Podcast: USD R&E priorities for defense tech with Heidi Shyu
At the 2022 GMU-DAU annual conference, the Undersecretary of Defense for Research and Engineering (USD R&E) Heidi Shyu joined us to discuss her priorities, approaches, […]
PPBE reform
Podcast: Managing Portfolios to Bridge DoD’s Valley of Death
I hosted a panel event with the the newly named Baroni Center for Government Contracting to discuss our recent report on how funding flexibility can […]
Event: Funding flexibility & bridging the valley of death
If a company brings a new technology or solution to the Department of Defense, officials have few sources of funding that allow them to capitalize […]
Podcast: PPBE Reform with Ellen Lord and Michael Brown
Ellen Lord and Michael Brown joined me at the 2022 Conference hosted by George Mason University and Defense Acquisition University to discuss PPBE Reform. Ellen […]
Podcast: Getting weapons into production with USD A&S Bill LaPlante
The Undersecretary for Acquisition & Sustainment (USD A&S) Bill LaPlante joined us at the 2022 Conference hosted by George Mason University and Defense Acquisition University. […]
It takes exceptional people to do average work with DoD’s budgeting system
“I had a boss one time who said the processes and systems we have [in PPBE] are such that it takes exceptional people to do […]
DoD’s end-to-end budget cycle must be compressed to one year, max
Here’s a lengthy slice from the recently exited DIU director Michael Brown on the Venture Stories podcast discussing a major barrier to military innovation. I’ll […]
How the geometry of investing in defense startups is different
Here’s a few slices from a great Venture Stories podcast with Alex Moore, an investor at 8VC and before that he was one of the […]
Podcast: What it takes in acquisition to deter China
A new paper from MITRE takes an end-to-end look at how military strategy gets translated into the types of weapon systems actually bought through the […]
Federal contractors don’t know which decade they’re in for software development — “We’ve got to change the game”
Here’s slices from a good discussion at the Aspen Security Forum with LinkedIn co-founder Reid Hoffman and chief of naval research Admiral Lorin Selby. Hoffman […]
Podcast: Strategic planning and digital transformation with John Whitley
I was pleased to have the John Whitley join me on the Acquisition Talk podcast to discuss digital transformation, the potential for “as a service” […]
Deep tech development strategies and imperatives for DoD reform
Here is AJ Piplica, CEO of the hypersonic vehicles company Hermeus, on the Venture Stories podcast discussing the importance of generating revenue ahead of the […]
China’s weapons acquisition cycle 5-6x faster than the United States — “We are going to lose” if we don’t change
I would tell you anecdotally that China is still, after gains we’ve made in the last five years or so, about five to six times […]
How can future fighter aircraft be developed as a family of systems rather than vertical stovepipe?
Here’s Special Assistant to the SecAF Dr. Tim Grayson speaking at a recent Hudson Institute event hosted by the excellent Bryan Clark and Dan Patt […]
USD R&E Heidi Shyu on the valley of death, DIU, and budget reform
In a recent HASC hearing on S&T, several congress members bombarded USD R&E Heidi Shyu with questions about Defense Innovation Unit. Rep. Seth Moulton, who […]