Author’s Note: GovCon Growthability™ is the capacity to implement strategies that earn companies the ability to deliver the goods, services, and expertise federal agencies need to achieve their goals. Is your GovCon Growthability where it needs to be?

We define GovCon Growthability™ as the capacity for individuals and organizations to effectively implement strategies for delivering the goods, services, and expertise essential to federal agencies. Being GovCon Growthable™ is not self-serving. The outcomes include achieving your organizational goals while helping the Government achieve performance improvements, agency priorities, and other critical needs. If it seems common-sensical and straightforward to think about it this way, that’s a good thing. The bad news is not everyone in federal contracting operates under that ethos, so we don’t have far to go to validate my point. Consider the news from October 9, 2024 where the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of Virginia announced guilty pleas from two executives of a company contracting with the U.S. Air Force. These executives admitted to diverting over $12 million from an Air Force contract to pay for unrelated personal and business expenses.

The good news is becoming GovCon Growthable™ is within your reach. It doesn’t matter if you are an established federal contractor, or new to this. Starting on the right foot by implementing good and proven tactics, will make a difference. Within The ASBC ecosystem, it starts with The Three Strikes. These are fundamental steps that, if not addressed, will encumber your efforts to make progress in federal contracting. It also involves developing knowledge so you can operate in a way that has you going beyond industry best practices. This is how you rise above the crowd that tends to live by the rule we always do it this way. “This way” usually entails throwing stuff at the wall to see what sticks versus applying informed processes to support good decision-making. Companies and people with a high-level of GovCon Growthability are focused on getting sh!t done versus waiting around to see what pops over the proverbial fence. You know what I mean. I’m talking about betting your hopes and dreams on what comes out of sources like:

• – SAM.gov/ContractOpportunities;
• – e-Buy;
• – multiple award contract (MAC) task order distribution list, and;
• – whatever third-party “market intelligence” solution you decide to purchase. Caveat emptor.

Companies with established GovCon Growthability don’t trust without verifying, and they don’t rest on their laurels. This makes them more likely to be the one’s engaging with and influencing customers (versus buyers) before an RFI or draft RFP ever hits the street. It also means their pitch sounds less like:

“buy from us because we’re this type of [small] business”

and more like

“we’ve reviewed your agency’s mission, goals and budget justifications, and understand your priorities and performance improvement initiatives. This is how we can help you realize the outcomes you’re seeking.”

How do you achieve GovCon Growthability?  By actively engaging resources that offer knowledge and skills rooted in ground truth. The alternative (also known as “this way”) is to consume information based on opportunists ideologies and that of govcon grifters who possess little or no knowledge of our marketplace, and no commitment to it, either.

It should surprise no one that I’m a big fan of our Ethical Stalking for Government Contractors® Bootcamp program and consider it to be the very best way for establishing a foundation of GovCon Growthability™. Don’t just take my word for it, there are hundreds of established and newer small and large companies who think so, too.

Testimonial

“Ethical Stalking for Government Contractors® Bootcamp is different from your average training program. Surrounded by up to 15 executives and professionals from diverse industries, we embarked on an intensive journey into the nuances of federal contracting. Through structured lectures, live exercises, and engaging discussions where EVERYONE is heard and where we learn from each other, the experience fundamentally transformed my approach to strategic decision-making in pursuing government opportunities in 2024.”

Evelyn Brooks, Professional Management Consulting Services (PMCS)
Bootcamp Alumni (January 2024)

Peace, Health, and Thriving,

Go-To-Guy Timberlake