Staying Ahead With Tech Initiatives and Trends
WITH KEVIN PLEXICO, DELTEK, SENIOR VP, INFORMATION SOLUTIONS
[2:23] Kevin highlights the unique aspects of what it takes to win government contracts and how Deltek streamlines the processes to enable peak efficiency for contractors.
[7:24] The benefits of doing business with government agencies include additional opportunities and possibly having a life-long customer.
[9:02] What Kevin sees as the biggest advantage for companies utilizing products such as GovWin IQ and technologies such as APIs, and the negative impacts for those who don’t.
[16:41] Looking forward, what strategies does Kevin believe will change the game and impact speed to contract, and speed to market?
[19:38] What new technologies, initiatives, and trends will alter efficiencies for the government market in the near future?
[24:49] From an industry insider, Kevin says planning ahead is essential for contractors to become viable bidders on government contracts.
05:34 China knows how to pull together the 4 instruments of national power
06:44 There doesn’t have to be explosions for China to win the war
07:25 War is not all about military-on-military force
08:06 We’re glossing over China’s plan to manipulate governments
09:00 We need to put our acquisition on a wartime footing
09:50 Moving at a wartime pace is the best deterrent
11:25 An enormous bureaucracy fuels itself
13:35 Our acquisition system is archaic - created by Robert McNamara in 1961
14:52 An acquisition system that disallows management to make good choices
17:12 Accountability with no measure of effectiveness
17:41 Continuing resolution process fuels fraud, waste, and abuse
19:12 Authority delegation—instead of micromanagement—produces results
20:26 We have proven in the past that we can move faster
22:57 A business model with barriers to entry that are enormously high
26:04 Incentives to lose money on the front-end, earn it on the backend
27:16 Government-sponsored IP vendor lock inhibits competition
28:09 IP vendor lock model should change to a speed-to-market model
29:11 A system that continues to support IP vendor lock vs. speed to market
30:59 Change the model so everyone is on a level playing field
32:57 Put profit in the right place to incentivize the right behaviors
36:07 2 initiatives that produced results in the past
36:55 Leaders who eliminate the recrimination culture succeed
37:50 Our ‘why’ is not compliance, it’s to get the mission done
38:42 Eliminated 700 pages of bureaucracy
40:49 Micromanaging leaders waste enormous resources by not delegating
42:58 Changing the culture changes everything
43:55 Knowing the system well will greatly help speed to contract and market
48:37 My mission? Offer bold ideas that change everything in the system
In this episode, Host Tim Templeton speaks with Mr. Kevin Plexico, who serves as Sr. VP of Information Solutions at Deltek. Kevin and his team provide industry-leading content to government contractors in architecture, engineering, and construction firms. Their products include GovWin IQ and AIA's MasterSpec. On a day-to-day basis, Kevin is responsible for leading the industry's largest team of analysts focused on the one trillion-dollar government contracting industry.
Their discussion focuses on technologies to enhance efficiencies for the US government, and how contractors can put their best foot forward with viable technologies to become a valuable resource for our nation.
For additional insights, listen to more great Speed to Contract. Speed to Market., conversations on your favorite podcast platform or at speedtocontract.com.
BIOGRAPHY
As Senior Vice President of Information Solutions at Deltek, Kevin Plexico is responsible for overseeing research, analysis and specification creation for customers in the Government Contracting and Architecture, Engineering & Construction (AEC) industries. He provides thought leadership and expert opinion to industry executives and is a recognized expert on the public sector market.
Kevin manages the delivery of GovWin – Deltek's industry-leading government market research and information solution providing essential intelligence to over 6,000 clients. He has responsibility for leading the industry's largest team of analysts focused on the government contracting industry. Additionally, Kevin leads Deltek’s Specification Solutions team of architects, engineers, and editorial professionals producing AEC specification content. Their efforts deliver MasterSpec® – a product of The American Institute of Architects (AIA) and the premier master guide construction specification content in the U.S. – as well as SpecText.
Kevin has been on the Deltek team since its acquisition of INPUT in 2010. At INPUT, he played an instrumental role in helping to grow the company from a boutique market research firm to the industry-leading provider of market information to government contractors.
He earned an MBA in Information Systems from the University of Maryland in College Park, Maryland and his BBA in Economics from James Madison University in Harrisonburg, Virginia. Kevin has been named four times (2020-2023) to the Wash100 List, which recognizes the Top 100 most influential leaders in the government contracting industry.
Biography
Major General Cameron Holt served as Deputy Assistant Secretary of the Air Force for Acquisition. Currently, Mr. Holt is the president and founder of Holt Consulting Group. The focus of his work is to bring together the best of American industrialists, technologists, and capital investors with innovative problem solvers and government to tilt the scales in favor of America and our allies—and against the adversaries of freedom.
Mr. Holt recently completed 32 years of military service, including his last four years as Deputy Assistant Secretary for the Air Force and Space Force. In that capacity, he oversaw a global contracting portfolio valued in excess of $825 billion, and over 8,000 contractors that executed the full range of operational enterprise sourcing in major weapons systems worldwide.
Mr. Holt serves on the board of directors of the National Contract Management Association and as a member of the P P B E Reform Task Force that's sponsored by the American Society of Military Controllers.
As a patriot, a husband, and a father of four great kids, he remains committed to leveraging his extensive leadership and national security experience to make positive, lasting improvements to our unnecessarily complex and antiquated Cold War-era national security resourcing and acquisition system. All with an end game to accelerate and optimize US combat capabilities and further secure our nation against adversaries.
Make Value Analysis & Modular IP Systems a Reality
A conversation with Elliott Branch
Arm Warfighters Faster through Mid-Tier Acquisition Authority
A conversation with William Greenwalt
GOVERNMENT CAN SAVE TIME & MONEY
USING COMMERCIAL APPROACHES
A conversation with David Cade
KNOW HOW TO FULLY LEVERAGE
OTAs & OTHER TOOLS & TECH
A conversation with Stan Soloway
FUSE DEFENSE & COMMERICAL BUSINESS MODELS TO BENEFIT THE WARFIGHTER
A conversation with Shay Assad
FROM $75B TO $150B IN CONTRACTS PER YEAR, USING FEWER RESOURCES
A conversation with James 'Hondo' Geurts
USE TECHNOLOGY TO CREATE MASSIVE CONTRACT MOMENTUM
A conversation with Michael Weaver
ACHIEVING PRICING EXCELLENCE DURING UNCERTAIN TIMES
Network and learn from the leaders in Government Contracting. Attend fascinating keynote sessions and live-panel discussions that include Speed to Contract. Speed to Market., at the Government Contract Pricing Summit, June 20 -22 2023, in San Diego CA.