Contracting Officer Podcast 2.0 (samples)

If you work in the Government acquisition world, this podcast is for you. (not just for Contracting Officers!)Before the Government can buy supplies and services from the open market they must consider “Required Sources”.Kevin and Paul discuss FAR Part 8’s required sources of supplies that must be considered by Government Contracting Officers at the beginning of the acquisition process. Learn how these apparent inefficiencies can actually speed up the buying process and why Industry must understand how the Government buys what you’re selling. (or you may be fishing in the wrong stream…)__________Kevin Jans and Paul Schauer created the Contracting Officer Podcast to help Government and Industry acquisition professionals understand more about how the other side thinks. Admittedly, the podcast’s name sounds very limiting. It is not just for contracting officers or even just for those in the contracting profession. Anyone with an interest in the Federal acquisition world can benefit from the insight and down-to-earth explanations of complicated topics provided by the hosts.

If you work in the Government acquisition world, this podcast is for you. (not just for Contracting Officers!)In a bit of a departure from the normal CO Podcast topics, we get a little “philosophical”. Well…not really. After a spirited “discussion” about how the ebb and flow of the economy in general impacts Government contractors we boiled it down to a basic principle: Lucky vs. Good.Kevin and Paul discuss the differences between lucky and good in the Government acquisition world and why both Government and Industry should recognize the impact of external forces on the competitive landscape. _________Kevin Jans and Paul Schauer created the Contracting Officer Podcast to help Government and Industry acquisition professionals understand more about how the other side thinks. Admittedly, the podcast’s name sounds very limiting. It is not just for contracting officers or even just for those in the contracting profession. Anyone with an interest in the Federal acquisition world can benefit from the insight and down-to-earth explanations of complicated topics provided by the hosts.

If you work in the Government acquisition world, this podcast is for you. (not just for Contracting Officers!)Episode 2 introduced our take on the 80/20 rule. The 80/20 Rule (of thumb) plays on Pareto’s Law by comparing the relative importance of relationships and processes in the Government market to their importance in commercial industry. We described how in many instances, winning Government business has more to do with process and following the rules than relationships between buyers and sellers.Kevin and Paul revisit the 80/20 rule to add context about how the importance of relationships is directly related to the size and complexity of the acquisition at hand. For the largest Government acquisitions, relationships are every bit as important as they are in the commercial world. __________Kevin Jans and Paul Schauer created the Contracting Officer Podcast to help Government and Industry acquisition professionals understand more about how the other side thinks. Admittedly, the podcast’s name sounds very limiting. It is not just for contracting officers or even just for those in the contracting profession. Anyone with an interest in the Federal acquisition world can benefit from the insight and down-to-earth explanations of complicated topics provided by the hosts.

If you work in the Government acquisition world, this podcast is for you. (not just for Contracting Officers!) Do the words cost and price mean the same thing to you? In most of your life the answer is probably yes. In the business world (and Government acquisition world) they are quite different. Confusing the two can cause real problems.Paul discusses the important distinction between cost and price with regular guest Wendy Frieman. Learn the general elements of “cost”, the complexity of cost estimation, and why pricing is more than just building up the costs. ———— If you need help with the Government market, become a Skyway Connection Community licensee and get access to one-on-one insights, time-saving tools, and contract-centric training resources that will make sure you’re ready to take advantage of opportunities each time they knock.The Skyway Connection© Community was created specifically to help companies expand their knowledge and capabilities, and to increase their competitive position in federal government acquisitions. - Learn more at: https://skywayacq.com/connectMembership benefits include: Access to Skyway Insight© Webinars Unlimited access to The RFP Score™ Access to Ask a Contracting Officer Forum™ Priority Access to Skyway Team for Skyway Insight, capture, proposal support __________Kevin Jans and Paul Schauer created the Contracting Officer Podcast to help Government and Industry acquisition professionals understand more about how the other side thinks. Admittedly, the podcast’s name sounds very limiting. It is not just for contracting officers or even just for those in the contracting profession. Anyone with an interest in the Federal acquisition world can benefit from the insight and down-to-earth explanations of complicated topics provided by the hosts.

If you work in the Government acquisition world, this podcast is for you. (not just for Contracting Officers!)Past performance is the bridge to the next contract, whether it is winning new work or just keeping the work you have.Learn when past performance matters to both Government and Industry (hint: the entire time) and why it is important for both sides to understand the definitions of “recent” and “relevant” as they relate to your acquisition or proposal. __________Kevin Jans and Paul Schauer created the Contracting Officer Podcast to help Government and Industry acquisition professionals understand more about how the other side thinks. Admittedly, the podcast’s name sounds very limiting. It is not just for contracting officers or even just for those in the contracting profession. Anyone with an interest in the Federal acquisition world can benefit from the insight and down-to-earth explanations of complicated topics provided by the hosts.

If you work in the Government acquisition world, this podcast is for you. (not just for Contracting Officers!)It’s time to wrap up the Execution Zones with the final episode in the series: The Wrap Up Zone. (sorry…couldn’t resist that one)Kevin and Paul introduced the Execution Zones in Episode 84. The Execution Zones are a helpful way to envision where and how certain topics fit into the Government contracting world. The Execution Zones are the post-award companions to the Acquisition Time Zones and are referenced in many episodes. In chronological order, they are:1) The Honeymoon Zone2) The Performance Zone3) The Recompete Zone4) The Wrap-up ZoneThe work is done. The product is delivered. The services have ended. Your contract is over. The Wrap Up Zone is the culmination of the Execution Zones. It covers the time period from the end of the contract period of performance until the final closeout modification is signed. With service contracts, there is often a transition period between the incumbent and the new contractor when both are working simultaneously to ensure a clean hand off of the responsibilities. Learn how the Wrap Up Zone can impact the Government’s perception of a contractor and why a contract (and potential financial liability) is not over until the final closeout modification is signed.__________Kevin Jans and Paul Schauer created the Contracting Officer Podcast to help Government and Industry acquisition professionals understand more about how the other side thinks. Admittedly, the podcast’s name sounds very limiting. It is not just for contracting officers or even just for those in the contracting profession. Anyone with an interest in the Federal acquisition world can benefit from the insight and down-to-earth explanations of complicated topics provided by the hosts.

If you work in the Government acquisition world, this podcast is for you. (not just for Contracting Officers!) One of the best shortcuts to learn and grow is to get perspective from people with different experiences than your own. With this in mind, we’re adding a bit of the program manager’s perspective to the podcast. Listen in on Paul’s conversation with special guest Dave Bartlow, a former Navy officer who now works as a project manager on the Industry side. Dave shares his experience managing subcontractors and project schedules. It’s no surprise that the discussion returns to one of our common themes: communication. (between Government and Industry as well as within a program) We hope you enjoy the Program Manager’s perspective, joining the proposal manager’s and contract administrator’s perspectives on the podcast in the quest to help make Government contracts better, one contract at a time.———— If you need help with the Government market, become a Skyway Connection Community licensee and get access to one-on-one insights, time-saving tools, and contract-centric training resources that will make sure you’re ready to take advantage of opportunities each time they knock.The Skyway Connection© Community was created specifically to help companies expand their knowledge and capabilities, and to increase their competitive position in federal government acquisitions. - Learn more at: https://skywaymember.comMembership benefits include: Access to Skyway Insight© Webinars Unlimited access to The RFP Score™ Access to Ask a Contracting Officer Forum™ Priority Access to Skyway Team for Skyway Insight, capture, proposal support __________Kevin Jans and Paul Schauer created the Contracting Officer Podcast to help Government and Industry acquisition professionals understand more about how the other side thinks. Admittedly, the podcast’s name sounds very limiting. It is not just for contracting officers or even just for those in the contracting profession. Anyone with an interest in the Federal acquisition world can benefit from the insight and down-to-earth explanations of complicated topics provided by the hosts.

If you work in the Government acquisition world, this podcast is for you. (not just for Contracting Officers!)Kevin and Paul dive into contract terminations. (FAR Part 49)Learn the difference between termination for convenience (T4C) and termination for default (T4D) and why the FAR considers terminations to be a last resort. __________Kevin Jans and Paul Schauer created the Contracting Officer Podcast to help Government and Industry acquisition professionals understand more about how the other side thinks. Admittedly, the podcast’s name sounds very limiting. It is not just for contracting officers or even just for those in the contracting profession. Anyone with an interest in the Federal acquisition world can benefit from the insight and down-to-earth explanations of complicated topics provided by the hosts.

If you work in the Government acquisition world, this podcast is for you. (not just for Contracting Officers!)It is likely that your contract will require some kind of modification over its period of performance. (unless it is for a simple commodity purchase) Modifications may have a large impact (to the specification, schedule, statement of work, etc.) or may make minor administrative changes with no impact to the work. Kevin and Paul discuss FAR Part 43 and provide an overview of the process and rules for modifying Government contracts. Learn the different types of modifications, who can authorize changes to the contract, and why Government and Industry negotiation “power” changes after contract award. __________Kevin Jans and Paul Schauer created the Contracting Officer Podcast to help Government and Industry acquisition professionals understand more about how the other side thinks. Admittedly, the podcast’s name sounds very limiting. It is not just for contracting officers or even just for those in the contracting profession. Anyone with an interest in the Federal acquisition world can benefit from the insight and down-to-earth explanations of complicated topics provided by the hosts.

If you work in the Government acquisition world, this podcast is for you. (not just for Contracting Officers!)Kevin discusses the challenges that small businesses face as they strive to win their first prime contract with Jim Duffey and Ted Atsinger from Greytek. Grektek is a Service Disabled Veteran Owned Small Business (SDVOSB) that specializes in organizational risk, security education & training, and intelligence services.Learn some of the differences between commercial and Government customers from a small business perspective. The conversation with Greytek also reveals pitfalls that first time primes may deal with in targeting new work that fits their skills and weight class and in preparing proposals for Government competitions. __________Kevin Jans and Paul Schauer created the Contracting Officer Podcast to help Government and Industry acquisition professionals understand more about how the other side thinks. Admittedly, the podcast’s name sounds very limiting. It is not just for contracting officers or even just for those in the contracting profession. Anyone with an interest in the Federal acquisition world can benefit from the insight and down-to-earth explanations of complicated topics provided by the hosts.