related skills and capabilities, yet these are often fragmented. Conscious efforts are needed to transform the skills and knowledge of individuals to organization-level competence. Good-quality contracts co-created by management and counsel describe requirements and allocate roles, responsibilities, and risks clearly. One aspect of good-quality contracts is their user-friendliness. Most lawyers and business managers tend to agree that contract clarity is important and that contracts should be written in plain English so that they are understandable.
