Jason Rigoli
By Jason Rigoli, Principal at The White Oak Group
The business environment inside the Capital Beltway is unique from any other major city in America. That’s because the business inside and around the Beltway is centered around the government, and the companies that call the D.C. metro region home often count the federal government among their active client rosters.
This government-centric business environment creates an interesting and distinctive set of challenges for these enterprises. One of these challenges is the constantly-shifting government landscape, where presidential administration changes can lead to drastic shifts in policy and the outright reversal of previous presidential mandates.
Take government contractors for example. In the previous administration there was a shift towards outsourcing as a way to help the government operate for effectively and efficiently. The thought was that government contractors could perform non-governmental tasks for less money than government employees could.
Under the current administration and with the ongoing economic downturn, the focus on outsourcing has taken an about-face. The new administration has created a directive to eliminate wasteful spending and reduce the amount of contractors doing jobs that government employees could be doing. This new insourcing directive has forced many agencies to begin reevaluating their contractor relationships and has led to the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) having to reach out to agencies to help them appropriately understand and handle this new direction.
This new focus on insourcing is an incredible example of just how much the changing political landscape can impact business in and around the nation’s capital. If you’re a government contractor, this new insourcing directive can have a significant and negative impact on your bottom line and could ultimately lead to many difficult challenges and decisions for your senior leadership.
At this year’s ACG National Capital Strategic Growth Conference, speakers such as the Honorable Tom Ridge, Former Secretary of the Department of Homeland Security and the President and CEO of Ridge Global, and John Sununu, the Former New Hampshire Senator, will speak to these challenges and the best practices for overcoming them.
Registration for the Strategic Growth Conference is open and available by clicking here. If your company sells to the government or is impacted by the shifting legislative landscape constantly effecting enterprises in the nation’s capital, this event is a must attend for you and your business.
