118 – The 3 Deciders

If you work in the Government acquisition world, this podcast is for you. (not just for Contracting Officers!)

Who makes the decision to purchase something for the Government? The answer depends on many factors, but is usually quite different from how an acquisition decision is made in your personal life or the non-Government world.

Kevin and Paul discuss the 3 main "deciders" in Government acquisition and relate them to easily recognizable roles. Money, needs, and the authority/ability to make a transaction.

Learn who has the power in each Acquisition Timezone and why it is important for both Government and Industry to recognize how the power can shift.

397 – The 3 Deciders w/Brian Burns

If you work in the Government acquisition world, this podcast is for you. (not just for Contracting Officers!)

Kevin welcomes special guest Brian Burns to revisit "the three deciders", a concept you'll recognize from episode 118 that is also woven into many of our podcasts. Listen and learn how each of the three deciders impacts the acquisition process and how the roles differ between purely commercial sales and the government acquisition world.

Brian is the CEO of the B2B Network of Podcasts and the host of multiple podcasts including The Brutal Truth About Sales & Selling Podcast. (b2brevenue.com)

399 – The 3 Doers

If you work in the Government acquisition world, this podcast is for you. (not just for Contracting Officers!)

In this "companion episode" to The 3 Deciders, Kevin and Paul discuss how roles change after contract award (during The Execution Time Zones®) and describe how the contractor becomes part of the team of "doers" required to deliver the products or services successfully.

438 – GovCon Conventions

Chess is one of my favorite games. It's simple, yet maddeningly complex. Chess is a game in which it's easy to get the basics: there are only 6 types of pieces. However, the game gets complicated fast once we start moving the pieces.

Now imagine playing chess without knowing how the pieces move…

GovCon is like Chess.

GovCon is not overly complex at its base. Once you understand the basics: buyer, seller, contract type, 3 Deciders, Acquisition and Execution Time Zones, building acquisition plans, targeting, writing and evaluating proposals, etc), then you can generally understand it.

However, it can get complicated fast once the pieces start moving.

Now imagine trying to navigate GovCon without knowing how these pieces interact?

If we don't know how the elements interact, then government contracting can be like playing chess without knowing how the chess pieces move.

In this episode, we review 6 key "conventions" in the FAR that help us understand how the pieces move.

441 – Why is this Inherently Governmental?

We talked in episode 440 about how the government awards contracts for lots of services – unless those services are "inherently governmental activities". We outlined the definition of that in episode 195. What makes these roles "inherently governmental" is that they are filled by people making decisions on behalf of the government. For example, these folks are deciding if the government will buy something, what they will buy, and how they will buy it, among others. You may recognize some of these activities from the groups we outline in our "3 Deciders" concept we covered in episode 118.

In this episode, we explain what exactly makes the decisions inherently governmental. It's important to know the why, how and what of these inherently governmental roles – whether you on the government or industry side of GovCon – because not knowing what can and cannot be decided by specific people in GovCon is like playing chess without knowing how the specific pieces move.

Pro tip: If you're not familiar with the terms "inherently governmental" and "The 3 Deciders", I recommend you listen to episodes 195 and 118 before listening to this one.

450 – Types of Solicitations

In the 3 Deciders episode (episode 118), Kevin and Paul explained how the Economic Decider has the funds that are used to buy products and services under government contracts, the Customer has the need for those products and services, and the Contracting Officers decides HOW the government will buy those products and services. The Contracting Officer is responsible for "how" the government will buy.

As you can imagine, the contracting officer has lots of options on how to buy something…Kevin and Paul cover so many of them in 400+ podcast episodes. One of the elements in the process of deciding how to buy something is deciding which type of "solicitation" is appropriate, applicable, allowed, etc.

What type of solicitation would/should/could the Contracting Officer use? An RFQ, an RFP, an IFB, an oral RFP, or a combination?

In this episode, they outline the types of solicitations in government contracting and the why, how and what behind them.

538 – Skyway GovCon Frameworks

Government contracting can feel confusing. Many people wonder who really makes the key choices. In this episode, Kevin and Paul focus on the Contracting Officer. This role is one of the three main "deciders" in the Skyway GovCon Frameworks. The Contracting Officer does not hold the money or the requirement, but they decide how the deal gets done. Their choices shape the plan, the competition, and the final award.

Today, their role is changing. Contracting Officers are being asked to move faster and use more judgment. That means contractors must pay close attention. Knowing how the Contracting Officer works can save time, improve communication, and help teams win. Tune in to learn what's new, why it matters, and how you can work better with this key player in GovCon.

540 – The 3 Deciders (Revisited)

Government contracting can feel complicated, but one principle stays the same: every deal depends on three key roles—the Customer, the Economic Decider, and the Contracting Officer. We call them the 3 Deciders™, and knowing how they work together is essential for success. In this episode of Skyway GovCon Frameworks, hosts Kevin and Paul revisit this popular concept to show why it still matters and what has changed.

GovCon rules and processes keep evolving, but these roles remain critical. What's different now is how they interact—and how you can align with them to win more business. We'll share the updated order of influence, practical tips, and real-world examples so you can focus on the people who matter most. Tune in and learn how understanding the 3 Deciders can help you stay ahead in today's GovCon world.