Your technical reports stink. There’s little doubt about it. Whenever I go into classroom training, it is universally felt by contracting officers and contracting specialists that technical reports are poorly done and add nothing to proposal analysis. After all, saying you accept everything the contractor proposes doesn’t give me insight into the technical knowledge youRead… Read more »
First off, yes, I have a virtual assistant. Maybe you’ll ask me “What the heck do I need a virtual assistant for?” Well, I need one because I want one. It’s convenience. I only have so much time in the world. It’s like when a small business hires its first employee — its Sterling, Inc.Read… Read more »
“Don’t be too eager to move on; enjoy where you are in your career.” That’s advice I hear about a year ago from someone in my field. At the time, I thought it was lack of ambition. After all, good Americans are supposed to want more work and think of it all the time. Well…wrong.Read… Read more »
The cost efficiency factor gives a lot of flexibility to a negotiator. Let’s be honest: the profit percentage that Weighted Guidelines DD 1547 gives you are very low. In fact, I can’t think of many commercial businesses that would accept a profit of 3% on a contract, especially after all the effort a contractor putsRead… Read more »
Well I haven’t had much time to talk recently. This is because it’s the nearing the end of the fiscal year for government, as you govies and contractors know. For those not familiar, government celebrates its New Year’s Day at the end of September when fiscal money expires (i.e. Congress says you can’t use certainRead… Read more »
You may have know my love, nay — obsession — with Just Right, the greatest cereal ever created. See, it was simply delicious and ridiculously good for you. (Check out the nutritional facts at http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Just_Right). I ate this cereal everyday, sometimes 6 bowls a day, from ages 8 to 15. Unfortunately, Americans lost their tasteRead… Read more »
Well, my good luck streak could only last so long I suppose. You see, I missed my flight out of San Jose, CA. That means I’m getting the next flight to an airport I won’t reveal, but I’ll be spending the night at. (Telling you would be too easy; you have to work for it.)Read… Read more »
I recently had a chance to ask a Contracting Officer’s Representative (COR) in my class how Contract Specialists and Contracting Officers can better work with their CORs. (For those that don’t know, CORs monitor contracts and serve as the Contracting Officer’s eyes and ears, especially in the field. Oh, and CORs are often experts inRead… Read more »
I went skydiving this past week, so naturally I found similarities between this and what I do for a living. Looking like an idiot is okay, just don’t be an idiot. Take a look at that picture. Yes, I look stupid. Dumb red cap. Well, it keeps you warm during the descent from 12,000 feet.Read… Read more »
NMCARS ANNEX 2.docx Download this file “Holy-crap, I’m overwhelmed” moments often come before breakthroughts. I recently had that happen to me with a pre-business clearance also known as a price negotiation memo (PNM). The purpose of these are to show we did our homework, the government will get a good deal, and that the governmentRead… Read more »