Strategies for Resilience

^ LISTEN TO THE INTERVIEW ABOVE ^

Government contracting presents an unpredictable and complex landscape. Dan Levenson, President of Agile Six, joins us to discuss the strategies for resilience and navigating these challenges. From grappling with bureaucratic hurdles to the rewards of impactful, purposeful work, our conversation uncovers the realities of working in this space and the innovative approaches Agile Six takes to navigate it. We'll explore how its unique culture and people-first approach set it apart in the realm of civic tech.

Understanding the Challenges

Why is government contracting so challenging?

The government space is really challenging, and I think a big part of that is really just the size and scope of the mission over time, referred to as the bureaucracy. It leads to a lot of ideas and processes, initially with good intent, but then over years and decades, they aren't changed. People just keep repeating the same process, and that results in misaligned incentive structures, making the space very difficult to navigate. Oftentimes, the government is very risk-averse, and it's hard to get clear answers, responses, or feedback from the government. This has led to a lot of much larger companies being able to influence by lobbying or other efforts to really entrench these kinds of peculiar and misaligned incentive structures because they found ways to profit from it. It’s made the space challenging to navigate, especially for new entrants and smaller companies trying to break into the space. I think this is why government technology has often been decades behind the commercial space, and also why it's incredibly difficult for new and innovative companies to break in and really make a difference.

The Rewards of Purposeful Work

I remember the Sixer Spotlight with Kiel McLaughlin, and I won't forget his response to this question. I asked him, Why do you think working in government is so challenging? And he said, making a difference in these government spaces is like pushing a boulder up a hill; being able to push the boulder up the hill successfully makes the wins that much sweeter.

What are the rewards of working in government contracting?

I think Kiel was spot on. You know, change in progress in the government space isn't linear. Oftentimes you'll take a step forward and then two steps back. But I think the real key is just having resilience and being able to make that sustainable progress and really savoring those wins, as Kiel mentioned, and I think the rewards are immense. Where else can we have the same impact as improving healthcare for people in America, improving pandemic readiness and keeping people safe, or improving the experience for Veterans who put it all on the line to serve our country? So the rewards are immense, but the real challenge is being able to be resilient enough, understand the space, and be able to stay in and affect that sustainable change and make a difference over time.

Progress is often measured in decades in the government space, which can be challenging, but when you are able to make that progress, I don't think there's anything more rewarding that you could do in your career, at least for me personally.

Our Unique Approach to Growth and Challenges

We often talk about how Agile Six does things differently. Can you tell us about a time when doing things differently helped you navigate the challenges in this space?

We take a very different approach than a lot of companies when it comes to how we look at growth and business development. Many companies have fixed growth targets, maybe driven by outside investors who are looking for a certain amount of growth or returns. We really take growth on a sense-and-respond basis.

Are we staying true to our values? Can we be who we are if we're going to win this work? What are the implications if we do not win work? What will that mean for the safety and health of the company and for the Sixers, the people working at Agile Six? So, we often look for purposeful work, but also for modular contracts, which are often smaller and more targeted in nature to the work that we’re doing.

In addition to that, we work heavily with our subcontractor partners who bring exceptional people and are very qualified. What that does is, in the event that we aren't successful or we run into a situation where we don't win a contract, we like to say it reduces the 'blast radius' of impact and puts us in a position to prioritize our people first and make sure that they have as many options as possible, hopefully within Agile Six on other projects. But even if not, we're able to give them the care and the respect that they deserve in those situations.

Navigating Challenges with Culture and Values

How do Agile Six's culture and values help navigate challenges and guide decision-making during uncertain times, such as the loss of a recompete? Can you share any specific strategies?

I believe our values and the culture that stems from those values are the foundation of how we approach challenging times. Trust is key; because we have trust, we're able to approach teams and people affected, as well as others within the company, in a transparent way and with openness, not trying to hide the realities of the space in which we're operating—the good, the bad, and everything in between.

Our commitment to purposeful work is crucial. We're really open with folks that what we're not willing to do is just go and say any revenue's good revenue and find work that doesn't align with our values just to potentially fill a short-term need. That doesn't mean we're not committed to finding as many great options as possible for folks who are impacted and keeping the company as resilient as possible. But we're very clear that our values are there for a reason, and they're going to guide how we respond to any type of situation, especially challenging situations like a contract loss.

I also believe our focus on wholeness and wellness is key in these situations. It's about trying to understand and be there for people as whole human beings, not just seeing them as cogs in the machine or only a role within a specific project. These are human beings working with Agile Six, and we're grateful they choose to spend their time working with us. So, we want to make sure that we are there for them, understanding what their needs and desires are, and how we can best support them within the framework of the company's values.

Lessons Learned

What key lessons has Agile Six learned while navigating through the challenges?

We've learned a lot of lessons over the years, and we always continue to try to improve. When speaking about the challenges in the government space and specifically losing a contract or having something disruptive that impacts and affects people's jobs, we've really learned to address people as human beings and as whole people.

Early on at Agile Six, we had a contract that we ended up not winning. I think we came from a really good place of good intent, but it was probably a little bit paternalistic where we felt like it was just our job to find some role, any role for people, even if that might not have been the technology or project or the role that really made them whole and worked best for them.

After having conversations from a trust-based place and receiving feedback, we really evolved and learned that our job is not to tell someone that this is the best role for you. It's to present people with choices. We know people are not pieces on a chessboard where it's our job to just put them wherever we think makes sense. It's to have conversations with them and understand their needs and what's best for them. And hopefully, that's with Agile Six. But sometimes that may be continuing to work with another company or doing something outside of Agile Six. And that's great too.

A big lesson we've learned is how to best support people and be there for them.

Maintaining a People-First Approach Amid Growth

As Agile Six grows, how does the people-first approach continue to guide your decisions? Is it getting more difficult?

There are absolutely challenges as we scale the company. It's something that we're pretty open about and talk a lot about. I'm very grateful for my background as a contracting officer. I got to watch a lot of promising companies who had some success and then, as they grew, they lost a lot of what made them special. I think that experience informs a lot of the approach we take at Agile Six to try to mitigate the risk of that happening.

As far as putting people first, I think a big part of that is our self-management approach. We really are committed to putting decision-making where the information is. What that means is that we trust our people. And I think underpinning that is the purposeful work that we choose to do, which really puts us in a position where we build better by putting people first.

As we grow, we're continuing to have open conversations and feedback loops to ensure that we're not bending on our values. We're committed to not losing what makes us special. And if that means at times we pump the brakes and have a time period of slow growth, so be it. That's why I think it's so critical that we don't have any fixed growth targets or outside investors who are really pushing growth at all costs.

It truly puts us in a position where we can prioritize purpose over profit.

The Importance of Transparency at Agile Six

One of the first things I noticed when I joined Agile Six was how transparent everything was and how Sixers were seen, heard, and valued. Can you share why transparency is so important?

At Agile Six, we talk a lot about showing the score. Many companies say they're transparent or open. But oftentimes, it's maybe only when there's good news; when there's bad news, there's a lot of toxic positivity in trying to sugarcoat things. For our company with our self-managed approach, we believe that contextual awareness is critical. It's a necessity to be able to self-manage and to give people within the collective a voice to be heard and to be included.

Each month we share company health metrics around our profit, how our customers are feeling about us, and how Sixers are feeling - Sixer wellness. We think that's incredibly important to be able to share the score and then always give everyone a voice. We call it the collective, the ability to ask questions and provide advice based on that awareness.

Working in Civic Tech

Why is working in civic tech so important to you?

Working in civic tech is extremely important to me. When I started at Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) and realized the impact we could have on people's lives—this includes my family, your family, everyone, since everyone interacts with government in some way—supporting what we like to call healing agencies, particularly in healthcare and veteran services, became a passion. I don’t believe I could be spending my time doing anything more meaningful.

Once I was able to experience that from inside the government, I knew that I wanted to spend the rest of my career within civic tech improving government. I also understood the challenges and frustrations that come with that. To make a real impact, it can take decades at times, and some of these problems that I've tried to work really hard at being part of the solution may not even be solved in my lifetime, but I found peace with that and really believe that the purpose just can't be beat. And I can't see myself going anywhere else at any point in my career.

Advice for Aspiring Civic Tech Professionals

What would you say to someone interested in getting into civic tech?

I would encourage someone who's interested in jumping into civic tech to have as many conversations with folks who are in this space as possible. I know people at Agile Six are always willing to have conversations and chat with people. Understanding the challenges and the frustration that come with working in civic tech is important. The bureaucracy can be challenging at times. It can be really difficult to make progress, and you really need to savor that progress when you are able to make it. Civic tech often doesn't offer the very high salaries that can sometimes be found on the commercial side of things. However, the unmatched purpose civic tech brings is significant. If you're interested in supporting the biggest challenges that face our country right now and trying to make a difference, I encourage folks to take a serious look at civic tech, while also being honest about all the trade-offs. I think for a lot of people, once they dip their toes into civic tech, they make a decision that this is it for them for life. They never want to leave.

A Better Place To Work

How would you describe Agile Six to someone?

Agile Six is a better place to work that has better work to do. And I know just reciting the tagline may seem like a little bit too much, but I truly believe that. This is foundational for us and goes back to when I decided to join the company and the partnership that I have with our CEO, Robert Rasmussen. While we both believe in both aspects of that, Robert's greatest passion is for building a better place to work and everything that goes with that, including how that aligns with my greatest passion of better work to do. To me, it's what Agile Six is all about.

Final Thoughts

As we wrap up. Are there any final thoughts you'd like to share?

We've talked a lot about the purpose and mission within civic tech, and the values and culture that make Agile Six special. I believe wholeheartedly in all of those things, but I also think at times within this space and especially civic tech, there can be a bit of toxic positivity around not being realistic about the trade-offs. These are term contracts that we're working on with the government, and the system isn't always perfect.

So challenges do and will come. What I'd like to end with is really being open and honest with folks that while there's no other place that I would rather be working, you need to anticipate there are challenges associated with working with government, be realistic about that and weigh the trade-offs, and decide if this is the best place for you to work.

If this story piqued your interest in a career with Agile Six, explore our open roles.