For Florida-based small businesses seeking to grow into federal government contracting, I’d like to pass along two upcoming conferences. The Florida 8(a) Alliance is sponsoring their annual Federal Contracting Conference next week May 29-30 in Orlando, Florida. There's still time to register via the link below. U.S. Congressman Bill Posey is hosting his annual conference by the same name on August 14th in Cocoa, Florida.  Registration has just opened for the congressman's event. I will be a speaker at both conferences on the topics of strategy and business development for small businesses, and I hope to see you there.

Florida 8(a) Alliance 2019 Federal Contracting Conference
The Florida 8(a) Alliance 2019 Federal Contracting Conference has been designed specifically for small businesses who are ready to take the next step. Whether you are new to the Federal Contracting arena or a novice, this year's conference is the place you want to be. 
http://florida8a.org/2019-conference.html
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U.S. Congressman Bill Posey’s Annual Federal Contracting Conference
This is the chance for government contractors to have one-on-one meetings with procurement representatives from Washington D.C., and Central Florida to explore new contracting opportunities. This is also an opportunity for local businesses that specialize in technology, innovation, defense contracting and services to learn how to navigate the federal procurement process.
https://posey.house.gov/news/documentsingle.aspx?DocumentID=396691

For those that follow Dr. Jay Barney, one of the founders of the Resource-Based View (RBV) of strategic management, Jay just published a new article in the December 2018 issue of Strategic Management Journal. Jay’s view that a firm’s resources represent its greatest source of competitive advantage, and nearly three decades of subsequent research, is quite compelling. However, the new article points out a subtle discrepancy which must be reconciled. RBV requires uncertainty in the market for buyers of strategic resources if they are to profit from them.  Otherwise, the potential profits are competed away by sellers who know just how valuable they really are.  On the other hand, RBV requires certainty in the market for sellers of strategic resources, as their returns are fixed (via contract) and not residual claims on the firm.

Okay, I know this sounds like gobbledygook. But basically there's a flaw in RBV’s explanation of profit generation versus profit appropriation. You can’t have the uncertainty and certainty too. That’s actually a pretty big deal for a major theory like RBV. Fortunately, Jay shows us a way out. His article “Why resource-based theory’s model of profit appropriation must incorporate a stakeholder perspective” argues that non-shareholder stakeholders (such as suppliers and employees) who supply strategic resources may have residual rights of control which influence how downstream profits are allocated.  While not owners of the firm’s profit, they may still benefit from the uncertainty which led to it. In other words, RBV must incorporate a broader multi-stakeholder perspective. Thanks for the clarification Jay!

We were pleased to deliver our first formal training course on Sales and Business Development at Strategy First, recently. The class covers the end-to-end business development process from lead generation, to sales funnel management (including stage gates, activities, and metrics), to the closing process. Our training leverages the BD lifecycle framework established by Shipley Associates and sales methodology concepts from Miller & Heiman (Strategic Selling), Neil Rackham (SPIN Selling), and others. Please contact Strategy First for more information about our training programs.   
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