Growth Matters: CareerBuilder Interview

I had the privilege of being interviewed by CareerBuilder for its Leadership series. The interview was also included in July’s Golf Magazine’s cover wrap. For those of you who know my game, I know you are ROFL.

My next post was going to cover similar ground, so i thought i’d wait until the interview was available. Anyway, enjoy!

CareerBuilder Leadership Series: Philip P. Jaurigue, President and CEO of Sabre Systems, Inc.

 

 

“You constantly need to reposition and redefine yourself in order to continue growing.”

In the following excerpt from CareerBuilder’s recent interview with Philip Jaurigue, President and CEO of Sabre Systems, Inc., Jaurigue discusses, among other things, the importance of innovation, recognition and not looking in the rearview mirror.

Can you describe your philosophy as it relates to the impact your employees have on your business?

Because Sabre Systems, Inc. is a services business, our employees are the face of the company. A large portion of Sabre personnel work at customer locations and, in many instances, are the customers’ sole source of information with regard to Sabre’s culture and philosophy. This means that the attitude with which employees come to work in the morning, the way they conduct themselves while at work, and even their overall character convey a message about Sabre’s values and professionalism directly to our customer.

With that in mind, I encourage the leadership team to spend a fair amount of time engaging employees to ensure they feel they are a valued and integral part of the team. I also ask that company leadership ensures that potential Sabre team members are aligned with the mission, vision and culture of the company before bringing them on board.

How do you personally engage with and relate to your employees?

Sabre has an employee accolade program through which we reward employees who have exceeded expectations or have willingly stepped outside the confines of their daily responsibilities to provide support to another employee, manager or project. These employees often receive their “Above and Beyond” or “Employee Appreciation” awards in front of their colleagues or customers, who collectively celebrate their accomplishments and contributions. I urge managers to utilize this program and always try to be present to personally recognize those employees being honored.

I also make every effort to attend Sabre community events, holiday parties and other company functions, which provide opportunities for me to connect with employees outside of the work environment.

Recently, I have been looking for creative ways to use social media. I encourage Sabre employees to follow me on Twitter and subscribe to my blog so they are informed regarding the direction of – and what’s going on within – the company. This is especially beneficial to employees who spend the majority of their time at customer sites. Having access to these communication channels helps them feel connected, and sheds light on how they might grow their careers.

What would you say is the most important leadership lesson you’ve learned to date?

If there’s one lesson I’ve learned, it’s that you can’t look in the rearview mirror and expect the things you’ve done things in the past that made you successful are necessarily going to be the same things that keep you successful. It sounds a little bit counterintuitive, but from a business standpoint, it’s probably one of the worst things you can do. You have to be constantly reinventing yourself to keep yourself relevant and stay competitive.

Oftentimes, companies will become successful because they have been able to differentiate themselves from their competitors and communicate that value proposition to their customers. Your competitors are all going to copy what’s successful, so you constantly need to reposition and redefine yourself in order to continue growing. A leader’s role is to be a change agent in managing these transitions.

How do you define your internal culture?

I think employees at Sabre feel that they are empowered and generally encouraged to be creative and entrepreneurial. Sabre leadership encourages employees to be innovative in finding solutions for their customers and improving processes to achieve enhanced efficiency.

My role is to make sure that our reward system and that which we praise in the organization are consistent with what we’re asking our people to do, and with the culture we have cultivated. We try to come up with creative ways to recognize people and to reward people for their innovation. Rewarding those behaviors we deem desirable and beneficial to the company is the best thing that any leader can do.

What do you do to engage your employees and to reinforce your brand?

One thing that makes employees feel positive about their experience at Sabre is our involvement in the community. Sabre supports a number of different charitable projects – from a financial standpoint, as well as in terms of the time we spend on pro bono efforts. In the Philadelphia region specifically, we’ve twice been named one of the most philanthropic large companies in the area. We have people who are very actively involved in a number of not-for-profits and different community endeavors.

In today’s marketplace, it is important for a business to show that it’s not just about profits, losses and maximizing shareholder value, but that it also takes responsibility to give back and really help the community.

What advice would you share with your executive peers through this article?

I’ll go back to the topic of change. You don’t lead your company by looking in the rearview mirror. Don’t be afraid to reinvent your company and don’t fear; rather, embrace change.

ABOUT PHILIP P. JAURIGUE: Philip P. Jaurigue founded Sabre Systems, Inc. in 1989, and has served as President since its inception. Mr. Jaurigue’s primary focus and responsibility is providing strategic business leadership to drive the direction, stability and growth of Sabre. A frequent speaker at the Wharton School of Business and the Entrepreneur’s Forum of Greater Philadelphia, Mr. Jaurigue is also part-time co-host on the weekly radio show Executive Leaders Radio for WHFS 1580AM in Washington, DC.

ABOUT SABRE SYSTEMS.: Sabre Systems, Inc. is a professional services company that provides worldwide technology, scientific and management solutions to government and commercial clients. Core capabilities include information technology, engineering, program management support, training and logistics, and software development. Headquartered in Pennsylvania, Sabre has major offices in Maryland, New Jersey, Virginia, Indiana, California and South Carolina.

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• Posted by: Mary Lorenz on June 24, 2011

Growth Matters – Supply Side Thoughts

Most posts on the topic of growth strategies tend to focus on the business development angle; having the right people and the right processes and having the right brand promise. I recently attended a panel discussion that included some of the most respected CEOs in the Philadelphia region. The topic was on attracting top talent, and I was reminded of the importance of having top notch recruiting and retention programs.

In marketing, we are always looking to differentiate our products and services from our competitors. To try to win on price alone is to play in commodity land. In attracting and retaining talent, it’s much the same dynamic. How do we differentiate ourselves to be the employer of choice? In many cases, we can’t win the talent war with dollars alone. Compensation may help you retain top talent, but you may not be getting the best out of them. If you’re one of the many, many business owners that claim that their employees are their “number one asset,” are you fostering the type of culture in which they can flourish? In so many cases, businesses have success in attracting top talent but struggle to retain it.

Abraham Maslow’s breakthrough writings on the hierarchy of needs provides valuable insights on what talented employees want out of their work experience. More than anything, they want to be autonomous and exercise a certain level of creativity. Years ago, GM learned the hard way that employees given dull and redundant tasks will exercise their creativity by sabotaging cars on the assembly line. Car owners found beer bottles in the door panels! GM had automated their assembly line so much that workers got bored and needed something to entertain themselves.

Similarly, management pioneer Douglas McGregor writes of two distinct management paradigms – Theory X and Theory Y in his groundbreaking book “The Human Side Of Enterprise.” The Theory X manager believes that motivation comes from discipline and to a certain extent, fear - fear of getting reprimanded, fear of getting demoted or fear of getting fired. They assume that employees inherently don’t want to think for themselves but rather take direction and collect a paycheck. Yes, I know we all know people like this, but do you want to count on them to help you grow?

The Theory Y manager understands employees’ needs for “self actualization” and fosters a creative atmosphere to get the most out of their talents. Yes, money is important, but it is is more of a “maintainer” rather than a real motivator. In the GM example above, GM engaged its workers at its Lordstown, Ohio plant and realized they had reduced their employees to human robots. They made sweeping changes to redesign the manufacturing process and made them partners in the quality management process.

Having a sound understanding of what makes your talented employees “tick” will go a long way in assuring you are recognized as an employer committed to its employees growth; both professionally and personally.

Growth Matters – Commentary On Growing Out Of the SBA 8(a) Program

I came across the column below in last week’s Washington Technology Times, and as a firm that once participated in this program, I thought I’d chime in…

I applaud those firms that are in the 8(a) program and other small businesses that have the foresight to look at the issues that face them once they are no longer eligible for set-aside contracts. At the ripe old age of 21, Sabre has now spent about half of its existence operating in the full and open arena. It hasn’t been easy, but I’m happy to say that we continue to grow and thrive as a mid-tier.

The article focuses on CEOs’ desires to establish identities not based on being “small,” developing infrastructure, building strong customer relationships and hiring procurement experts. These are all excellent steps toward developing a successful growth strategy. If I had to add a few things to that list, I’d include: 1) understand what you do well and 2) build a leadership team with “A” players.

Many small businesses pursue contracts and build their businesses based on those opportunities that are some flavor of set-aside. While they build top line growth, they end up not creating enough depth in any one area of expertise and face significant hurdles in retaining the work once they outgrow the size standard. These companies build revenue for revenue’s sake, and only too late do they realize that their value proposition was based on the ability for someone to check a box on a form. As you build your business, focus on developing real capability that someone will want to buy even when you’re no longer small.

Building an “A” team is also challenging, because sometimes it’s difficult to recognize who those players are. It’s not unike a baseball scout that has to project how a 17 year old phenom will progress with increasing competition and talent levels. Unfortunately, many can’t sustain their success, and businesses can’t afford to make mistakes with their key hires. Continuing with the sports analogy, most successful teams will bring in key players from the outside who’ve had a successful track record. The challenges of reinventing your leadership team are the ones that will cause the most angst and can be the most disruptive if not handled well. There’s no magic formula for doing that part right, but it does take a certain amount of intestinal fortitude.

The most important thing is to keep plugging away. You’ll make mistakes but learn from them.

Have a Happy Thanksgiving!

From The Washington Technology Times:

Hey, small business, ready to leave the 8(a) world? To survive graduation, small businesses need to prepare for tougher competition

•By Matthew Weigelt •Nov 17, 2010

Kathy Carrier’s office overlooks the Eagle Marsh Woods, a 41-acre nature preserve in Fort Wayne, Ind. The woods are home to all sorts of birds and animals, such as the black-crowned night heron and blue-spotted salamander.

But there’s another preserve that Carrier, president and CEO of Briljent LLC, and other small-business executives like her are overlooking. It’s home to ferocious other-than-small businesses and corporations. Her company is ranked No. 15 on Washington Technology’s 2010 list of the top 25 8(a) small businesses. The list ranks the most successful 8(a) small businesses according to their overall government contracts.

“We’re going into the lion’s den,” said Paresh Ghelani, CEO of 2020 Company LLC, ranked No. 10 on the list. “And I would be lying if I said it doesn’t make me nervous.”

Briljent and 2020 Company, both professional services contractors, are graduating from the Small Business Administration’s 8(a) Business Development Program within a year. From there, they head from the protected world of small-business set-aside contracts into the wild world of full-time, full-and-open competitions with other companies, including the biggest government contractors.

While in the 8(a) program, they’ve done all they could to prepare for their launch into the full-and-open world. They have set up strong business infrastructures, such as accounting systems that meet government standards and company ethics rules, and they’ve received numerous certifications to meet federal regulations. Further, they’ve hired employees who know the ropes of the federal procurement system, and they worked to develop relationships throughout the contracting community.

“We spent so much time and money, I was hell-bent on getting a contract,” Carrier said. And the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services awarded Briljent its first contract, which was worth $139 million.

SBA’s 8(a) program helps socially and economically disadvantaged small businesses gain access to federal contracts. To participate, firms must be at least 51 percent owned and controlled by someone who meets the criteria of being disadvantaged. The firms must also qualify as small businesses. Once certified, 8(a) firms are eligible to receive sole-source and set-aside contracts of various sizes for as long as nine years.

To succeed in the program, company executives had to do much more than get a contract. They had to look into the heart of their firms. Executives repeatedly emphasized that companies must live by a certain creed to prepare for what’s ahead for growing small companies.

A small business cannot think of itself as small, experts say. Instead, its leadership needs to present the company as what it intends to become next: a successful, midtier business.

For instance, a company needs to be flexible like only small ones can be but move forward with a different frame of mind.

“You’ve got to be nimble like you’re small but act like you’re big,” Ghelani said.

Leading firms also said 8(a) companies should not live on 8(a) set-asides alone. Companies must stretch beyond SBA’s program before they even leave the program. They must prove to themselves and the agencies and prime contractors that they will be dealing with that they can survive in the lion’s den.

However, many 8(a) companies see dollar signs and contracts galore because they’re in the program, experts say. But that thinking will be their downfall. Businesses need to work hard to get contracts, even if they’re competing for contracts that are set aside only for small businesses.

Consequently, some companies give up when they’re hit with the reality of how much work goes into winning a contract, or they simply take in no extra business, many executives say.

“It’s not welfare; you’ve got to work,” said Pete Von Jess, owner and CEO of USfalcon Inc., a national security company, ranked No. 3 on this year’s list.

To help with the work, companies ask employees to canvass the community, develop partnerships and relationships, and learn about that marketplace. Business development is at the core of earning contracts. Companies need to play all sides by talking to people inside agencies that are potential customers. And they should also scout prime contractors to find companies that are in need of particular services.

While building potential business relationships, a small business needs to find its niche.

When Ghelani was developing those partnerships and seeking opportunities, “we simply said we can add value,” he said.

The program does its part by attempting to match small businesses with big companies that can help them survive in the bigger and tougher contracting world.

“It’s a marriage, but it’s a marriage that is not going to last forever,” said Von Jess, a retired Army colonel.

While reaching out to mentors, small businesses should not forget about their own. Businesses can join with other small businesses in joint ventures and other teaming arrangements to get larger contracts, such as the National Institutes of Health’s Chief Information Officer Solutions and Partners 3 governmentwide acquisition contract. The indefinite-delivery, indefinite-quantity IT GWAC will have a set-aside for small businesses.

Jess put the canvassing into perspective.

Developing business doesn’t mean simply going out to lunch with a few clients, he said. “It means swapping invoices.”

With their relationships, new companies should tap into their customers’ and partners’ knowledge and experience to learn more about the complexities of the procurement world and its many continual legislative and regulatory changes.

“A major roadblock for us is our own ignorance,” Carrier said. “We didn’t know what we didn’t know.”

In the past two years, Congress and the Obama administration have changed many parts of small-business contracting. A new law, signed in September, might allay concerns that prime contractors won’t stick to their subcontracting plans and send business to their small partners.

Some executives have a less optimistic view on those changes. First, the changes are not likely to concern small businesses for several years. They said the regulatory process is slow. Second, some experts say any oversight changes largely depend on how well and tenaciously federal officials enforce the programs and regulations.

As successful small businesses leave the program, they are moving into a tough world that is already feeling pressure on both sides. Executives at midtier companies have said they are stuck between small businesses and big corporations, two strong and growing forces in the marketplace.

But leading 8(a) companies are striding proudly into the middle. One of the Top 25 8(a) companies, which graduated from the program in March, turned down an interview request because, as a spokesman said, it didn’t want to be seen as a small business any longer. It had instead turned its attention to the issues that midtier companies are dealing with and was done with the past.

Despite competition and other pressures, many small-business owners are not afraid to go to the next level.

Carrier’s Briljent is prepared to leave the small-business nature preserve for a harsher world.

“We’ve had significant federal work,” she said. “The program worked.”

About the Author

Matthew Weigelt is acquisition editor for Federal Computer Week.

Growth Matters – The Dynamics of Early Growth

Each year, the Philadelphia Business Journal publishes a list of the fastest growing privately held area firms. The Wharton School, one of the “Philadelphia 100” owners, conducts occasional studies of those companies that have been named to the list. When looking back at past winners, less than one third go on to experience sustained growth. Another third plateau at a certain point and remain fairly stable. More than a third experience decline or end up going out of business.  More than a third! Similarly, in the Washington, DC government contracts market in which Sabre often competes, it is very typical to see companies attain $30-$40M in annual sales and then decline as they struggle to operate outside the set-aside realm.

Obviously, there are many factors that determine the fate of any given company, but there are some common themes. Often, a company’s early success is the result of a mercurial leader with a great idea combined with low overhead and a recognition of an unmet or underserved market need. Initial sales skyrocket and resources are brought in to make more sales. Sometimes, steps are taken to secure intellectual property or “secret sauce.” However, in our wonderful world of capitalism, competitors will note the successes of an upstart and devise ways to bring their own “solutions” to meet these unmet consumer needs. Competitors will bring their innovations to create new value propositions by making their solutions cheaper, faster and/or better. Many times, the original growth company will not react to these changes in the competitive landscape and simply add more sales staff in the hopes of maintaining market share. More often than not, these are the companies that will not continue to grow. They held fast to the “it’s not broke, don’t fix it” trap that was introduced in the last blog post.

The changes needed to fuel growth go beyond merely building infrastructure that will increase a company’s capacity. More critical is the need to develop a business development methodology. Blindly writing more proposals or hiring more sales associates will not get the job done. Have a plan that includes a rigorous market research component and an equally rigorous capture planning process.  This will help identify your niche in the market and the types of resources needed.

Remember – accolades for early growth should not be seen as the culmination of years of hard work. Yes, stop and smell the roses and let key team members know how much they’re appreciated, but remember, it’s just the beginning of an exciting journey.

Growth Matters – The Worst Advice

“If it’s not broke, don’t fix it.” I’ve probably heard variations of this adage many times; sometimes from so-called experts and industry veterans. Certainly, I’ve heard it in many internal staff meetings. In reality, for any company that aspires to sustained growth, that’s probably the worst advice one can get. Entrepreneurs who have achieved sustained growth routinely point to key “inflection points” when they had to make significant; sometimes even radical changes. This has certainly been true in this writer’s experience. One can’t look in the rear-view mirror to figure out how to continue to grow a business.

Success in today’s market demands a rigorous commitment to ongoing assessment of the market. Many people are familiar with SWOT analysis. Look inward to assess company’s Strengths and Weaknesses relative to the competition and then look outward to see where the Opportunities and Threats are. In developing a strategic business plan, this analysis will help identify the changes necessary to keep growing. SWOT can help figure out how to best leverage company strengths to pursue emerging market or what weaknesses need to be addressed to remain competitive. In the world of technology, two companies come to mind. Hewlett-Packard reinvented itself from a mainframe OEM to become the market leader in printers and Apple shifted away from the desktop PC market to dominance in the consumer multi-media space. Each of these companies fostered a culture of innovation that allowed change to take place.

Remember, imitation is the sincerest form of flattery. Competitors will look to emulate success models, so the challenge will be to figure out how to adapt and grow in new and exciting ways.

Growth Matters: Debut Entry

I’ve been asked by a number of people to share some of the things I’ve learned over the years on what it takes to build a successful company. Beyond desire and hard work, there are several insights that I’ve gained through Sabre’s 21 year history and through experiences I’ve had observing the Philadelphia 100 community and the firms that Sabre partners and competes with in the federal contracting market.

Certainly, a commitment towards growth is essential, but beyond that, successful entrepreneurs need to understand what motivates them. Is it creating? Is it having the autonomy and freedom to fulfill a vision? Is it the competitive environment? I think knowing oneself and his or her likes and dislikes and strengths and weaknesses are keys to predicting future success as a growth firm. Having that understanding will help you define what success looks like and how you will build your team.

I will be blogging regularly and welcome your comments. Please let me know if there are any particular areas you’d like me to write on. Please subscribe and get notices of future updates.

Phil

Voice of America Radio Interview

Had the pleasure of being interviewed by Aldonna Ambler on her weekly Growth Strategist radio show. It’s an hour long interview and I come in around the 10 minute mark. Let me know what you think.

http://www.voiceamerica.com/voiceamerica/vepisode.aspx?aid=44659

Sabre announces major wins at US Bureau of Census

Sabre recently received awards in five technical areas under the Census Research and Development 2014 contract. The five major technical areas include Data Analysis and Dissemination; Survey Engineering; Assessment, Planning and Analysis; Statistical Analysis and Evaluation; and Methodological Research.

Sabre will serve as prime for the Data Analysis and Dissemination effort, and will subcontract to other primes for the remaining four areas. The services required will consist of, but are not limited to, international census support, data and statistical research and analysis, surveying and questionnaire creation, data extrapolation, migration and demographic trend analyses, and finally, report and white paper generation. This win builds on Sabre’s past efforts at Census over the last 11 years and offers tremendous growth possibilities.

Sabre wins contract with US Naval Academy

Sabre was awarded a three-year, prime contract providing support to the United States Naval Academy’s Information Technology Services Division. Sabre’s superb performance over the last seven years as an incumbent, and its proven information technology capabilities were reportedly both major contributors to th…e company’s win.

According to Sabre’s Southeast Region Group Vice President, Gerry Mauer, who served as lead executive for this effort, “We appreciate the Naval Academy’s continued confidence in Sabre’s support of their information technology needs. The Sabre Program Manager, Ryan Rees, and his team, have developed a strong sense of ownership, commitment and goodwill with the US Naval Academy over the years, and we look forward to exceeding expectations for this critical customer.”Read More

Summary of recent Sabre contract wins

Sabre Wins EAF, ALRE and SE Contract

The Naval Air Warfare Center Aircraft Division awarded Sabre a contract through which the company will provide support to Lakehurst Expeditionary Airfields (EAF), Aircraft Launch and Recovery (ALRE) and Support Equipment (SE) endeavors. Sabre will serve as prime on this 5-year effort, and will work with subcontractors L-3 Services; MTG Services; The Pennsylvania State University, Applied Research Laboratory; EG&G Technical Services; Epsilon Systems Solutions, Inc.; Five Rivers Services, LLC; General Scientific Corporation; Pacific Ship Repair & Fabrication, Inc.; Prism Maritime, LLC.

The Sabre Team will provide engineering, logistics, ship installation and program management support to the EAF, ALRE and SE programs, and will also provide expert support to the NAVAIR Lakehurst personnel for acquisition and life-cycle management of these Navy and Marine mission systems. These efforts will be performed at Sabre’s Manasquan and Warminster facilities, NAVAIR Lakehurst, and onboard ships.

Sabre Wins NMCPHC Tasking

Sabre recently won a contract providing support to the Navy Marine Corps Public Health Center (NMCPHC). Sabre will serve as the prime contractor in this effort and, in this capacity, will provide database administration and technical support required to facilitate the overall operational objectives of the NMCPHC’s Force Health Protection mission. This work includes the following expertise: Database Administrator and Sr and Jr Programmers responsible for developing and managing data packages using SQL and SAS database programming languages; and Technical Writer responsible for the review, research and writing of technical manuscripts for Epidemiology Data Center products and services.

The medical data environment is growing in complexity and importance. Sabre is at the forefront of the Navy’s Epidemiology Data Center and Industrial Hygiene efforts for the analysis and contributions of data supporting the World Health Organization and Department of Defense. The Sabre team continues to work closely with NMCPHC staff to coordinate and provide centralized support and services to medical activities, afloat and ashore, in areas of health promotion, preventive medicine, occupational health, and environmental health.

The work will be performed at the Naval Hospital in Portsmouth, Va., and will span 1 base year plus one option year.

7 Deadly Sins of Business Development

I usually like material from this author. I can see where Sabre had some missteps but are now building a much better foundation. It all starts with the right people, and I’ve been blessed

Small businesses face a new competitive environment and must guard against missteps that suffocate business development.

* By Bill Scheessele
* Jul 02, 2009

A significant transition is taking place with small business. There are new rules, fewer opportunities and more competition. Future prospects aren’t any better unless companies are willing to make changes in their business development methodology to grow revenue. Small businesses need to pursue new and larger opportunities but lack the business development skills to guide them from opportunity identification to capture.

Here are seven deadly sins of business development to which small businesses often fall prey.

1. Lack of executable business development plans. Vulnerable companies use their initial business plan to reach existing levels of revenue but never plan well for the next phase of growth. To survive, a small-business leader must build a proactive business development organization with operational and tactical growth plans that are actionable and realistic.

2. Inconsistent customer engagement models. Most small businesses begin using the seller organic growth model and are only able to increase revenue by working longer hours. Few companies move directly to a consultative business approach favored by customers. Lacking their own plans and processes to make this change, companies are constantly in a reactive mode, responding to whatever their customers’ plans and processes might be.

3. Inadequate business development process. Most business development teams for small businesses do not know how to effectively call on customers. Without an efficient opportunity identification and qualification process, they can’t make those decisions early on. The tendency is to cling to opportunities and submit hail-mary proposals, even when the business is not positioned well.

4. Unable to identify, recruit and hire quality business development staff. Small businesses either possess good business development personnel or they don’t. If they believe they have the talent or have identified individuals with potential, the tendency is to meld these folks into a business development team with no idea whether the team will make the numbers. Selecting a business development staff is a difficult proposition, particularly for those outside the field. If sourcing business development talent from outside, a small business might encounter more problems. Without assessment experience, hiring managers discover their selected hires prove their faking-it factor is much greater than their business development ability.

5. Poor business development leadership. In small business, the strategic business development leader is often the owner or president of an organization that might also include a tactical business development manager. However, the worst mistakes result when the best individual is promoted to manager, and he neither possesses the skills nor experience to perform in this role. This person prefers to be out working on the next deal not trying to herd cats on the business development team. The net result is the loss of your best business development person, a frustrated manager and an ineffective organization.

6. Lack of understanding of their customers’ buying process. Many small-business development teams do not fully understand how and why customers buy. They neither know who the decision-makers are nor when a decision will be made. Not understanding the process leaves you at a disadvantage against competitors who engage the customer early, develop relationships, obtain valuable input and affect requirements.

7. Incomplete knowledge of customer needs. What drives the client to choose your small business over others? Not knowing the answer is possibly the gravest sin. Trivializing client problems without asking questions and listening is where most small businesses fail miserably. Without a relevant dialogue to really understand client issues before presenting capabilities or solutions limits the effectiveness of your business-development organization and positions your team along with everyone else’s.

If you discover that any of these seven deadly sins sound familiar, find a resource you can trust to fill the gaps. Growth is not a given in the current business climate. Whatever got you where you are now might not get you where you need to go.

About the Author

Bill Scheessele is chairman and chief executive officer at MBDi, a business development professional services firm.

Federal contractors need the right stuff for success

Federal contractors must have strong attributes and depth to succeed amid slowing discretionary federal spending.

• By Jerry Grossman
• Jul 02, 2009

Strategic development for federal contractors is more important than ever given the economic and market environments that have unfolded during the past year. Both thoughtful internal development and highly targeted mergers and acquisitions will be essential to achieve double digit top-line growth in the years ahead. Successful contractors will need to be better structured and managed to compete effectively.

Certain emerging factors will support an active transaction environment, including greater government attention to organizational conflicts of interest and portfolio repositioning for changing customer priorities. Availability of capital to support transactions will increase. At the same time, a significant slowdown in the growth rate of discretionary spending will reduce organic growth opportunities, particularly for unprepared contractors.

The future trajectory of discretionary federal spending has flattened, as reflected in budget projections recently released by the Office of Management and Budget. Compounded annual growth rates in federal discretionary spending, including national security and civilian agencies, are projected to drop by nearly 80 percent; that is, the CAGR for federal discretionary spending in the 2008 to 2016 period is less than 2.0 percent, compared to a rate of about 8 percent during 2000 to 2008.

Contractors also should consider the stated intention of the new administration to insource more and outsource less. Accordingly, the ability of contractors to achieve meaningful organic growth is now more directly dependent on their ability to squarely align their capabilities and depth with federal spending priorities than in previous times. Excluding preference programs, commodity businesses will generate less value and attract fewer interested buyers.

OMB projections include assumptions about future growth in gross domestic product, federal deficits and spending for mandatory programs. Along with estimates of total federal debt and the prospective interest rate environment, how these factors actually turn out will directly affect the pace of discretionary spending that the government can finance. Importantly, discretionary spending provides the energy to fuel contractor growth and prosperity.

The magnitude of projected federal budget deficits is huge, as are the total federal borrowing levels necessary to finance those deficits. Measured as a proportion of the U.S. GDP, the federal deficit will reach 12.3 percent in 2009 and average 6.5 percent during the five fiscal years ending in 2013. That proportion has averaged 3.6 percent during the past 10 years and 4.5 percent during the past 30 years. At the end of fiscal 2008, total federal debt stood at about $10 trillion, up from $5.5 trillion since 1998, an increase of 82 percent.

Looking forward 10 years, the federal debt is projected to reach $22 trillion in 2018, an increase of 120 percent. In fiscal 2009, discretionary outlays — excluding Troubled Asset Relief Program spending — approximate 38 percent of the budget. In 2018, discretionary outlays are forecasted to drop to about 30 percent of the total budget. Additional threats to discretionary spending exist. Slower GDP growth could reduce tax receipts. From 2004 to 2009, GDP grew 22 percent. The OMB forecast reflects 29 percent GDP growth during the next five years. Should the growth remain at recent levels, the government would lose about $250 billion in tax collections.

Federal borrowing rates equal to historic averages of around 4 percent would increase interest costs by more than $700 billion over five years. Expansion of federal health care spending through the addition of a public option, coupled with burgeoning bailout costs, would further challenge federal resources, raising taxation levels, federal borrowing, or both. Accordingly, the discretionary spending component of the budget, already declining as a proportion of the total, might be squeezed further by wrong estimates or additional government spending mandates.

Taken together, these factors suggest a much more competitive environment for the government technology services market, favoring companies with discriminating attributes, such as creativity, technology tools, strong management and domain-specific solutions.

About the Author
Jerry Grossman is managing director at Houlihan Lokey Howard and Zukin.

Sabre opens new office in Belcamp, MD

Sabre Systems, Inc. is pleased to announce the opening of a new office in Belcamp, Maryland.

Sabre has opened this new office as a means by which the company can expand its presence and continue its support of the Command, Control, Communications, Computers, Intelligence, Surveillance and Reconnaissance (C4ISR) mission moving from Fort Monmouth, N.J., to the Aberdeen Proving Ground. Sabre provides communication engineering, information assurance and program management support to many of the Army’s acquisition programs.

Sabre Completes JLU Study to Wide Acclaim

Sabre, along with PS&S and HR&A Advisors, was part of a consultant team that recently completed the Joint Base McGuire-Dix-Lakehurst Joint Land Use Study (JLUS) prepared for Ocean and Burlington Counties. The JLUS charted the course for a mutually beneficial relationship between America’s only tri-service joint base and the two counties and ten municipalities that surround it. The year-long study endeavored to balance military mission and community development so that both could flourish while protecting the health and safety of local residents.

Those involved in the completion of the study celebrated with a dinner hosted by the Friends of Navy Lakehurst at the La Bove Grande in Lakehurst on April 30, 2009.

The study was widely covered by the press including an editorial which heralded “Base Report Right on Target.” Click on the links below to access some of the additional stories about the study.

• Asbury Park Press JLUS Editorial April 3 2009.doc
• Asbury Park Press JLUS Article March 31 2009.doc
• http://www.jointbasenj.org/LoginPublic.aspx
• http://www.courierpostonline.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/200905010310/NEWS01/905010360
• http://www.pressofatlanticcity.com/news/press/ocean/article_906b4d89-87a7-59a1-98b5-84b585b13475.html?mode=story

Economic concerns and new political priorities force contractors to be proactive

Another reinforcing article from Washington Technology Times

By Bill Scheessele
Jun 04, 2009

A wait-and-see stance will put your organization at a disadvantage

The second quarter of 2009 roared in with two critical — and in many ways related — occurrences within days of each other. On April 3, 1105 Government Information Group, which publishes Washington Technology, released the research study “Positioning to Win Federal Business,” compiled by Market Connections Inc. and subsequently discussed by a panel of industry leaders.
Then, on April 6, Defense Secretary Robert Gates announced the key recommendations he would make to President Barack Obama with respect to the fiscal 2010 defense budget.

Both events deserve further review.

The Defense Department announcement is significant for its revelations about the winners and losers in the budget for 2010 and beyond — not just based on possibilities and conjecture but based in cold reality as revealed by Gates.

The 1105 GIG/Market Connections study is noteworthy for its insight into what your peers in the federal market believe are the most pressing challenges ahead and how they are responding. The top two challenges in the next 12 months are:

• Changes in agency strategies and initiatives under the new administration.
• Achieving growth in a sluggish and uncertain economy.

Or as one respondent said: “The next 12 to 18 months [are] going to be a time of great confusion, figuring out what works and what doesn’t from the last administration and getting changes made.”

Concerns related to the economy and new government strategies affect organizations large and small. The fact is that leaner business development organizations are chasing fewer and shifting defense opportunities, with ever-increasing corporate competition.

The 1105 GIG study revealed key strategies that successful contractors are using to improve their capture processes and resulting win rates:

• Better relationships with existing and new clients.
• Close coordination of account/capture/business development and solutions organizations.
• More emphasis on the early capture process.
• More rigorous bid selection.
• Third-party evaluations of processes to ensure effectiveness.

In Washington Technology’s Top 100 issue in May, an article titled “Contractors mix worries with optimism” indicated that the principal challenges facing Top 100 company leaders are:

• Entering new markets.
• Developing new lines of business or expertise.
• Recruiting employees with specific expertise.
• Finding new teaming partners.
  Even more critical is the revelation that 80 percent of the Top 100 executives believe the market is more competitive than it was just five years ago.

So what does all this mean for your organization? Given the revelations above and their impact on business development, some companies have taken a hard look at their business development organizations and discovered they are not as well prepared to tackle today’s new reality as they had thought. They’re finding critical gaps in their processes, such as an inability to identify and qualify opportunities and gather human intelligence. Coupled with essential skill disparities in their business development employees, those shortcomings will negatively affect their ability to win business.

In this uncertain environment, a wait-and-see stance will put your organization at a disadvantage. Now, more than ever, an assessment of your business — getting plans, people and processes correctly aligned and operating in a cohesive manner — is an essential strategy to achieve success. Training your teams to tackle the new reality is a prudent investment of time and money.

SAVE THE DATE 07/15/09 – An afternoon with author Verne Harnish

From Washington Technology – article on business intelligence gathering

Measure your business development skills
By Bill Scheessele
May 08, 2009
No doubt you’ve heard of the intelligence quotient. In competitive assessment and business development, we investigate the human intelligence quotient, or HIQ. This measures how much your company values first-person intelligence received from a source in an organization.

Human intelligence is critical to business development.

A client, a former intelligence officer now serving in a business development role, discovered that business development requires the same talents he used when he was working in intelligence.

Elicitation, which includes direct conversations with prospects and clients, is a critical aspect of his process. Being able to encourage individuals to talk about things he wants them to talk about is the key component of intelligence gathering.

Also, he’s convinced that collaboration with the rest of the business development organization is a force multiplier in gathering information necessary to qualify or disqualify an opportunity early.

This quick test can measure your human intelligence quotient. Answer “yes,” “no” or “don’t know.” Score 1 point for each “yes” and 0 for each “no” or “don’t know” response.

1. Do you know the individuals you are talking with at the prospect agency and how they fit into the decision-making process?
2. Are you not paying close attention to what is being said and giving answers little thought and quickly moving to the next question?
3. Do you ask tough questions to gather real intelligence and not just data?
4. Do you know what information is necessary to help with your stage or gate reviews?
5. Do you have an intell-gathering process to support the qualification of opportunities?
6. Do you have intell gatherers versus information providers on your team?
7. Do you collaborate and share intell among your company’s sectors and groups?
8. Does your organization value human intell as an asset?
9. Can you measure the quantity and the quality of your intell?
10. Do you know how to measure the value of subjective vs. objective intell? (i.e. “We need an XYZ that weighs 14 tons” vs. “We need an XYZ that’s effective.”)
11. Is your operations team included early as part of your qualifying team?
12. Do you know the information you need early on to disqualify an opportunity?
13. Is your team forever gathering intell but never executing on it?
14. Do you have a constant loop back to refine your intelligence?
15. Does your team only hear what they want to hear?

A perfect 15. You have an excellent HIQ and are able to take advantage of intelligence collection to accurately and objectively qualify opportunities. This saves you money and empowers your business development team.

Ten to 14 points. You’re taking steps to value human intell and are making significant inroads in developing an objective opportunity qualification methodology.

Six to nine points. You are average but you are not efficiently tracking opportunities. You might be using a capture management process, collecting data and providing busy work for your team, but you’re not effective in qualifying opportunities. Don’t be surprised to discover your business development team is not actually talking to prospects but merely gathering information at industry days and trade shows.

Less than 5 points. You’re wasting resources and confusing the potential customer — if he or she even knows you exist.

At this point, you should consider a business development organization assessment to document planning, process and skill gaps and then evaluate your team’s education and professional development requirements. Raising your score can guarantee positive revenue results.

Hello world!

Now using WordPress for my blog and have imported posts from my blogspot site. Also, follow me on Twitter www.twitter.com/pjaurigue

Defense projects top 2010 federal IT wish list

Defense projects top 2010 federal IT wish list

By David Hubler, Washington Technology

May 22, 2009

Preliminary analysis by Input finds technology opportunities in fiscal 2010 budget requests

A number of agency information technology initiatives get a funding boost in the proposed 2010 federal budget, according to Input, a federal marketing and government business analysis company.

A preliminary analysis by Input’s Industry Analysis team of federal IT spending growth finds the top 10 IT spending increases for FY 2010 are led by the Veterans Affairs Department (20 percent), Commerce Department (5.9 percent) and Defense Department (3.4 percent).

“Despite the anticipated belt-tightening under the Obama administration, technology opportunities will emerge in FY2010,” the Input analysis said. It suggested that contractors focus on a few key areas:

VA is one of the fastest growing departments in terms of IT budgets. As it struggles with overloads in claims processing and systems associated with supporting returning warfighters, VA will continue to invest in technology to enable it to keep up with increasing demands.

Development, Modernization, Enhancement – While money still flows to sustain current operations, there are some pockets of opportunity in new development and enhancements. Contractors should continue to track DME dollars to identify new programs or partnering opportunities as well as to understand how agency DME may change their current technology environments.

Operations and Maintenance for stimulus follow-on – Some recovery-related initiatives, such as the Social Security Administration’s National Computer Center and the Homeland Security Department’s headquarters consolidation, will require ongoing support and maintenance beyond the stimulus effort. Contractors that begin to consider how to position themselves for that work now will be ahead of the game.

The top IT DOD budget requests as enumerated by Input are:

$355.8 million for the Air Force’s Expeditionary Combat Support System, for commercial enterprise resource planning and other solutions to replace legacy logistics and procurement information.

$1 billion for the Army’s Warfighter Information Network – Mobile, tactical communications system for delivering video, data, imagery, and voice services. The next stage will develop a satellite-based on-the-move network capability.

$25.1 million for DOD’s Enterprise Business System to replace several legacy business applications supporting the current supply chain management for Cataloging, Ordering, Receiving, Inventory Management and Promotions.

$236.8 million for the Navy’s Next Generation Enterprise Network to provide net-centric data and services to Navy and Marine personnel.

Contractors mix worries with optimism

From Washington Technology, an interesting article and survey capturing the pulse of the government contractor community. Phil J

Contractors mix worries with optimism

By Nick Wakeman

May 07, 2009



Many fret over tougher contracting rules but still believe growth will come

Tougher contracting rules, more scrutiny, increasing competition, challenging entries into new markets and the need to attract good employees, preferably with security clearances: that is the reality companies on the 2009 Top 100 faced.

What worries keep you up at night?

Percent who ranked topic at No.

1, 2 or 3

Developing new lines of business or expertise: 80 percent

Hiring and retaining workers with security clearances: 54 percent

Hiring

and retaining workers: 51 percent

Finding the right teaming partners: 43

percent

Selecting the best new technologies: 38 percent

Financing to

pursue long-term opportunities: 35 percent

What priorities will create

the most opportunities?

Percent who ranked topic at No. 1, 2 or 3

Health care: 56 percent

Cybersecurity: 54 percent

Rebuilding the

nation’s infrastructure: 38 percent

Green IT: 37 percent

Research and

development: 36 percent

Energy: 31 percent

Education: 24 percent

Broadband: 22 percent

It’s a tough marketplace, with the potential to get tougher, according to a survey of Washington Technology readers who work for Top 100 companies.

But our look inside the minds of executives at Top 100 companies also shows a belief that the market will grow at rates much stronger than the economy in general.

The biggest worry for Top 100 companies is developing new lines of business or expertise. That topic ranked as first, second or third among concerns expressed by nearly 80 percent of respondents.

Personnel issues also are a major concern. Hiring and retaining workers with security clearances was the No. 2 concern picked by respondents. Hiring and retaining workers in general came in third.

Finding the right teaming partners ranked as the fourth most common concern.

A significant number of respondents, 35 percent, were unsure if the Obama administration’s procurement reforms would have a positive or negative impact on the market. Thirty-nine percent said it would be negative.

A big change many of the companies might face is the Obama administration’s preference for fixed-price contracts. Forty-six percent said that 25 percent or less of their contracts are fixed price.

A shift in this direction will mean that companies will need to adopt new ways of managing their businesses to control their costs and make sure they have a clear view of customers’ requirements before committing to bid on a contract.

However, most companies expect to grow in the coming year, with confidence in individual company performance higher than for the government market overall and the economy in general.

Fifty-seven percent said they thought their company would grow by 5 percent or better this year, while 53 percent said the government market would grow by that rate. Meanwhile, 41 percent said the Dow Jones Industrial Average, a measure of the broader economy, would grow at 5 percent or better.

85 percent believe in growth

How much do you expect your company to grow?

More than 25 percent: 0

15 percent to 25 percent: 11 percent

5 percent to 15 percent: 46 percent

0 to 5 percent: 28 percent

Stay the same: 4 percent

Go down: 6

percent

Don’t know: 6 percent

* Percents do not add to 100 percent

because of rounding

Tough market getting tougher

Is the market more competitive than five years ago?

More: 80 percent

Less: 4 percent

The same: 15 percent

* Percents do not add to 100

percent because of rounding

Is competition increasing?

Yes: 73

percent

No: 7 percent

The same: 20 percent

Good times ahead?

Will the president’s stimulus package create opportunities for your company?

Yes: 53 percent

No: 21 percent

Don’t know: 26 percent

For respondents with a less optimistic view, the broader economy also is expected to fare worse, according to the survey. Thirty percent said the Dow would stay the same or go down, compared to 20 percent who felt the government market would stay the same or go down and 10 percent who predicted that fate for their own company.

Among the spending priorities in the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act, health care and cybersecurity are seen as the strongest business opportunities. Health care was picked as the first, second or third growth opportunity by 56 percent of respondents. Cybersecurity was close behind at 54 percent.

Overall, 53 percent of respondents said the president’s stimulus package would create opportunities for their companies, compared to 21 percent who said no and 26 percent who said they didn’t know.

The survey also revealed that Top 100 executives think the marketplace is becoming more competitive, with an overwhelming majority of respondents — 80 percent — saying that competition has increased compared to five years ago. Only 4 percent said it was less competitive, and 15 percent said it was the same.

Looking ahead, 73 percent felt the market will get more competitive, while 7 percent thought it would be less competitive, and 20 percent thought it would stay the same.

About the Author

Nick Wakeman is the editor of Washington Technology.