Disruption is just change

Author's Note: Since January 20th, there has been an increased uncertainty about 'what comes next' for stakeholders in Government and Industry. While this is not the first disruption I've experienced in Federal Contracting, it will be the first time I'm able to help leaders and their companies find their way forward.

I wonder how many of you reading this remember having a job before the broad adoption of the internet. Once all the snickering and aghast reactions subside, let us go one step further. How many of you were in a growth-related job in federal contracting before the internet? I answer "yes" and "I was" to both. In fact, I was actively involved in federal contracting for nearly ten years before the internet was a thing. I was already in the marketplace, and I was able to stay relevant by relearning things and realigning my knowledge and skills.

To many who were active in one or more of the various markets and industries back then, the internet was a disruption on a global scale. Many of the markets, entities, and people were rattled to their respective cores. Some were able (and willing) to adjust, and others were not. This is the choice before us today with the newest disruption to Federal Contracting.

Consider how it must have felt in 1998 (the same year NAICS Codes were born in federal contracting) when CCR.gov came on the scene. Yes, it would replace and streamline the act of sending an SF-129 Solicitation Mailing List form to every federal entity we wanted to do business with, but it was very disruptive to those of us well-versed in SF-129 activities. Then there was 2002 and the launch of FedBizOpps, and 2004 for the Federal Procurement Data System Next Generation (FPDS-NG). Each of these was disruptive to systems, processes, and understanding already in place. It caused discomfort ranging from a little to very unbearable for those who were already here, while newbies never knew the difference since they did not know federal contracting any other way. Do I even need to lean into things like FASA in 1994 that resulted in Simplified Acquisition Procedures, or Clinger-Cohen in 1996 that birthed the framework for the GWACs? Those last two were equally disruptive to Government and Industry.

Again, this is where we are today. It's like the generational comparisons of the attacks on December 7, 1941, and September 11, 2001. Each evokes different and profound feelings for those who were alive when these events happened. Those coming into Federal Contracting later will have a very different viewpoint compared to those who have been here doing it for a few, or many years.

There is, without question, a significant amount of bad stuff happening to companies and their people related to changes underway. I never want to see anyone lose their job, or their company, and am among the many willing to lend help, and positive energy to anyone negatively affected. Bottom line, there is a lot of ‘suck’ right now, but I believe it will subside as we collectively begin adapting to the next version of normal. We must be willing to find our way to relearning and realigning in order to stay relevant amidst change. After all, disruption is just change.

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Peace, Health, and Perseverance,

Go-To-Guy Timberlake