“Dynamic of Bitterness”?

A few weeks back, in one of my initial postings of Perspective, I reflected on how important the “Culture of Opportunity” was to my professional development over the course of a 15-year career at Stanley. In fact, this concept is one of the key building blocks I’m focusing on to help take Altron to its next stage of growth.

Now that I’ve taken a role with Altron, a company that is primarily a subcontractor, I have a unique view of the relationship interaction between prime contractor and subcontractors - an interaction that could be described as a “Dynamic of Bitterness.” This apparent love-hate relationship between prime contractors and their teaming partners can be more constructive than destructive if the partners work on it together. Most larger vendors and their smaller, more specialized subcontractors such as Altron typically see contract opportunities only through their own lenses without fully appreciating the views or needs of their partners.

As a large prime contractor, what value does a team add? Primes often feel figuratively handcuffed by what they see as the onerous teaming provisions mandated by many RFPs, which entail foregoing revenue in the interest of securing the bid. This “lost” revenue and the complexity of managing large teams of subcontractors can create a jaded view of teaming relationships.

What are the frustrations for a small subcontractor? For their part, many of these teammates become frustrated over perceived slights from their partners, feeling they are not afforded the respect or visibility to the government customer they deserve. The prime’s failure to recognize the sub’s outstanding technical or service achievements to the end client leads to feelings of exploitation and bitterness.

Is this a hopeless paradigm – absolutely not!

Prime contractors have a right to expect their subcontractors to work through them, to help the overall team deliver outstanding service and help the prime successfully manage contract to meet the customer’s mission requirements. In addition, the prime contractor should expect their teammates to track new opportunities that the team can pursue together. How can they help their subs? One way is to set business expectations beyond the language of the teaming agreement or scope of work in the contract. Clear expectations regarding business development opportunities and information flow. – What does the prime expect the subs to do regarding chasing new business opportunities? Where does the line between internal customer intelligence end and where knowledge needs to be shared with the team?

Subcontractors have an obligation to expand the teaming relationship and bring new business to the team. A smaller firm may be more interested and responsive for smaller or more technical opportunities - ones that a large prime may not be interested in - that could bring new service offerings or client relationships to the team. Also, the prime is the customer - subs have an obligation to see the prime contractor and not just the end-user government client as “customer”. How can subs help their primes? Look for new opportunities, treat the prime like the end client and manage the information flow! Subcontractors need to speak up - a well timed phone call does more good that twenty email explanations!

These concepts don’t require a Ph.D. in management, and while they are simple ideas, they’re hard to implement. You need to communicate, communicate and communicate. While I’ve labeled this piece the “Dynamic of Bitterness” it is more about managing the interactions between two organizations. For Altron, it’s another aspect for us to improve in our company culture. This culture change is hard to do but incredibly important.