TikTok trends, the 24-hour news cycle, or 12 hours in politics… everything moves at a faster pace nowadays. This is particularly true in terms of technology. In today’s warp-speed world, clinging to outdated methods while technology evolves isn’t just unwise – it hinders progress. To thrive in the current competitive business environs, it’s crucial to embrace flexibility and innovation.
Advancements in Artificial Intelligence (AI), cloud computing, robotics and automation, plus renewable energy are transforming sectors. From healthcare to manufacturing, these advancements are creating new opportunities and efficiencies at a novel pace. For instance, the latest McKinsey Global Survey reports on a doubling of Generative AI (GenAI) usage among organizations. 65% of respondents are reporting regular implementation.
Sticking to outdated practices can leave businesses trailing behind tech-savvy competitors. This will lead to a number of issues, including:
- Escalating inefficiencies across the board
- Protracted response times
- Possible cybersecurity breaches
- Resource wastage
- Stifled innovation and growth
In the end, it can mean losing market share and profits. It can also lead to employee burnout and frustration. A reported 69% of European employees stated that better tools and tech could increase their productivity.
Your business’s ability to adapt to tech advancements, shifting markets, industry trends, and customer needs is paramount. Let’s face it, AI isn’t going anywhere. This flexibility, responsiveness, and a focus on ongoing improvement is key for sustained growth.
That said, getting the balance right can be tricky at first. That’s why we’re highlighting our GovCon TrailBlazers. What do they all have in common? They’re successfully leveraging software – like VisibleThread – to innovate.
Before we get to that, however, let’s address some lingering misconceptions around the adoption of tech.
The Fear Factor: The Common Concern About Tech
Arguably, ever since The Luddites, there has been a pervasive fear of tech taking human jobs. This notion rings especially true since GenAI became more prevalent since a certain launch in November 2022.
While you can see the logic in this, history dictates otherwise. True, tech can displace certain roles, but it also creates new opportunities. For instance, the rise of automation has led to the emergence of entirely new industries and job categories. These include:
- AI engineers
- Machine learning engineers
- Ethical AI specialists
- Data scientists and further tech support roles
Moreover, technology can enhance productivity and innovation, allowing businesses to grow and create more jobs in the long run. Embracing tech can thus lead to a dynamic and diverse job market. In addition to the fear of the unknown, other mental blocks include a bugbear of most organizations – resistance to change. You can overcome these common hurdles by committing to the following:
- Investing in ongoing training for the necessary upskilling and reskilling
- Fostering a culture of constant innovation
- Clearly communicating the benefits of this new tech
Obviously, this change isn’t going to happen overnight. Firstly, you need to nail team buy-in. Without that, successfully implementing any new tool or tech stack will be destined for failure. There are ways to achieve this, which we outline further below.
GovCon Trailblazers – VisibleThread Success Stories
So, without further ado, here are six pioneers in the GovCon space. They’re nailing the use of tech across the realms of leadership, innovation, and exceptional strategizing.
Leading GovCon organizations all leverage VisibleThread. As a result, they’re transforming their operations, achieving notable outcomes, and setting new benchmarks within the industry.
Exceptional Strategies
Effective strategies turn average companies into exceptional ones by driving significant cost savings. For example, using VT Docs, Airbus saves $50k-100k per bid. In terms of strategies, Airbus streamlined processes with VT Docs. How? By shredding RFPs, generating compliance matrices, and assigning responsibilities, thus reducing time and errors. Custom dictionaries also improve their proposal quality.
As a global leader in defense and space, Airbus faced significant challenges in maintaining consistency and quality. This was particularly difficult across the thousands of complex proposals generated annually. The need to streamline their proposal proofreading process was critical to reducing costs and maintaining a competitive edge.
To address this, Airbus implemented a strategy to internalize the final proofreading stage of their proposal responses using VisibleThread. By doing so, they no longer needed external resources previously required for their complex and voluminous work.
This strategic move led to significant cost savings, with Airbus saving between $50,000 and $100,000 per bid. Moreover, the integration of VisibleThread’s tools improved the consistency and quality of proposals. It enables Airbus to maintain a single tone of voice across their diverse teams.
Pragmatics, a leading provider of cloud, development, security, and operations solutions, needed to streamline their proposal development process. Why? To better allocate resources and improve their chances of winning government contracts.
The company leveraged Fred Vlchek’s prior experience with VisibleThread to implement VT Docs. It allowed them to automate the generation of compliance matrices and improve the efficiency of their proposal development process.
This strategic implementation led to a doubling of the number of proposals Pragmatics could pursue annually. By focusing their efforts on more aligned and qualified pursuits, Pragmatics significantly increased their probability of winning (P-WIN). They showed how a well-thought-out strategy can drive substantial business growth.
VT Docs is a time saver, it really is. It helps us to take our limited resources and focus on where we should be putting our dollars to maximize the most benefit for our company.
Innovative Approaches
These methods can range from adopting an agile approach to implementing design thinking and lean startup principles. The end result? Adaptability in an ever-evolving market. As such, IAG implemented VT Writer as their internal quality assurance. By innovating alongside the new VT Writer Word Add-in, they transformed their business writing review process in Microsoft Word, allowing for real-time analysis and editing of large documents.
A communications agency specializing in accessibility, The Information Access Group required a robust solution to ensure that their content met stringent readability and standards for a wide-ranging audience.
To enhance their internal quality assurance process, the Information Access Group (IAG) adopted VT Writer as an automatic checker. This tool provided objective metrics for readability and passive voice usage. It ensured that all content was clear, accessible, and met the necessary reading levels.
This innovative approach not only improved the quality of the content delivered to clients but also streamlined the editing process. The team could now track readability scores while ensuring any revisions didn’t compromise accessibility. It ultimately enhanced their reputation as leaders in accessible communication.
As a small service-disabled veteran-owned business, BTVI faced the daunting task. They had to compete against larger corporations for a lucrative government contract.
BVTI adopted our Compare Docs feature to streamline their proposal process. This innovative approach allowed them to generate compliant and detailed changes reference matrices efficiently. This enabled them to meet tight deadlines and complex requirements.
This innovation enabled BVTI to compete effectively against much bigger organizations, ultimately leading to a successful bid. VisibleThread was integral in helping BVTI exceed the standards expected by the government. It proved that innovative approaches can level the playing field for smaller businesses.
After one year of using VisibleThread for bidding on three proposals, BVTI won all three.
Leadership
Onboarding new tools and processes can be tricky. That said, our TrailBlazers excel with a top-down approach, boosting brand rankings, reputation, and competitive edge. One such leader is David Horely. Under his guidance, VT Docs helps KWM lawyers, law clerks, and the Applied Legal Technology Team to achieve their digital transformation goals.
King & Wood Mallesons (KWM), a top-tier international law firm, needed to enhance the efficiency of their contract analysis and compliance processes. They also needed to make sure that no critical requirements were missed in their legal documents.
Under the leadership of David Horley, Manager of Applied Legal Technology, KWM integrated VisibleThread’s VT Docs into their operations. His leadership ensured that the solution became a vital part of the firm’s digital transformation journey.
David’s vision and leadership led to significant efficiency gains. This resulted in KWM saving up to 70% of the time required for contract reviews. The successful integration of VT Docs under his guidance also instilled confidence among the legal teams. They knew they were meeting all necessary compliance requirements. As a result, it further solidified KWM’s reputation for excellence in legal services.
Cherokee Federal, with a diverse portfolio of over 2,000 projects, faced the challenge of maintaining efficiency and quality across their proposal processes while managing significant growth.
Marcia Watson, Sr. Director of Proposal Operations, played a pivotal role. She led her team through the integration of VisibleThread into their proposal processes. Her oversight ensured that the team could handle the increased workload without compromising on quality.
Marcia’s leadership bolstered team morale and collaboration, leading to better quality proposals and faster decision-making processes. This resulted in Cherokee Federal’s significant rise in the Bloomberg Government Contractors ranking. It underscored the impact of strong leadership in navigating complex challenges.
The VisibleThread tool is instrumental for our proposal operations. It saves us time and allows us to more effectively manage the significant growth we have encountered.
The Path Forward? Cultivate a Culture of Innovation
We touched off the importance of team buy-in when adopting new tools. As for what that might look like, here are some pointers for putting change into action.
- Prioritize creating an environment where employees feel safe to take risks and learn from failures.
- Recognize and reward innovative efforts.
- Ensure leadership are at the forefront of this pivotal change. It must be a top down approach, with all of the C-Suite both supporting and participating in innovation initiatives.
- Foster open communication and collaboration across all levels of the organization helps to break down silos.
- Encourage the sharing of ideas and best practices on a regular basis.
The best way to onboard a team is involving them in the innovation process from the offset. Listen to their ideas and their feedback. It’s also important not to overload them with too many options initially.
In addition to offering traditional incentives, you can further motivate your team. You can equip them with the tools and confidence to experiment and grow.
Key Takeaway – Embrace the Future
The GovCon TrailBlazers case studies showcase how innovative strategies, and strong leadership can transform government contracting. Using VisibleThread’s tools, these organizations have set new industry standards and achieved remarkable success.
Highlighting these TrailBlazers shows that the future of government contracting is driven by technology, strategy, and visionary leadership. After all, change is inevitable. And, as a wise collective once said, “resistance is futile.”
There are a slew of benefits to being an effective pioneer in this space. In terms of organizations, the main merit includes staying competitive. That’s what happens when you streamline operations and enhance efficiency. Individually, it fosters personal and professional growth by providing access to new learning opportunities and improving productivity.
Set aside some dedicated time (we know no time is a good time, but you can’t afford to wait) for some reflection. Gauge at your current practices. It’s an opportunity to explore how you can begin integrating tech and innovation into your work or organization.
And, if you work in GovCon, consider contacting us and we can show you how VisibleThread can work for you.
VisibleThread is an amazing company. Everyone I’ve met inside the organization has been not only friendly, but helpful, and proactive with us.
