Dr. Earl R. Smith II
Managing Partner, The Federal Circle
DrSmith@Dr-Smith.com
Dr-Smith.com
Some years back there was a commercial running on television – a couple, who had obviously just bought a home, was looking at the newspaper and shaking their heads. The voice over – “I just didn’t know that those houses were there”. Continue reading “Government Contracting Tips – Situational Assessment” »
Dr. Earl R. Smith II
Managing Partner, The Federal Circle
DrSmith@Dr-Smith.com
Dr-Smith.com
One of the highest value and most cost effective services that we offer at The Federal Circle is situational assessments. We begin with a basic premise – that a fresh view through highly experienced eyes can often clear away the fog that obscures a brighter future. TFC situational assessments are different from many that are offered by traditional consulting firms. We don’t have a standard package or perspective to sell. Our edge is the nature of the team we assemble to conduct the assessment. Continue reading “Situational Assessments by The Federal Circle” »
Dr. Earl R. Smith II
Managing Partner, The Federal Circle
DrSmith@Dr-Smith.com
Dr-Smith.com
Last year The Federal Circle presented a seminar titled ‘How to drive Value Before Value Drives Away’. The program focused on the process of preparing a company for sale. The core question on the table was ‘how do I as a CEO build value that will survive the closing negotiations and give me a bigger payoff’. Most of the participants were CEOs of mid-market government contractors. Needless to say, they were highly interested in what the panelists had to say. Continue reading “Building Value That Survives the Closing Table” »
Dr. Earl R. Smith II
Managing Partner, The Federal Circle
DrSmith@Dr-Smith.com
Dr-Smith.com
One of the most common reasons that government contractors have difficulty in getting new business is that they do not have and communicate a clear vision of their value proposition – from the perspective of the potential client. Continue reading “Government Contracting Tips – Chapter Five” »
Dr. Earl R. Smith II
Managing Partner, The Federal Circle
DrSmith@Dr-Smith.com
Dr-Smith.com
You don’t have to be around government contracting long before you realize that the dominate currency of the realm is relationships with your clients. That being said, it is hard to come to terms with how badly some companies manage those relationships. One of the first things I look for when I am called in to a distressed situation is how many long-term customer relationships a company has managed to maintain and grow. Continue reading “Government Contracting Tips – Chapter Four” »
Dr. Earl R. Smith II
Managing Partner, The Federal Circle
DrSmith@Dr-Smith.com
Dr-Smith.com
One of the major challenges for mid-market government contractors – particularly ones that have graduated from the program and are no longer considered small businesses – is finding ways to go head-to-head with larger companies. This challenge has become more daunting as the economy has turned down and major contractors are competing for smaller and smaller pieces of business. Continue reading “Government Contracting Tips – Chapter Three” »
Dr. Earl R. Smith II
Managing Partner, The Federal Circle
DrSmith@Dr-Smith.com
Dr-Smith.com
Sometimes the battles you lose bring the best learning opportunities – sometimes they are only precursors of things to come. In this chapter, I want to focus on one type of battle that government contractors lose and need to learn from if they are going to avoid the feeling that they have been down a path before and did not enjoy it the first time. Continue reading “Government Contracting Tips – Chapter Two” »
Dr. Earl R. Smith II
Managing Partner, The Federal Circle
DrSmith@Dr-Smith.com
Dr-Smith.com
At The Federal Circle, we work with government contractors. Most are mid-market companies with annual revenues of less than fifty million dollars annually. There are patterns of perspective which we regularly find when we initially engage with clients. Here is one of the most common: Continue reading “Government Contracting Tips – Chapter One” »
Dr. Earl R. Smith II
Managing Partner, The Federal Circle
DrSmith@Dr-Smith.com
Dr-Smith.com
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Driving a Broken Wheel
One of the most frustrating things about getting a business off the ground, up and running, is the money chase. There seems to be no end to the meetings without tangible results or the polite ‘don’t call us, we’ll call you’ responses to a polished and passionate presentation. I regularly encounter founders who are at the end of their rope and absolutely certain that potential investors have simply been toying with them in some perverse game of cat and mouse. Their teams are disintegrating, creditors are knocking then pounding on the door and the future looks bleaker each day. Worse, the time spent in the money chase has bled effort and resources away from building out the team and refining the business plan. It is sad that this is such a frequently occurring experience. It is even sadder that it does not have to be that way at all. Continue reading “An Alternative to the Money Chase” »
Dr. Earl R. Smith II
Managing Partner, The Federal Circle
DrSmith@Dr-Smith.com
Dr-Smith.com
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I have been doing a lot of thinking about corporate governance lately. Two engagements brought an issue in mind that I would like your thoughts on. The issue is the wisdom – or lack thereof – in combining the roles of chairman and CEO. I’ve written an article on the subject – The Conflict that Keeps on Giving – http://www.dr-smith.info/the-conflict-that-keeps-on-giving/ . Take a read then let me know what experience you have had with this combination of roles. Did it work well? What problems came up? How did you and your team solve them? Would you recommend keeping the roles separate? I am interested in all comments. Continue reading “A question about corporate governance and senior roles – the Responses” »
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