innovation | The Contracting Education Academy

January 28, 2020 By cs

The contracting pendulum

Contracting methods have evolved over time, from three-page, performance-based contracts to specification-based contracts hundreds of pages in length, and now appear set to shift back to shorter contracts.

Maj. Don Lee and Sgt. 1st Class Rechelle Collins of the 639th Contracting Team discuss training on blanket purchase agreements conducted recently at Fort Bragg, NC. Knowing when a contracting tool like blanket purchase agreements is a good fit is a key contributor to contracting speed. (Photo by Sgt. 1st Class Terry Ann Lewis, graphic by U.S. Army Acquisition Support Center)

The implementation of statutes, regulations and policies designed to ensure fair and equitable treatment for industry became burdensome and increased the time and complexity of the acquisition process. This resulted in an ineffective procurement process that influenced mission readiness. Since that time, the contracting pendulum has swung to agile, streamlined initiatives.

These initiatives have been spearheaded by several important laws and regulations, including the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) for Fiscal Year 2016, which was implemented by the Section 809 Panel, secretary of the Army initiatives and strategic reforms from the Office of the Deputy Assistant Secretary of the Army for Procurement. One streamlining initiative embraced by Stuart A. Hazlett, deputy assistant secretary of the Army for procurement, is “data-driven contracting.” Data-driven contracting will facilitate analytics on raw data that can influence factors such as requirements, money spent, talent management and procurement acquisition lead time.

SIGNIFICANT CONTRACTING CHANGES

Historically, there have been significant regulatory changes that have influenced DoD contracting processes. These regulatory changes are the springboard to many contracting initiatives used today. In 1962, Congress passed Public Law 87-653, the Truth in Negotiations Act. That law specifies that when dealing in a sole-source environment, each procurement-contracting officer must certify cost as accurate, completed and current for all cost and pricing data. The Truth in Negotiations Act has been a cornerstone for ensuring that prices paid by the government are considered “fair and reasonable.”

In 1974, Congress passed legislation to establish the Office of Federal Procurement Policy (OFPP) within the Office of Management and Budget. OFPP provides direction for government-wide procurement policies, regulations and procedures; it also promotes economy, efficiency and effectiveness in the acquisition process. One way in which OFPP provides this direction is through the Federal Acquisition Regulation (FAR).

The FAR, implemented in 1984, provides uniform policies and procedures governing federal government contracts. Accompanied by the Defense Federal Acquisition Regulation Supplement (DFARS), these regulatory policies inundate contracting professionals and industry partners. In 1984, Congress also passed the Competition in Contracting Act. That act requires competition for award of all government contracts. The theory is that more competition for procurements reduces costs and allows more small businesses to win federal government contracts. It also established that if a protest is submitted to the U.S. Government Accountability Office (GAO) before contract award, the awarding of the contract will be suspended until GAO rules on the protest.

In 1994, Congress passed the Federal Acquisition Streamlining Act. That legislation established a preference for the use of commercial products and exempted commercial products from various statutory and regulatory requirements. It raised the ceiling for the use of “simplified purchase procedures” and raised the threshold for issuance synopsis. It exempted the micro-purchase from virtually all statutory requirements, and it required that paper-based contracting systems be replaced with an electronic contracting system within five years.

CONTRACTING REFORM INITIATIVES

Acquisition reform is important and provides a check and a balance between regulatory accountability and agile acquisition. Because of recent reform initiatives, the contracting pendulum has swung from complex to streamlined contracting processes, providing for efficient and rapid acquisition in support of the warfighter.

In 2005, OMB asked the OFPP to identify goods and services the government can purchase more effectively and efficiently through strategic sourcing. Strategic sourcing is an approach to supply chain management that formalizes the way information is gathered and used so that an organization can leverage its consolidated purchasing power to find the best possible values in the marketplace. As a result, the U.S. General Services Administration and Department of the Treasury established the Federal Strategic Sourcing Initiative to address government-wide opportunities to strategically source commonly purchased goods and services and eliminate duplication of efforts across agencies. An example of strategic sourcing for the Army is in the procurement of commercial hardware and software purchases under the CHESS (Computer Hardware, Enterprise Software and Solutions) program.

Then, in December 2014, OFPP issued a memorandum that directed agencies to take specific actions to implement category management, an approach based on industry leading practices, to further streamline and manage entire categories of spending across government more like a single enterprise. This approach includes strategic sourcing along with a broader set of strategies, such as developing common standards in practices and contracts, and improving data analysis and information sharing to better leverage the government’s buying power and reduce unnecessary contract duplication.

The NDAA passed in 2016 streamlined the acquisition process and eliminated redundant and duplicative requirements. Section 809 of the NDAA required that the secretary of defense establish a nine-member advisory panel consisting of experts in acquisition and procurement policy. The objective of the panel is to review DOD’s acquisition regulations and provide recommendations for streamlining procurement.

Some of the significant recommendations made by the panel include expanding and clarifying the use of other-transaction authority for production. Other-transaction authority is the term commonly used to refer to DOD’s authority to carry out “certain prototype, research and production projects” other than contracts. Such authority gives DOD the flexibility necessary to adopt and incorporate business practices that reflect commercial industry standards into its award instruments. DOD currently has permanent authority to award other-transaction agreements for research, prototype and production purposes. This kind of agreement allows nontraditional vendors a pathway for doing business with the government and introducing new and innovative ideas. In fiscal year 2019, the Army awarded 854 other-transaction agreements valued at roughly $4.9 billion.

FAR and DFARS contract clauses that are required to “flow down” from prime contractors to subcontractors, especially commercial subcontractors, are excessive and create additional burdens on DOD’s supply chain. In response, the Section 809 panel updated the FAR and DFARS to reduce burdens on DOD’s commercial supply chain, to decrease cost, prevent delays, remove barriers and encourage innovation in the military services.

The panel recommended minimizing the number of government-unique terms in commercial buying. The panel noted that when the Federal Acquisition Streamlining Act was established in 1994, there were only 57 FAR and DFARS clauses applicable to commercial buying. Today there are 165, according to the panel. The proliferation of clauses applicable to commercial buying at the prime contract level directly affects the number of government-unique clauses to subcontractors offering commercial products and services.

The 2018 NDAA amended the Truth in Negotiations Act to increase the threshold for contractors submitting certified cost and pricing data from $750,000 to $2 million. Contracting officers may still require cost or pricing data without certification, as they are tasked with ensuring that the cost or pricing data is fair and reasonable. However, this change is widely embraced by contractors doing business with the government.

Finally, the 2018 NDAA made changes to the bid and protest procedures relative to the Competition in Contracting Act and allows for enhanced post-award debriefing rights for DOD. What that means for DOD acquisitions is that, when a protest is filed, the “five-day period” to file a bid protest to trigger an automatic stay of award does not start until after the government delivers a written response to the offeror. Per the NDAA, a disappointed offeror may submit, “within two business days after receiving a post-award debriefing, additional questions related to the debriefing.” The law requires that “ … [t]he agency shall respond in writing to any additional question … within five business days” and that “the agency shall not consider the debriefing to be concluded until the agency delivers its written responses.”

ARMY CONTRACTING REFORM

The Army awards thousands of contracts yearly to support military forces worldwide. In FY19, the Army awarded 212,094 contract actions estimated at $94.59 billion. This does not include grants, government purchase-card buys, cooperative agreements or other authorized transactions that increased the estimate to $104.89 billion.

In 2017, the secretary of the Army directed initiatives to reform Army contracting, issuing “Army Directive 2017-32 (Acquisition Reform Initiative #6: Streamlining the Contracting Process),” which mandated streamlining practices within Army contracting to reduce the time it takes to develop and award a contract.

In accordance with this reform initiative, the deputy assistant secretary of the Army for procurement (DASA(P)) embarked on extensive reformation initiatives. They include:

1. Developed a centralized policy to standardize contracting policies across the Army.

2. Created policies and procedures that will facilitate the efficient implementation of category management. One policy, currently in coordination, aligns contracting activities to categories. This policy will promote habitual relationships among the contracting centers, category managers and customers. The draft policy stipulates that customers shall only submit their requirement to the designated contracting office. Aligning contracting activities with categories will assist in enforcing standard levels of services, limit standard levels of service end-run actions, and limit contract-action shopping among contracting centers.

3. Of 312 authorities identified in the FAR and DFARS, the Army delegated 159 authorities to a level lower than the assistant secretary of the Army for acquisition, logistics and technology (ASA(ALT)). This increased efficiency and eliminated the requirement to staff packages to ASA(ALT) for signature and approval, thereby saving time, money and resources.

4. Established “reform managers” to lead changes to contracting processes and develop new streamlined procedures, e.g., source selection, pricing cell, etc.

5. DASA(P) is also embracing “data-driven decision-making in contracting.” This type of contracting involves making decisions based on actual raw data derived from the automated contract systems. Data-driven decision-making improves how requirements are communicated between major stakeholders such as financial managers, program managers, requirements activities and industry partners. The bottom line is that everybody wins through increased productivity in procuring goods and services for the warfighter.

CONCLUSION

On Sept. 30, 2019, in a message to the Army force, Secretary of the Army Ryan D. McCarthy said, “We must maintain a sustainable level of readiness to meet current demands while executing an aggressive modernization strategy to ensure the total Army remains the most lethal ground combat force in the world.”

To achieve that end, the contracting pendulum must swing toward less restrictive acquisition policies and procedures.

For more information, go to https://spcs3.kc.army.mil/asaalt/procurement/SitePages/PAMHome.aspx#&panel1-3

This article was published in the 2020 Winter issue of Army AL&T Magazine. See: https://www.dvidshub.net/news/357393/contracting-pendulum

January 24, 2020 By cs

Leaning forward into the new year

In this article, originally published in the Jan.-Feb. 2020 issue of Defense Acquisition magazine, Under Secretary of Defense for Acquisition & Sustainment Ellen Lord talks about her reorganized department’s quest to use innovative techniques to expeditiously and cost-effectively deliver the goods and services needed by U.S. warfighters.

A new year has begun for our team. We continue using the momentum built thus far to propel us forward. Take a look at where we have come from. On Feb. 1, 2018, we stood up the new Acquisition and Sustainment (A&S) organization as mandated by Congress — and on Sept. 4, 2018, we had our first official day as a reorganized department. Of course, we used this opportunity to better shape our organization and acquisition system to meet the demands of the 21st century. Even while leadership has changed, our mission endures: Enable the Delivery and Sustainment of Secure and Resilient Capabilities to the Warfighter and Internal Partners Quickly and Cost Effectively. Our National Defense Strategy was instrumental as we built departmental norms and strategy.

A&S employees at all levels are driving the organization forward together, full speed ahead with several significant projects.

Adaptive Acquisition Framework

For starters, the Adaptive Acquisition Framework has been introduced, along with a rewrite of what had become a cumbersome document, the Department of Defense (DoD) Instruction 5000 Series. This way forward removes a longstanding system of bureaucracy and red tape by turning the procurement process into one that empowers users to be creative decision makers and problem solvers. The acquisition workforce will choose between a set of established pathways and timelines — specifically designed for a diversity of purchases — requiring different levels of urgency. Using the new policy, acquisition professionals will be given autonomy, within legal parameters, to churn up tailored solutions. All of these revisions should allow for DoD partnerships with commercial industry in real time, enabling the DoD to keep products up to date with emerging technologies, and delivering capabilities “at the speed of relevance.”

Program Sustainment

Improving program sustainment outcomes for the F-35 fighter jet is another top priority for A&S. Developed to replace multiple U.S. fighter jets with a platform that maximizes commonality, and therefore economies of scale, the DoD has fielded three configurations to satisfy United States Air Force, United States Marine Corps, United States Navy and multiple international partners’ tactical aircraft requirements. A&S is dedicated to achieving the DoD’s aim for an 80 percent mission capability rating by defining performance imperatives, metrics, establishing detailed success elements and applying commercial best practices. These efforts help ensure a ready and affordable fleet of fifth-generation fighters critical to preserving air dominance both for the United States and our allied partners in this era of strategic competition.

Software Development

Like anywhere else, DoD systems are enabled by hardware but are defined by the software used. With the technology industry innovating quickly, the DoD must figure out how to keep up with fast moving software development and life cycles. By engaging Agile and DevOps methods for more iterative processing, end users will be involved earlier and more often, enabling continuous integration and helping the DoD meet its goal to develop and sustain software simultaneously. Based on recommendations by the Defense Innovation Board, a new software acquisition policy of approaching the challenge from the business side is being finalized to allow for these more rapid techniques. Pilot programs are rolling out to define corresponding procedures even further. Along these lines, the DoD has asked Congress to specifically appropriate money for defense software and is awaiting budget review and National Defense Authorization Act spending decisions.

Cybersecurity

The Cyber Security Maturity Model Certification (CMMC) was developed (using the best industry standards) to ensure the cyber hygiene of the Defense Industrial Base is complete and protects critical information in the DoD. As part of the CMMC, a consortium of unbiased parties will oversee the training, quality and administration of a third party that will certify that industrial base partners uphold accepted standards. This effort was spearheaded by our Acquisition team in working to roll out version 0.6 of the model by November 2019 and version 1.0 by the first of this year. The consortium is to begin training and accreditation of certifiers with certification beginning by June. Contracts will be required to include this certification in their evaluation criteria, beginning this October.

Chemicals

Chemical agents Perfluorooctane Sulfonate (PFOS) and Perfluorooctanoic Acid (PFOA) are part of a larger chemical class known as Per- and Polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS). Following a health advisory issued by the Environmental Protection Agency that warned against PFAS chemicals in drinking water, studies discovered the presence of the harmful agents in many industrial and consumer products, including nonstick cookware and microwave popcorn bags.

In DoD applications, the chemicals have been found in firefighting foam used to rapidly extinguish fuel fires. Although successful in protecting against catastrophic loss of life and property, it is now known that the release of PFAS can potentially contaminate private wells and public water systems. A national committee and a task force were established to provide an aggressive, holistic approach to find and fund an effective substitute for firefighting foam without PFAS, develop and implement cleanup standards, make lasting policy change, and coordinate across federal agencies. The DoD discontinued land-based use of the firefighting foam in training, testing and maintenance. Now, when the foam is used in emergencies to save lives, releases are treated as a chemical spill. Affected soil is contained and removed, to ensure that no additional PFAS pollute the groundwater. The DoD has identified 36 drinking water systems containing unsafe PFOS and PFOA — some of those systems are servicing military installations and surrounding communities. In an effort to protect these areas, A&S is using investigative data to prioritize the U.S. Government’s actions in appropriately addressing drinking water issues caused by DoD activities.

Alignment

Going forward, the A&S organization will continue aligning itself to support the DoD’s top priorities. These projects, and many others, are critical pieces that fit together into the much larger goals of defending the country and arming the Warfighter.

Source: https://www.dau.edu/library/defense-atl/DATLFiles/Jan-Feb2020/DEFACQ%20Jan-Feb%202020.pdf

January 9, 2020 By cs

A win-win contracting tool for the Pentagon and the private sector

The Defense Department is taking measures to get new capabilities to warfighters more quickly, and they’re working. One of these tools is called Other Transaction Authority.

The Pentagon has made increasing use of this contracting method, which has existed since the space race but was expanded dramatically in the 2016 National Defense Authorization Act.

The value of Other Transaction Authority agreements has increased nearly 300% since 2016, from $1.4 billion to $3.7 billion, according to a Government Accountability Office report released in November.

The normal defense contracting system is, by all accounts, too slow. Secretary of the Army Ryan McCarthy has likened the procurement system to baseball: “It’s like having a 19-year-old kid that can throw a 100-mile-an-hour fastball but who won’t make the majors until he’s 39.”

Keep reading this article at: https://www.dailysignal.com/2019/12/30/a-win-win-contracting-tool-for-the-pentagon-and-the-private-sector/

December 27, 2019 By cs

How you can get better at picking creative ideas

A realistic first idea might not be as creative as an abstract second one, new research shows.

“Evaluating creativity is difficult,” says Justin M. Berg, an assistant professor at Stanford University Graduate School of Business. “A lot of research suggests that people are not very good at it, that a number of biases and challenges get in the way.”

In the new paper, Berg investigates a relatively understudied part of the creative process: the very early stage, when we first generate rough ideas. This, he notes, is when people are brainstorming in their own heads or sketching in secret; many of these ideas are never shared. But if you work in a job that involves creativity, these earliest choices about which initial idea you ought to pursue can greatly affect your creativity. Investing your time in the right idea can lead to a breakthrough.

So how good are people at knowing if an initial idea is worthy of time and energy? Not very good, it turns out, but also not terrible, which opens a path to improvement.

Keep reading this article at: https://www.nextgov.com/ideas/2019/12/how-you-can-get-better-picking-creative-ideas/161893/

November 20, 2019 By cs

The importance of Contracting Officer leadership

The future success of America’s national security requires dramatic improvement in “cost, schedule and performance” of today’s defense acquisition system to meet present and future threats.

Getting there mandates early and proper identification of acquisition need; better risk assessment through well-defined requirements; a rapid, proactive acquisition process delivering quality solutions while navigating and leveraging public law and regulation; and a mission-driven culture and environment supportive of productive organizations that attract the nation’s finest public- and private-sector expertise.

Managing within the defense acquisition system to deliver the best and latest capabilities of highest quality and technological superiority requires a robust corps of smart, hard-working, dedicated professionals. This public-private sector acquisition field includes expertise in finance, engineering, logistics, law, information technology, human resources and technical disciplines from almost every field imaginable, as well as superior knowledge and leadership in project/program management and other acquisition professions.

One of the most crucial roles within this system is that of the contracting officer (CO). This person is the link by which formal contractual communication flows between the Department of Defense (DoD) and industry support. The CO is vital to successful acquisition programs. Thus, there also is a long list of attributes that they must have. They must understand and apply seemingly endless laws and regulations governing how the federal government and DoD acquire more than $500 billion worth of supplies and services each year. This involves not only understanding and judiciously interpreting the ton of laws, regulations, policy letters, requirements, standards, interpretative guidance, management initiatives, local procedures and legal precedent, but properly leveraging this myriad guidance to get stuff where it is needed fast! Every CO action affects system cost, schedule and performance further down the line.

COs need a general knowledge of the Federal Acquisition Regulation (FAR) and Defense FAR Supplement and all of their complex supplemental guidance and must understand everything from market research, cost and price analysis, acquisition planning, source selection procedures, business clearances, pre-award surveys, financial audits, technical reports, award fee plans, responsibility determinations, etc., etc. They must properly format and prepare formal documentation to justify their acquisition decisions. The contract file in a federal acquisition (indeed any public expenditure of appropriated dollars) must “tell the story” about the judgment and rationale used to arrive at those conclusions.

Clearly, this requires multiple competencies. These include understanding and applying complex external and internal rules, regulations and policy; knowing the high-level technical requirements of their programs; having written and verbal communication proficiency, and more. Before things are reduced to writing, all manner of face-to-face communication occurs—and not only between the CO and the contractor. Communication flows internally between the CO and their CO representative; program or project manager, legal counsel, technical writers—indeed, everyone on the acquisition team. The CO must know how and when to guide the acquisition team through compliance with the myriad and seemingly conflicting objectives of the government acquisition process. This leads immediately to the need for COs not only to be articulate, but diplomatic and team oriented; in short; able to influence and work well with everyone concurrently with supporting positive program (cost, schedule and performance) outcomes.

Thus, COs must obviously be good at many things. Today’s training appears to provide most of what is necessary to excel at these requirements. But is it? Today’s acquisition education and training requirements emanate from the Defense Acquisition Workforce Improvement Act (DAWIA) and implementing guidance, authorizing training requirements for contract specialists from entry and as they rise the ranks in preparation for receiving their “warrant” (tailored, written authority to procure and manage contracts within specific, predefined authorities and limitations). DAWIA is the framework for defining experience, knowledge, and training requirements for the defense contracting workforce.

In addition, the Office of the Secretary of Defense imposes qualifications on a CO with a warrant above the simplified acquisition threshold. Along with that, a senior contracting official must have at least four years contracting experiences before assignment to a “critical acquisition position.” These positions are a subset of the acquisition workforce specifically designated by component acquisition executives based on the criticality of that position to the acquisition program, effort or function. Each Service and DoD agency provides additional procedural requirements prior to obtaining a CO warrant.

Leadership acquisition courses offered to DoD contract managers today include the following:

ACQ 450 Leading in the Acquisition Environment
ACQ 451 Integration for Decision Makers
ACQ 452 Forging Stakeholder Relationships
ACQ 453 Leader as Coach
ACQ 401 Senior Acquisition Course (competitive selection to the Eisenhower School)

There has been considerable research and skill gap analysis in this area. Leadership competencies sometimes also were included, but not always emphasized. While iterations of acquisition reform have occurred via statute, regulation, policy, reorganization and enhanced training requirements, we know that dramatic acquisition improvements have not materialized. Skill gaps were determined; knowledge and certification requirements defined; courses created and then modified over time.

One survey documenting issues facing practitioners in the field discovered the workforce believed they were not equipped to meet demands of the acquisition environment. They concluded that successful operation requires workforce ability to shorten the learning curve; modern tools appealing to changing workforce demographics; and cultural changes that encourage critical thinking.

10 percent believed it takes more than 20 years to become proficient.
18 percent believed it takes more than 15 years to become proficient.
10 percent cited formal acquisition training as their primary avenue for learning. While classroom training supplies foundational acquisition knowledge, it is not translatable to day-to-day practice. Respondents preferred more experienced colleagues or reference tools for those questions.
46 percent confirmed experienced colleagues are their primary source of acquisition information.
44 percent use reference tools as their first choice.

So where is contracting success found? It lies beyond historical focus areas. Today’s formal structure, including education and training requirements, is not the end of the story. We must recognize the crucial leadership and management skills, as well as key personal attributes, necessary to be a successful CO. Contract management professional training emphasizes technical acquisition knowledge but must better leverage existing leadership qualities and provide advanced leadership development. Such competency investment should include that offered to DoD’s program management community.

Results — good and bad — in acquisition today emanate from leadership experience and proficiency levels in “soft skilled” competencies such as innovation, communication, teamwork, passion, integrity, character and more.

Combined with organizational support, accountability, common duty to mission and minimal bureaucracy, a viable pathway to the future success of our acquisition programs and national security becomes clear. The envied culture embodied in today’s successful, nontraditional, innovative private firms, and seen historically in government during significant national imperatives, requires nurturing to improve government and defense program outcomes. That includes superior leadership from our contracting community, because they are responsible for so much internal coordination and communication, as well as the formal contracts and informal relationships with industry, to make that a reality.

It’s clear when talking to contracting leaders that understanding and leveraging technical guidance is indispensable, such as that obtained through the FAR, Deskbooks, DoD policy and procedures, information technology support, etc. But possessing those unique, inherent “soft” skills is where great COs come from. As in most career fields, those personal traits will shine if given the right environment. Prescribing targeted acquisition policy and procedure to any given acquisition scenario only goes so far. Such an approach will tie the hands of contract and program managers (PMs). Judgment and discretion, as vital attributes of leadership, must ultimately dominate.

We have seen that revising acquisition laws and regulations, or undergoing yet another reorganization, miss the mark, absent great leadership. Great COs relate to the PM; are true “business advisers” to the program and use their leadership skills more than actual authority to make their PM successful.

Although against conventional wisdom, analysis indicates we must reassess past decisions associated with professionalizing the contracting workforce. Standards established did not achieve what they were intended to do and created unintentional adverse consequences. The risk-averse culture within acquisition professionals is not news. The rules must be revisited. An example is the need to rethink the hiring criteria used to select candidates for contracting positions. Considering candidates with a wider variety of educational and professional backgrounds beyond business may enhance the pool of talented candidates available for the contracting field, while looking at past leadership experience. Have they led people, such as in clubs, church, scouts, student government? Indeed those places may be where our future leaders are to be found. History suggests that specific formal education may not result in great leaders. Some of the best recent leaders in DoD contracting did not have today’s advanced business degrees. A degree is a measure of education, but it might be in almost anything. Leaders are both born and developed. That, however, does not diminish the need for proficiency in the technical skills of contracting.

A good leader must have the ability to manage up, as well as down. Tone is set at the top. Leaders must lead! COs must be at that top level, but only by having earned their right to be there. The National Contract Management Association’s Contract Management Body of Knowledge (CMBOK) considers Leadership the most important competency.

Whether via formal training, mentorship or guidance from existing leaders who take the time to work with and for their team, the acquisition community must work to ensure COs develop in all ways as contracting leaders. Those of us fortunate to have run into great leaders in our career often shine over those without those inspirational models.

One characteristic may include the need to move around for diverse experiences, versus deep familiarity with one or two agency cultures and mission. Creating good leaders requires exposure to different contracting environments, cultures, people, contract types, commodities and missions. Staying in one place for a long time minimizes those experiences. COs need multiple developmental experiences. Mobility can be hard, but moving emerging leaders around can be good. Those that self-initiate usually are ahead of those who stay put for too long. Similarly, COs need not be experts in all program aspects, but they do need the ability to evaluate technical problems and risk assessment for their customer to arrive at the contract solution. What is the degree of failure? How can he or she, as the CO, create evaluation criteria to assess particular technical characteristics? A good CO will figure that out. Once involved in making decisions that make their PM successful, their perspective changes and leadership competencies are developed.

The following are anecdotal quotes from experienced contracting colleagues and leaders:

COs must relate to the PM. They are advisers with the authority to make the PM successful.
To be a leader you have to be a good follower.
You must be able to manage up as well as down.
The attitude of “we’re gods” is wrong.
If leaders do not show interest, then the others cannot. Leaders must lead!

I believe that leadership was not a specific requirement. Some classes might require it, but no real leadership training was available. I was lucky to run into leaders during my career.

As a career-long contracting professional, I had and continue to have the opportunity to work in many different contracting organizations, on many unique programs, with many diverse missions and cultures. In many cases, prior to entry on duty, I was not experienced or familiar with the particular supplies or services the organization acquired; specific contracting rules or regulations unique to them; or any special organizational structure or reporting mechanism they had. The key to any success I had in each contracting environment was the ability to establish credibility through the leadership attributes discussed in this article.

Each contracting office is “unique” in several respects. Thus, while contracting technical knowledge can be somewhat transportable, depending on the contracting strategies employed in any given product or service line, leadership qualities are completely transportable. Program conflict or drama with the programs I supported was minimal so long as the contracting leadership I provided included credibility, integrity, dependability, perseverance, communication and other aspects of leadership.

Leadership style is unique to each individual and only attained through successfully demonstrating acceptance of responsibility, backed by technical knowledge. Not all of today’s contracting managers possess those capabilities, but many do. It is past time to recognize that leadership is that quality most lacking in contracting success and that it is a vital necessity. Only then, with the support, cooperation and leadership of program, project and other agency leaders, can we kick-start Defense and other government agency acquisition programs into high achievements. Leadership also must come from senior government leaders in the Executive Branch and Congress, but it is leadership at the program level that will make things happen.

The time is right for massive change. America’s national and economic standing in a global hyper-competition is on the line. Our military require agile, technologically superior equipment faster than our adversaries. We have tweaked acquisition rules, organization structure and course requirements for years and addressed needs via competency assessments. The data reports are in! Our COs must have the leadership qualities, traits and skills to acquire products and services in an urgent, war-life footing, as was the case in past world conflicts and the race to the moon. Developing solid contracting leaders must be a priority today! To repeat the title of an April 2018 article in Contract Management magazine, “Leadership is not Optional in Contract Management!” What are we waiting for?

Originally published by the Defense Acquisition University on Nov. 1, 2019.

About the author: Michael P. Fischetti joined the executive acquisition faculty at the Defense Acquisition University in January 2019. He is a Certified Professional Contract Manager (CPCM) and Certified Association Executive (CAE) through the American Society of Association Executives. He has more than 36 years of contracting experience through a variety of Defense, civilian agency, and industry roles ranging from operational Contracting Officer positions to HQ procurement analyst/policy roles. He most recently was the Executive Director of the National Contract Management Association. He holds a Juris Doctorate from Northwestern California University School of Law, a Master’s in National Resource Strategy from the Eisenhower School, National Defense University, a Master’s in Business Management from Central Michigan University and a Bachelor’s degree in Economics and Political Science from the State University of New York in Buffalo. The author can be contacted at michael.fischetti@dau.edu.