Contracting Officer Podcast 2.0 Episodes
As former Federal Contracting Officers who have also walked in industry’s shoes, Kevin and Paul share their expertise and perspectives in support of the podcast’s mission: Make government contracting better, one contract at a time.
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250 – FAR Part 12 – Time & Materials
Back in the “good old days” of acquisition reform, 20 plus years ago, FAR Part 12 was born with the intent of making it easier to buy commercial products. Kevin and Paul discuss a helpful addition...
249 – What is Price to Win? w/Michael McNulty
Price to win? Why would anyone price to lose? Paul discusses the purpose of and methodology behind Price-to-Win (PTW) with Michael McNulty of McNulty & Associates. (mcnultyinc.com) Learn how...
248 – Fall Out Money
Kevin and Paul respond to a Skyway Community member’s question about fall out money. What is “end of year money” or “fall out money”? Why does it happen? How do I get it? Listen and learn the...
247 – Don’t Be a Stereotype
Three contracting officers walk into a bar… Have you heard that one? What do you think of when someone says “let’s talk to the contracting officer” or “it’s in the purchasing manager’s...
246 – What is CPARS? with Shelley Hall (Encore)
The Contractor Performance Assessment Reporting System (CPARS) has been designated as the Federal Government-wide solution for collection of contractor performance information. In this rebroadcast...
245 – The 6 Month Rule
We’re all busy. That doesn’t mean we’re all productive. Kevin and Paul discuss a strategy many leaders use to focus on high priority tasks and carve through the busyness: The 6 Month Rule. The...
244 – The Lockout
Learn how recognize and use your company’s competitive advantages to lock your competitors out of a competition. Learn how government acquisition teams can use the lockout concept to devise a...
243 – Incumbent-itis
Kevin and Paul describe the symptoms of a preventable disease that often infects the incumbent contractor during a recompete: the dreaded incumbent-itis. Many recompetes are lost because the...
242 – Time Zone Capture (with Myran Hunter)
Kevin discusses real world application of the Acquisition Time Zones with Myran Hunter. Myran is a capture manager at Huntington Ingalls Industries, Inc. The Acquisition Time Zones are a...
241 – Happy Ears
Kevin and Paul discuss the phenomenon of “happy ears”. (otherwise known to the world as confirmation bias) Learn how our tendency to believe information that confirms our existing beliefs and...
240 – The Acquisition Time Zones (Encore)
In this encore presentation of one of the earliest Contracting Officer Podcast episodes, Kevin and Paul provide an overview of the Acquisition Time Zones. The Acquisition Time Zones are a...
239 – Where Are You?
Kevin and Paul discuss the FAR’s preference for telecommuting. (or working remotely in more modern lingo) Learn why the Government must be clear when documenting requirements for performance at a...
238 – Negotiation Clearance
Prior to negotiations it is common for both Government and industry contracts folks to get “clearance” to negotiate a deal within a range of possible outcomes. Kevin and Paul discuss the FAR’s...
237 – Accounting by CLIN
Kevin and Paul return to CLINs to dig deeper into the Contracting Officer’s responsibilities regarding CLIN structure. Learn how “CLIN proliferation” impacts the acquisition and execution process...
236 – What is a Wrap Rate?
Kevin and Paul provide a simplified overview of wrap rates including what cost components make up a labor billing rate and a walk-through of a sample calculation. Learn why some cost components are...
235 – It’s a Technicality
Government requests for proposals (RFPs) contain many explicit requirements. They also include many “buried” requirements that, if not followed, result in non-compliance with the RFP instructions...