Quote :

"The govt does not simply accuse a contractor of fraud"

I accused them of fraud?

Quote :

"Besides you originally stated that you sent an email to the decision maker at his request,"

Sorry, this was confusing. Decision maker had asked generally before about "working together". That was part of the backstory. This email reply was a response to the contractor when we inquired, again, professionally for the to help us understand how they specified an impossibility. Their reply was blame the DoD.

Quote :

"It's no wonder your decision maker doesn't know what's going on, you have no idea how to write an email to a flag office"

The decision maker is a GS-14. His boss (well, one of them) is an SESer.

Relevant http://www.govexec.com/technology/2015/03/many-feds-are-uncomfortable-communicating-email/106839/

[Edited on March 5, 2015 at 8:53 PM. Reason : a]

3/5/2015 8:47:33 PM

Quote :

"You all seem to forget that we the taxpayer are paying this corporation for work and we aren't getting what we are paying for AND putting soldiers lives at risk. This shit is serious is business. FWIW, this email has spurned more actual movement on rectifying this situation than anything else done up to now."

Which is part of the problem. You're poor communication skills compromises a good outcome, it doesnt make it more likely.

3/5/2015 10:33:17 PM

from victim to hero in less than 100 posts. pretty impressive.

3/6/2015 12:33:30 AM

Quote :

"this email has spurned more actual movement on rectifying this situation than anything else done up to now.""

movement isn't necessarily a good thing; they are probably just positioning themselves better to get a change order out of the deal.

3/6/2015 10:05:18 AM

i must admit, I have been more entertained by this thread than I ever thought I would.

thanks TWW!

3/6/2015 10:49:07 AM

Quote :

"Which is part of the problem. You're poor communication skills compromises a good outcome, it doesnt make it more likely."

Look, you can't just read all the Seven Habits and Influencer books and then just slap it in this thread without actually having enough information.

The "good outcome" was compromised a long time ago before I was even involved. The decision maker doesn't understand that and hasn't internalized it when it has been described to him (not by me). Short of just ignoring the decision maker and doing our own thing (which is what we have been doing anyway, only Contractor A has been whining about this) there isn't much else to do other than to shame these guys to the point that it pisses them off enough to try and prove us wrong.

Quote :

" they are probably just positioning themselves better to get a change order out of the deal"

This is the most bizarre thing out of all this, they've been screaming for a couple of years that the funding is already in place to help with just this type of stuff. We even offered up what we thought was a softball they could milk us for and they refused. If they are trying to play a "don't help them at all and when they completely fail we'll get WAY more workload than this measly little funding line that already exists" game then they are toast.

3/8/2015 11:47:00 AM

You came to tww and started a thread to ask a question. You got many responses that indicate you could have handled it differently, to which you continue to argue to defend your actions. Seems like you were just looking for vindication.


[Edited on March 8, 2015 at 12:23 PM. Reason : .]

3/8/2015 12:22:39 PM

Oh yeah man, you got it!

3/8/2015 4:15:36 PM

Is this relevant?

http://www.wsj.com/articles/how-to-tell-if-youre-a-jerk-at-work-1424664623?mod=e2fb

3/8/2015 6:09:06 PM

The same people that have us giving out trophies to everyone, win or lose (when we actually do keep score) are the same people that push this "don't offend" ethos that most are pushing in this thread.

3/8/2015 7:02:48 PM

god damn you're a narcissist. you have anti-social personality disorders and you don't realize it. The contractors and decision makers (and now us) know you're an idiot that's why nobody is listening to you.


You know what. You're totally right OP. you need to teach those contractors a lesson they'll never forget. And your soft GS-14, you need to teach him how to handle his job. If I were you I send out an email tonight and put them all in their place. Remember there are lives at risk here. Think of what will happen if you don't. You must act now! Take this above the 14 head. You need to bring this up with the flag officers, I'd CC them on the email as well.


[Edited on March 8, 2015 at 8:49 PM. Reason : .]

3/8/2015 8:25:31 PM

I'm federal employee. I agree with the GS-14. Do you want to get a PIP? Because this is how you get PIP'd.

[Edited on March 8, 2015 at 8:42 PM. Reason : .]

3/8/2015 8:41:41 PM

Quote :

"And your soft GS-14, you need to teach him how to handle his job."

Him? Being a bit presumptuous, huh?

3/8/2015 9:43:33 PM

[quoteYou're poor communication skills[/quote]




[Edited on March 8, 2015 at 9:46 PM. Reason : raaaaaaain]

3/8/2015 9:44:49 PM

Quote :

"Him? Being a bit presumptuous, huh?"

shit, then no wonder she's pushing that "don't offend" ethos. women are soft and don't belong in DOD. you know that, and you need to tell her that.

you're going soft on me now. the same people passing out trophies win or lose are the same ones that have us writing him/her, he/she every time we don't know the gender so that we "don't offend". Fuck that shit man! peoples lives are at risk man!

stick to your guns. Punt that cunt!

3/8/2015 10:15:19 PM

^^autocorrect did it...

3/9/2015 12:08:51 AM

Saw on reddit, thought of cuntpunter:
http://www.reddit.com/r/LifeProTips/comments/2yklcc/lpt_learn_the_skill_of_giving_and_taking/

Also:
http://changingminds.org/techniques/questioning/socratic_questions.htm

3/10/2015 1:55:38 PM

Whelp, as a military guy, I would say you stepped on your dick. Blowing someone in place is one thing, but you gotta have the brass to back you up...which you did not.

Also, does anyone else feel like OP used ten times the amount of words needed to convey his idea?

3/11/2015 8:42:16 PM

Quote :

"used ten times the amount of words needed to convey his idea"

As a military guy, I'm not surprised you'd say that. I dial in to a bi-monthly telecon run by an O5 and I marvel every week at pace that information is exchanged and decisions are made. Granted, sometimes I think that bravado and devotion to the process leads to pretty dumb decisions where more discussion really could be beneficial, but those times aren't the norm.

3/11/2015 9:56:36 PM

Quote :

"Also, does anyone else feel like OP used ten times the amount of words needed to convey his idea?"

Everyone in this thread besides the OP

3/11/2015 10:33:39 PM

There's no "I" in team, but there's a "U" in cunt.

3/11/2015 11:42:17 PM

CuntPunter, I don't know who you are, or who you think you are, but posting that email, even redacted, on the friggin Wolf Web is a violation of Federal Government email regulations. All emails used in official correspondance are marked as such:

Quote :

"NOTICE: This e-mail, including all attachments, constitute Federal Government records and property that is intended only for the use of the individual or entity to which it is addressed. It also may contain information that is privileged, confidential, or otherwise protected from disclosure under applicable law. If the reader of this e-mail transmission is not the intended recipient or the employee or agent responsible for delivering the transmission to the intended recipient, you are hereby notified that any dissemination, distribution, copying or use of this e-mail or its contents is strictly prohibited. If you have received this e-mail in error, please notify the sender by responding to the e-mail and then delete the e-mail immediately."

as an agent of a federal acquisition agency, I have several contacts at Lockheed Martin and will be informing both them and the DoD IG about this leak.

3/12/2015 8:22:23 AM

None of our emails corresponding with Contractor A or Subcon A have been required to be marked as such and our email servers don't inline that correspondence automagically. I'm within the limits of my job to post the above as it doesn't constitute "official business". This was information posted here for opinion on how I can do my job better. None of it is classified. None of it is trade secret. None of it is intellectual property.

And while I know you are bullshitting, tell me how pestering your Lockheed Martin contacts with this info works out for you.

3/12/2015 12:25:59 PM

Ok, Hillary Clinton.

3/12/2015 12:54:58 PM

If I could remember who taught ENG331, I would email them this thread

[Edited on March 12, 2015 at 3:02 PM. Reason : .]

3/12/2015 3:02:33 PM

Quote :

"All emails used in official correspondence are marked as such"

Bullshit. Maybe your emails are, but that is definitely not a DoD requirement. Was the email marked FOUO? Even if it was, unless he's posting PII/PHI or close hold info, it's not a violation. Calm yourself.

3/12/2015 7:56:16 PM

every email i send with a customer/contractor, doesn't matter, i always assume it will get forwarded on and come could come back to haunt me. I always deflect, dodge, shift, when it comes to email. The written word in corporate America emails is almost gospel today.

You could have said your phrase in a meeting verbally and no one would have batted an eye i imagine.

In general if its a bad contractor, the best thing you can do is document and metric his badness. There usually comes a time and place when you can vent issues and back those up with metrics with the SLA/RFP owner. I've personally toppled a few vendors with ticket numbers, tech names, delayed responses and emails to back those up.

3/12/2015 9:17:02 PM

One thing you have to remember before slamming anybody in the federal is whom will ultimately be responsible for the fuck up.

I.E. you can blast some shitty contract but what you don't know is that the SESer above your boss and your bosses boss was the guy who signed on the dotted line.

He doesn't want to hear "Failure", it only makes him look stupid. Generally raking somebody over the coals IMHO doesn't get you anywhere further to success, best bet help them out, give honest feedback.

Another thing, your competing with a contracted service internally... This can work, but only with the right management behind you.

I.E. your boss can have the perspective I can save 2 million and kill the contract (but only if the SES will back them). Or he can say WHY ARE YOU WASTING YOUR TIME COMPETING WITH THE CONTRACTORS, and move you to away from the project.

3/12/2015 11:37:58 PM