Washington Business Journal guest blogs

Here's how to follow the money — and steal market share (posted 16 Dec 2014)

Business growth within a constrained market usually means you have to take market share from your competitors. And budget constraints, aggravated by the uncertainty of irregular appropriations, have certainly spawned many cutbacks in federal contract spending. So what do you do? Continue reading…

Don't confuse users with customers (posted 1 Jul 2014)

Users. Customers. The two terms sound interchangeable, but they aren't. And the distinctions matter. Continue reading…

Why agile development contracts flop (posted 24 Feb 2014)

Can currently fashionable software development methods liberate federal information technology projects? Without sufficient and improved controls, not likely. Continue reading…

Time to reel in defense requirements (posted 21 Jan 2014)

Finally, we have some fiscal 2014 appropriations without worrying too much about whether the edge of the cliff will crumble beneath our feet. But don't think it's smooth sailing from here on out. Continue reading…

Are you taking your eye off the ball? (posted 24 Oct 2013)

Seems like it's happening several times each year. Our community of federal contractors gets distracted by fiscal wranglings between the White House and Capitol Hill. And then they suffer for it. Continue reading…

A fourth quarter surge in spending? Not exactly (posted 11 Sep 2013)

Well, here we are in home stretch of the fourth quarter. A time and place to get well? No. Even though the measurable procurement activity is ramping up-gradually-for the big finale, there are a couple of big differences this year. Continue reading…

The five enigmas of market analysis (posted 6 Sep 2013)

Of the many components in a company's back-office infrastructure, one of the hardest talents to quantify is market analysis. Measuring the value and contribution of market analysis (or business development strategy or research support or competitive intelligence) to a company's performance leads us into the dark forest of intangibles. Continue reading…

Making money at the expense of ethics (posted 11 Jul 2013)

Recent news items about crackdowns, investigations, and criminal convictions of small and disadvantaged contractors are disturbing. Not that anything shockingly new has come to light. But the fact remains that with each new report about misrepresentation in contracting, more damage is done. Continue reading…

Coalition for Government Procurement guest blogs

Show me the Money: How the federal budget will impact business development (posted 21 Feb 2014)

As a business developer, you follow the money. You trek toward the customers that spend money and the customers that spend the most. Discretionary spending authority, appropriated by Congress, is your bellwether. Continue reading…

When Churn Doesn’t Produce Butter (posted 30 Nov 2018)

We've recently endured the year-end procurement churn for federal FY 2018. The perennial experience is indeed hectic. While some companies bring churn on themselves by not planning adequately or not knowing their customers well enough, many federal buying activities contribute to the chaos too. Continue reading…