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Your People Aren't The Problem - Your System Is
When something goes wrong in government contracting, the conversation usually turns in the same direction:
Who did this?
Who approved it?
Who missed it?
Who messed this up?
That feels like accountability.
Most of the time, it is not.
It is avoidance.
In this episode of The GovCon Show, we break down one of the most common mistakes companies make when files do not hold up, decisions cannot be explained, or reviewers start asking uncomfortable questions. They blame people for outcomes the system was designed to produce.
Weak files are not usually created by bad people. They are created by good people working inside weak systems.
Systems that reward speed over defensibility.
Systems that rely on memory instead of documentation.
Systems that trust experience instead of requiring logic.
Systems that depend on the right person being available to explain what the file should have explained on its own.
That is not a people problem.
That is a system design problem.
Season 2 Episode 2 continues the deeper breakdown of how contractor systems actually fail — and why blaming the person closest to the file usually misses the real problem entirely.
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By Tim MagnussonWhen something goes wrong in government contracting, the conversation usually turns in the same direction:
Who did this?
Who approved it?
Who missed it?
Who messed this up?
That feels like accountability.
Most of the time, it is not.
It is avoidance.
In this episode of The GovCon Show, we break down one of the most common mistakes companies make when files do not hold up, decisions cannot be explained, or reviewers start asking uncomfortable questions. They blame people for outcomes the system was designed to produce.
Weak files are not usually created by bad people. They are created by good people working inside weak systems.
Systems that reward speed over defensibility.
Systems that rely on memory instead of documentation.
Systems that trust experience instead of requiring logic.
Systems that depend on the right person being available to explain what the file should have explained on its own.
That is not a people problem.
That is a system design problem.
Season 2 Episode 2 continues the deeper breakdown of how contractor systems actually fail — and why blaming the person closest to the file usually misses the real problem entirely.