AEGIS is proud to once again sponsor the ACT-IAC Small Business Conference at the Platinum level. The event takes place April 24 at the Washington Hilton in DC. The theme of the 2014 conference is “Connect, Collaborate and Commit.” Those are three activities that small businesses try to execute every day.
We Connect with government programs and small business offices, with large businesses who want to leverage the unique abilities of small companies, and very importantly with each other to accomplish more than we could on our own. Establishing and maintaining such connections presents challenges that can be difficult to navigate – the SBC always offers great tips for doing it most effectively.
Along those lines, we Collaborate through these connections to deliver true value to our customers. Through collaboration, we bring certain capabilities and resources to the table, but effective collaboration involves each party understanding the other’s motivations so we can move forward as One Team.
And of course Commitment is a necessary ingredient to making good things happen. For small businesses, one way commitment manifests itself is through the risks we decide to accept in exchange for a chance to do something great that moves us to another level. The SBC typically covers topics that help small businesses manage risks better so they avoid over-commitment, which often leads to trouble.
When you are Connecting, Collaborating, and Committing together with trusted government and industry partners, truly amazing results can happen. I anticipate that the keynotes, panels, and break time hallway conversations at SBC 2014 will revolve around how to make that magic. ACT-IAC does a great job of facilitating dialog between government and industry. The SBC event extends the dialog to focus on small business and how government, large businesses, and other small businesses can work toward common goals. In past years, some of the better panel discussions I’ve attended have talked about specific program areas where small business can contribute, ‘secrets to success’ when engaging with government and industry partners, and education on policies that particularly impact small businesses (for better or worse). I look forward to more of these discussions on the 24th.
In particular, I’ve been asked this year to host a table at the Lunch with Leaders event. Each table will be joined by a government leader for an informal conversation about topics relevant to the small business community. I’ve participated in such programs in the past and I find them to be incredibly insightful and I look forward in a special way to that part of the event. I hope to you you there!