Let's give Credit where it's due… the Director of National Intelligence is shooting straight. At a recent speaking venue, he said, "now we're in a 'we're in a running out of money so we must think' mode, I think this is serving as a stimulus, if you will, to do some more creative thinking. I think this would do wonders in terms of saving money, efficiency and promoting integration".
AFCEA's Signal Magazine Chief Editor, Bob Ackerman, hosted a recent "Five Questions" Series interview with Metropolitan Police Chief Cathy Lanier. Wow. I highly recommend this to anyone who has ever aspired to effective leadership in any capacity.
Too often, as small business owners, we’re tempted to use our agility to jump around and try new things even before we have given our current plan a chance to succeed. This is a great time of year to escape to a quite place—some Tuesday afternoon, and pull out your 2011 goals. Take an honest look at where your team succeeded, where it failed and where you simply did not track or pursue the goals at all. Before 1 January, recalibrate this plan for 2012. (For those readers who you made these adjustments already, using the federal fiscal year, then an end-of-first quarter review is what you would call your review.)
Somebody help me, please. I need either therapy or a definitional explanation, or both.
Why do I get roused every time I see a small business with the man or woman at the top titled "chairman"? Isn’t the term used for publically held companies where there is stock, a full sized board of directors and divisions, etc. rather than small, privately held LLCs and sole proprietor entities?
And the same goes for the title of ‘chief executive officer’. Doesn’t this imply a person is Chief among a cadre of sector VPs, regional officers and other managers who can commit an organization?
This may be peevish on my part, but I don’t care for titles that inflate one’s size or importance. And I’m thinking there are many titles out there that attempt to do so.
For starters, why does the US Army love heat and humidity during August? Tampa during the last part of summer is three degrees from Hades (or at least it felt that way!). In spite of the heat, my team had a successful--if not perfect go-of-it the Bay City.
Some professionals occasionally exhibit poor sales and business development behavior. I probably should not be surprised but it still makes me chuckle…
At a very well done AFCEA-DC event, I had an enjoyable conversation with another professional whom I have seen over the years and occasionally talked with. At this most recent conversation, I learned that his daughter when to my ala mater high school (a fun coincidence!) and we talked about some fund raising that he was involved in. I don't remember talking about his company products (which did not bother me one bit). In general, a polite conversation.
With this idea (i.e., Spend Money to Save Money), I am repeating Scott Lewis, a northern Virginia consultant serving the systems integrator market here in the federal arena. He explains that "Without a compelling cost justification there is no way an agency will invest to reduce O&M cost". He is dead-on target with this… and it is becoming true, to an increasing level, with so many eyes looking for ways to cut the Defense and intelligence budgets.
Getting on a prime contractor's team can be daunting if you're not used to the dance routine. But it is a critical skill for anyone trying to enter the federal market, let alone the IC and DoD markets. Here some tips that will keep you focused.
Wait. Don't roll your eyes! If you're over 40 years old, you may be tempted to do so, but I would caution you, to stop doing so, if that's the case. What matters is the client's perception of "Cloud Computing" (CC) and what they think about it. If they either want to or currently do-- believe in CC, then don't argue with them (even behind their back).
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