Top executives share market insights on WT's Project 38 podcast

When we launched Podcast 38 earlier this year, the vision was to explore what the government market should look like in 20 years: in 2038. Hence, the name.

But it has evolved slightly as we’ve conducted the interviews. I learned quickly that it is hard for anyone to have a clear vision of what the government market will be like in 2038. But one thing is clear, the market today is going through a tremendous amount of change.

So the interviews -- there have been seven so far -- have looked at what is driving change today and how some current and former executives recommend managing through that change.

And along the way, we’ve also learned more about the strategies of particularly companies. Look for that approach to continue in 2019.

Here is a rundown of who we have had so far:

• Stan Soloway on the Market at the Crossroads. This was our first episode and Soloway described the challenge industry and government alike face as new ways of business emerge.

• John Hillen on the Maturity of the Federal Market. Former CEO of Sotera Defense Solutions, the executive in residence and professor of practice at George Mason University’s School of Business talked about how changes over the past decade have created a more open and transparent market.

• David Kriegman on Managing Through Disruption. Kriegman, a former senior SRA International executive, shares the lessons he learned helping that company grow to an over $1 billion enterprise. Hint: Disruption is constant.

• John Wood and the Innovation Challenge. Telos Corp.'s CEO shared his views on the challenges and obstacles companies face and how to overcome them.

• Steve Harris on IT Modernization. Senior vice president and general manager of Dell EMC’s federal business, Harris talked about IT modernization and digital transformation how the market is changing for prime contractors and their partners.

• Dan Helfrich on the End of Traditional IT. Deloitte’s federal business lead shared his views on cloud, blockchain, machine learning and IT modernization and how they will impact business models, customer relationships and hiring practices.

• Diane Gowen and the Telecom Pivot. The veteran of the ever-changing telecom market, Gowen talked about what is changing and what isn’t and how partnerships remain the key fundamental to success.

Going forward we’ll continue to do interviews with current executives but there are several former CEO-types that I want to talk to.

I want to dig deeper into some of the broader principles of leadership in the GovCon space by looking at things such as strategic planning and change management.

Click here to see all of our podcasts so far.