No. 1: Lockheed stays big, agile

For 14 years, Lockheed Martin Corp. has heldthe No. 1 spot on Washington Technology'sTop 100 ranking of the largest governmentcontractors.And the company, which gained $13.4 billionin prime contracts in 2007, shows little inclinationto rest on its laurels. If anything, LockheedMartin is more focused than ever on being thego-to contractor for its federal customers.In February 2007, the company created theInformation Systems and Global Services businesssector, which combined two existing units? Integrated Systems and Solutions andInformation Technology and Global Services ?into one business headed by Linda Gooden,executive vice president.The idea, Gooden said, was for LockheedMartin to respond morequickly to customerdemands and bring moreunified solutions and systemsto the market."If you look at some of ourrecent contract wins, youcan see the positive results ofour strategy," Gooden said.Marquee wins include theFBI's Next GenerationIdentification system, a 10-year, $1 billionupgrade to the Integrated AutomatedFingerprint Identification System, whichLockheed Martin holds.Other contracts Gooden used as examplesinclude a $766 million Defense Departmentcontract that is part of the Joint Tactical Radiosystem. The system will bring networked, tacticalcommunications to the battlefield."We also have a very full pipeline ofopportunities in the near term," Goodensaid.The company is chasing a major outsourcingcontract at the EnergyDepartment and a NASA software developmentsupport contract for human spaceflightoperations. Lockheed Martin also ispreparing to recompete its TransportationSecurity Administration security trainingcontract.With these wins and upcoming opportunitiesas a backdrop, Gooden and her teamhave spend much of the past 15 monthspulling the new unit together and buildinga common culture, she said. "From anoperational perspective, we found that itwas a lot different than we expected."Gooden has spent a lot of time talking tocustomers to understandtheir short- and long-termchallenges and understandtheir expectations ofLockheed Martin. She alsodivided the business intothree groups ? missionsolutions, information systemsand global services ?to create what she calledagile aggregation."Each group has unique market behaviors,business models and different technology investments,"she said. "But each can reach back to theothers to add value or innovation or define aperfect price point for a customer."A third priority was communications with the52,000 employees in her sector. She needed toset expectations, explain her strategy and makesure employees understood their role in it.Another goal of the communication strategy wasto foster a feeling of entrepreneurship."Each person in the group needs to feelempowered to bring new ideas forward," shesaid. "Each individual has to feel they are makinga difference for the customer and for thecorporation."Gooden sees the challenges that faceLockheed Martin's customers falling into fourareas ? cybersecurity, war on terrorism, interoperabilityand workforce."We and our customers are facing a growingnumber of significant challenges," Gooden said."But I would also say the federal governmentmarket is a vibrant and mature market that hasweathered significant change over the last 20years, and I think we have all grown because ofthis. With these challenges, we also have opportunities,particularly when we focus on deliveringnew and innovative solutions."