Blog
We like public employees.
We like bureaucrats. Yup, you heard me.
I watched a customer at a post office in Grand Rapids treat the post office desk agent horribly the other day. She actually broke out the ”you work for me!” line. Seriously. The guy was just giving her mailing options. No need for drama. Let’s hope she was just having a bad day and doesn’t go through life with that chip on her shoulder.
The interaction reminded me that public workers are frequently disrespected. They have a higher approval rating than Congress, but that bar is pretty damn low.
And lately, the news is filled with public sector “bad decision” scandals, which may add to the disrespect. I admit that I am somewhat obsessed with those crazy cats from the GSA western region, who held a Vegas conference that was WAY over the top. Wish it never happened, but great news story to follow. It’s the public sector version of a tabloid story. (I glance at the tabloid headlines when I check out at Meijer, and am disappointed that the Enquirer hasn’t covered this.)
I have blogged about this before, and will do it again. There are amazing people that chose to work in the public sector, not because they couldn’t get a job in the private sector, but because they want to serve. I’ve worked with them, I’ve been impressed by them and I’m proud to call many of them friends. Based on my experience at the state level, they are smart, hard-working and dedicated. Not all of them, but most.
Every large organization has bad actors. The difference between the public and private sectors is that in the public sector, decisions are more public. This is great news for taxpayers and the media. It also creates a slower process.
We work with clients who grow frustrated with the additional red tape and delays inherent in public sector contracting. Public sector buyers live in a different world from their private sector counterparts. The delays and the solicitation rules — which add time and may seem cumbersome to bidders — are designed to ensure fair play.
I am not defending dumb decisions made by that crazy cat in the hot tub in Vegas. (And I count that picture as a VERY dumb decision. Not pretty.)
I am offering a gentle reminder that public sector employees are not all crazy Vegas conference goers. They work in a world of many rules, and most work hard and deserve respectful treatment.
Lessons from Mom
Note: I updated this blog almost immediately after posting to incorporate some of my sister’s favorite momisms. Her memory is much better than mine. And she’s neater and a better cook. And she can sew. And she’s brilliant. And a great mom. Sheesh. She can do everything. No wonder I used to fight with her when we were kids.
Moms know things. We have ET partially convinced that his parents know everything and have eyes everywhere. (We actually come close to seeing everything. Close network of parents = eyes everywhere.)
JT and I were blessed with moms that are caring, smart and strong women. This blog is a tribute to what we learned from Janet and Karen, and about how we use their lessons at JetCo.
- Treat people how you want to be treated. This one is huge. We hope our actions with employees, clients and contracting officers reflect our intent to treat them respectfully and kindly.
- Always wear a belt, and make sure it matches your shoes. Check. Dress for our audience.
- Keep your friends close and your enemies closer. We haven’t needed this one yet. No known work enemies.
- Always give your best effort, and work hard. Each member of our team seemed to learn this one. No slackers here.
- Respect your grandparents. JT and I benefited from close grandparent relationships. This lesson reminds us to listen to wisdom from those with experience. We love learning, and we hire people that are smarter than us.
- Trust people until you have a reason not to. Good one. We use this too.
- Manners never go out of style. Please and thank you go a long way… occasionally, I hear JT slip into his “yes ma’am” and “yes sir” on the phone with contracting officers.
- Stop arguing. Sometimes you just have to listen. Okay, this may have been more of a frustrated plea than a lesson. (Sorry again, Mom.) I try to remember to listen and not argue… until I need to argue, that is.
- Don’t run with scissors. Those of you that know Kim Bode understand why this one is helpful. She works in our offices. And we have scissors. Enough said.
- Remember to tell people you love them. Well, we avoid the “l-word” with clients. (They might think we’re creepy.) But we hope we convey our appreciation to clients and employees. We exist because of them.
- Always wear your seat belt. This one requires translation. Mom taught us to not take unnecessary risks. This makes our business sustainable.
- Teach your kids by example. We translate this one, replacing “your kids” with “your team.” We hope we set an example that shows we work hard and with integrity.
- You are going to college and you will be independent. Thanks for that lesson, mom. Heard that one loud and clear. In fact, our business is sound and not dependent on debt. Yay, us.
Janet and Karen, you instilled values, taught work ethic, supported unconditionally and disciplined appropriately. Your wisdom helps us professionally and we hear your words when we talk to ET.
Thank you. Happy Mother’s Day.
posted in Random Bragging May 11th, 2012
Congressional Chest-Thumping
Okay. I admit I’ve been a tad obsessed with the GSA expense scandal.
For those that need a reminder, the General Services Administration made a series of bad decisions regarding a leadership conference they held in Vegas. Leaders were fired and the agency head resigned. These were not minor “oopsies” either. They spent gobs of taxpayer money — $823,000 — on a ridiculous and frivolous self-congratulatory conference for 300 employees. The silliness included $75,000 for a team building exercise, $3,200 for a mind reader and $6,300 for commemorative coin sets in velvet boxes. There were clowns, magicians and mind readers. Seriously.
By the way, the GSA sets the government-wide travel guidelines for federal employees, including per diem rates and overnight hotel accommodation rates. Irony is fun.
I can see why Congressional Republicans want to keep this titillating story alive during a presidential election year. The current state of the federal budget should equate to belt tightening by federal agencies. The GSA really screwed up.
And then, less than one month later, the NOAA posted a solicitation for a magician. For a conference. Seriously. That was a horrible decision.
They quickly pulled the solicitation.
Federal agencies should think before they act. And in their defense, most do.
It is becoming downright annoying that Congress — Congress! — is chastising ANYONE for excessive spending. Congress is taking the moral high ground on government waste. Congress! The body that authorized $192 Million in government spending for the U.S. Territories’ Rum Industries and $188,000 for the Lobster Institute at the University of Maine. Seriously. Fox guarding the hen house, perhaps?
Congress, I truly appreciate that you have kept this story alive. Not a lot of interesting news happens in procurement-land, and this is
fascinating. I’m a junkie for news about it.
But… your chest-thumping isn’t going to help our country have an actual budget. A real budget, not an embarrassing series of continuing
resolutions that only serve to hamstring legitimate federal projects.
“The lady doth protest too much.”
Yes, I’m using Shakespeare’s words in relation to public sector procurement. Pretty sure this is a first for The Bard.
We frequently, and patiently, remind clients that whining is unproductive time. There are a ton of solicitations available for bidding, and each opportunity ends with a winner and losers. We want to win, clearly. And when we don’t, we find out why we lost, ask how we could have improved our offering and move on to the next opportunity.
So… when is disappointment in a loss an occasion to protest? And when is a protest valid and when is it just whining?
There are occasions when the loss is crap, when the solicitation was wired and our client should have won. We gave the best offering, the best price and the best value. But remember that we all think we have the best bid response. There is no need to be conspiratorial about every solicitation. Government buyers are not out to get us. However, sometimes they make mistakes, sometimes politics gets in the way and sometimes decisions are made around them.
Is this right? No.
Does it happen? Yes.
Does it happen often? No.
Is it the buyer’s fault? Unlikely.
When we have a loss that should have been a win, we walk clients through the protest decision. This discussion is not emotional. It is not an ideological rant about right and wrong. Instead, it is a logical discussion about the implications and the potential for a reversal. If there is no business case for a protest, we don’t protest. We only recommend protests when we truly believe we have a valid and logical claim. In every case, we give the procurement professional the benefit of the doubt in the tone of the letter.
In our company, the person that wrote the bid response also writes the protest. They have the most intimate knowledge of the response and are most capable at drafting thoughts regarding why the bid decision or the solicitation process was flawed enough to warrant a change in decision or direction.
We’ve learned (the hard way) that the person who wrote the bid response also may be the most emotional in their defense of the response. As a result, our process includes multiple edits of the protest letter. This is intended to ensure that the tone of the letter is logical and respectful.
Our advice: protest sparingly, smartly and respectfully. And do not protest too much.
Happy Birthday, JT.
Recent headlines highlight significant March birthdays.
The Oreo and the Girl Scouts recently turned 100. Jon Bon Jovi turned 50. Dr. Seuss would have been 108ish. William H. Macy celebrates 61 on March 13. He shares a birthday with a much more significant figure, Jon Tellier.
Interesting tie-in: Jon Tellier enjoys both Oreos and Girl Scout Cookies. Odds are that he dated someone that at some point was a Girl Scout. He liked Bon Jovi in high school, and likely read Dr. Seuss as a kid. And, we saw William H. Macy in Big Sur during a lunch meeting while in California for the Tactical Wheeled Vehicle Conference.
Jon Tellier is our celebrity. He had the vision to start the company and he pushes us to think in different ways for our clients, coming up with random ideas that push our service to new levels. Don’t get me wrong… not all of his ideas are good ones. We mock some of them. But the idea that formed JetCo was his. Six years later, the idea has morphed substantially and the company has grown. His random ideas work. Sometimes.
Happy Birthday, Jon Tellier. And don’t get an ego about the celebrity thing.
posted in Uncategorized March 13th, 2012