F-35 Lightning II Inside Story

F-35: The Inside Story

SMA is proud to support “F‑35 The Inside Story of the Lightning II,” the most expensive military program in history, as told by those who lived it.
[Download not found]
National Intelligence Council

Whatever Happened to the National Intelligence Council?

Former NIC Chairs Gregory F. Treverton and Robert Hutchings lament of the seeming disappearance of the National Intelligence Council (NIC)
[Download not found]
Prospective Lessons Learned PL2

Hindsight in Advance: Prospective Lessons Learned

Don’t wait until you lose! Our Prospective Lessons Learned (PL2)™ generates pro­spective insights, identifies the different ways an opportunity might evolve, and provides a structured ap­proach to shaping the opportunity towards your preferred pathway
[Download not found]
US Marine Corps XQ-58A Valkyrie

Kratos EVMS Certification

Congratulations to Kratos Defense & Security Solutions on achieving certification for their Earned Value Management System (EVMS) from DCMA!
[Download not found]
China United States Pathways

Pathways Forward for China and the United States

SMA Executive Advisor and former NIC Chair Greg Treverton summarizes some positive Sino-US discussions following last November’s APEC meeting.
[Download not found]
Greg Ward

Greg Ward

We are sad to announce the passing of our friend and colleague Greg Ward, CPA, CF APMP, Vice President of Business Development
[Download not found]
Chinese Surveillance State

China: Two; Treverton: Zero

Greg Treverton, SMA Executive Advisor and former NIC Chair, meets the surveillance state during his recent visit to China for a conference
[Download not found]
Influencing from the Outside

Influencing Policy from Outside

SMA Executive Advisor and former NIC Chair Greg Treverton reflects on two times he sought to influence US foreign policy from the outside.
[Download not found]
Program Scheduler

We Need Program Schedulers!

We have an immediate need for Program Schedulers to work with our clients: two onsite in Orange County, CA, and up to four remote
[Download not found]
SMA Christmas Story

An SMA Christmas Story

Armed with our Talent on Demand® (TOD®) app, you can get a proposal team to your site, even over Christmas!
[Download not found]
Remotely Piloted Aircraft System flying over land

Remotely Piloted Aircraft System Win for General Atomics ASI

Congratulations to General Atomics Aeronautical Systems, Inc. on their award of the Canadian Remotely Piloted Aircraft System (RPAS) program.
[Download not found]
Lessons for Intelligence Analysis

Intelligence Analysis Dos and Dont’s

SMA Executive Advisor and former Chair of the NIC, Greg Treverton, tell us his dos and don’ts when analyzing national intelligence.
[Download not found]
Global Sources of America’s Mess

The Global Sources of America’s Mess

Former NIC Chair Greg Treverton muses on whether the current US polarization and gridlock is self-inflicted or foreign influenced.
[Download not found]
Musk meets Drucker

Collision of Minds: Musk’s Bold Future Meets Drucker’s Strategic Insights

Imagine Elon Musk in a meeting with Peter F. Drucker: undoubtedly a collision of minds, with a dynamic exchange of ideas and perspectives!
[Download not found]
Reframing China

Reframing China

Former NIC Chair Greg Treverton examines the future of the Sino-American relationship: collaborative, competitive, and/or adversarial.
[Download not found]
AI and Intelligence

AI and Intelligence: ChatGPT Output

Former NIC Chair Greg Treverton asked ChatGPT to write how he would assess the impact of AI on the US IC. Here is the raw output from ChatGPT
[Download not found]
AI and Intelligence

The Promise and Peril of Artificial Intelligence (AI) for Intelligence Analysis

Former NIC Chair Greg Treverton asked ChatGPT to write how he would assess the impact of AI on the US IC. Here is his summary of the output
[Download not found]
Future World Order

Thinking about Future World Order

Former NIC Chair Greg Treverton says that any confident predictions about China’s future, let alone Sino-American relationships, are suspect.
[Download not found]
3D neon cube symbolizing information and intelligence

Dimensions of Future Intelligence

Former NIC Chair Greg Treverton presented the nine dimensions of challenges facing national intelligence in our August 3, 2023 Town Hall.
[Download not found]
Ukraine and the Future of the Global (Dis)Order

Ukraine and the Future of the Global (Dis)Order

After the Putin-Prigozhin clash, what is the future for Ukraine and the Global (Dis)order? Former NIC Chair Greg Treverton has thoughts…
[Download not found]
CIA Crowdsourcing

The CIA Discovers Crowdsourcing

SMA Executive Advisor and former NIC Chair, Greg Treverton discusses how the CIA is at long last seeking to recruit spies by crowdsourcing.
[Download not found]
China Gen Z

Understanding China’s Gen Z

Former NIC Chair Greg Treverton ponders how China’s Generation Z may change after the end of China’s zero-Covid lockdowns.
[Download not found]
Endless War

The Endless War

SMA Executive Advisor Greg Treverton ponders whether we can or cannot afford to have Russia lose the war in Ukraine.
[Download not found]
Reboot

It’s Time to “Reboot” Earned Value Management

SMA Senior Program Advisor, Wayne Abba, recently published an opinion piece on the Defense Acquisition University (DAU) website, stated the need for the US Department of Defense to “reboot” the Earned Value Management (EVM) process to meet the needs of modern defense acquisitions in a more timely and less onerous manner. Wayne says in his article, “The result should be
[Download not found]
Nuclear age baby

Memoirs of a Nuclear Age Baby

SMA Executive Advisor & Former NIC Chair Greg Treverton looks at the history of nuclear weapon stalemate and whether we are any safer today.
[Download not found]
Third Nuclear Age

Thinking about the Third Nuclear Age

SMA Executive Advisor and former NIC Chair Greg Treverton realizes we have more questions than answers in this third nuclear age.
[Download not found]
President Joe Biden

Government That Works

With Biden’s first two years in office, SMA Executive Advisor Greg Treverton shows Government can work, even amidst polarization and gridlock.
[Download not found]
US Army Recruiting

How the US Army Can Appeal to Gen Zers

A Fox News opinion piece by Greg Treverton and David Sprott shows how US Army Recruiting can appeal to Gen Zers
[Download not found]
Nation State

Reflections on the Nation-State

States are once more front and center in international politics, after 20 years of concern about non-state actors, especially terrorists
[Download not found]
Chip War

The Looming Chip War

Can the US win the looming semiconductor war against China? SMA Executive Advisor Greg Treverton offers his opinion…
[Download not found]
Arctic

Geopolitics and Climate in the Arctic

The conflict in Ukraine has halted cooperation through the Arctic Council. Let’s hope that, minus Russia, it restarts soon to combat warming.
[Download not found]
Ukraine and the Future of the Global (Dis)Order

Will the Ukraine War Upend the Emerging World (Dis)Order?

Does the Ukraine War threaten the emerging post-9/11 world order? SMA Executive Advisor Greg Treverton thinks it won’t end well for Russia
[Download not found]
Supreme Court

Denying Delegation…and Ending Government as We Have Known It

SMA Executive Advisor Greg Treverton discusses the Supreme Court’s recent decisions and how they may affect the future of US democracy.
[Download not found]
Ukraine Lessons Learned

Relearning Old Lessons in Ukraine

The tragic war in Ukraine underscored lessons we learned, or should have, long ago. SMA Executive Advisor Greg Treverton provides some examples…
[Download not found]
End of Russia

The End of Russia as a Major Power?

Considering the implications of the Ukraine war, SMA Executive Advisor Greg Treverton believes this may be the end of Russia as a major power
[Download not found]
Endgame in Ukraine

Imagining the Endgame in Ukraine

Of all the possible endgames of the Russian invasion of Ukraine, which is the best or least less bad? Greg Treverton discusses the options.
[Download not found]
Earl Mazerolle

SMA Associate Spotlight: Earl Mazerolle

This week we spotlight Earl Mazerolle, an associate at SMA for 14 years specializing in scheduling and program management.
[Download not found]
Ukraine Geopolitics

The Geopolitics of the War in Ukraine

SMA Executive Advisor and former National Intelligence Council Chair, Greg Treverton, tries to make sense of the Russian invasion of Ukraine
[Download not found]
Russia

Where and How Russia Will Strike Next

A White Paper originally prepared by SMA, Inc., for the U.S. Undersecretary of Defense for Policy (USD(P)) on 22 January 2019
[Download not found]
Analyst

Confessions of an Analyst

As an analyst with training in economics and a lifetime in politics, SMA Executive advisor Greg Treverton explains how he finds it hard to answer some contemporary socio-political questions.
[Download not found]
Artificial Intelligence

Thinking about Artificial Intelligence (AI)

Artificial Intelligence (AI) will have an impact on virtually all jobs, but beyond that, SMA Executive Advisor Greg Treverton wonders what effect it will have on us as human beings.
[Download not found]
Thinking About the Future

Lessons in Thinking about the Future

SMA Executive Advisor and former NIC Chair Greg Treverton’s experience provides a framework for the what to dos and what not to does when making predictions about the future
[Download not found]
APMP BPC 2021 Winners

Congratulations to our APMP BPC Denver Winners!

Congratulations to our winners of a pair of Bose Frames audio sunglasses in our prize drawing at APMP BPC 2021 in Denver last week!
[Download not found]
Xi Jinping

China’s Government Capitalism

SMA Executive Advisor and former chair of the NIC, Greg Treverton asks why China’s President Xi is turning against the market economy, and why now?
[Download not found]
Proposal Training

FREE Proposal Training? Let’s Talk at APMP BPC Denver!

Would FREE proposal training help you win more contracts? We are the global leader in capture and proposal support, and yes, our training is now FREE. Visit us at APMP BPC Denver for more details.
[Download not found]
Peter F. Drucker's Vision Realized

Peter F. Drucker’s Vision Realized

Our 30 September Global Town Hall explored recent trends for knowledge workers and their implications for managing a professional services business using the management principles of Peter F. Drucker.
[Download not found]
SMA Global Town Hall 30 September 2021

SMA Global Town Hall, 30 September

Join us at our 3rd Global Town Hall on Thursday, 30 September, for a few laughs and a discussion on the next generation of knowledge workers and what that means to your company.
[Download not found]
Decoupling from China

Geopolitics and Decoupling from China

In his latest opinion piece, SMA Executive Advisor and former Chair of the National Intelligence Council, Greg Treverton discusses the concept of decoupling: reversing globalization, in particular with regard to China, reducing reliance on supply chains in China, and even “reshoring” them
[Download not found]
Wordman Microsoft Word Equation Fonts

Changing the Font in Microsoft Word Equations

Wordman (aka Dick Eassom, CF APMP Fellow, our Vice President of Corporate Support) explains how to change the font used by equations in Microsoft Word
[Download not found]
Intelligence Affairs

A Revolution in Intelligence Affairs?

SMA Executive Advisor and former NIC Chair Greg Treverton asks whether the intelligence agencies are agile enough to herald a revolution in intelligence affairs.
[Download not found]
2nd Annual Pet Content

Our 2nd Annual Pet Contest

SMA just held its Second Annual Pet Contest! One of our returning summer interns, Jose Fernandez-Rocha, organized the virtual event, assembling an online survey with pictures of pets submitted by our SMA Headquarters team.
[Download not found]
Immigration

The Simple Analytics—but Impossible Politics—of Immigration

Based on the facts of US immigration, SMA Executive Advisor Greg Treverton, former Chair of the National Intelligence Council, advocates for a way to be found to grant productive undocumented immigrants legal status.
[Download not found]
Russia Riddle

The Russia Riddle

Greg Treverton, SMA Executive Advisor and former Chair of the National Intelligence Council, ponders whether the Biden administration is inclined to reach out to Russia and whether Putin is disposed to respond
[Download not found]
Global Trends

Global Trends: Peering into the Future

SMA Executive Advisor and former National Intelligence Council (NIC) Chair Greg Treverton reviews the NIC’s latest Global Trends report which looks forward to 2040.
[Download not found]
Mexico

Anecdotes in Search of a (North) American Federation

For our 6 May Town Hall, with its Cinco de Mayo theme, SMA Executive Advisor Greg Treverton reminisced on his time in Mexico and Latin America, and asked if a North American Federation is a way forward.
[Download not found]
DNI

Agenda for the Director of National Intelligence

SMA Executive Advisor and former NIC Chair Greg Treverton lays out the top of the agenda for the new Director of National Intelligence, Avril Haines: the intelligence community and open-source intelligence (OSINT)
[Download not found]
Windows Apps

Wordman’s Must Have Windows Apps

What apps do you always download to a new Windows computer? Wordman (aka Dick Eassom, CF APMP Fellow, our Vice President of Corporate Support), describes his top three “must have” apps, and one that sparked this article.
[Download not found]
Economics

Biden Will Test the Paradoxes of Modern Economics

What will be the effect of the Biden Administration on today’s post-modern economy, with its paradoxes of late last century fiscal and monetary verities? SMA Executive Advisor Greg Treverton looks at the issues.
[Download not found]
Ted Casner

Ted Casner

We are very sad to announce the unexpected passing of Ted Casner, Senior Vice President for Strategic Accounts and member of the SMA Leadership Team
[Download not found]
Systems Thinking National Intelligence

Systems Thinking and National Intelligence

Could national intelligence analysis benefit from a systems thinking approach? Greg Treverton, SMA Executive Advisor and former chair of the National Intelligence Council, believes so.
[Download not found]
Black Box Win Strategy

Your Win Strategy Should NOT Be a Black Box!

Strategy is about the choices you make to create a differentiation in the market. How do you know if your strategy is creative, genuine, robust, actionable and compelling—the hallmarks of winning strategies?
[Download not found]
Women’s History Month

SMA Celebrates Women’s History Month

SMA is proud to be highlighting Women’s History Month at our Town Hall event this Thursday, 11 March 2021
[Download not found]
Microsoft Word Color Themes

Microsoft Word: Color Themes

Wordman (aka Dick Eassom, CF APMP Fellow, our Vice President for Corporate Support) shows you how to create a Microsoft Office color theme that reflects your corporate branding, and how to distribute it to your team
[Download not found]
SMA Proposal Principles

The Nine Principles of Winning and Proposal Development

40-year secrets of SMA’s success finally revealed! You will not find these principles of winning anywhere else—the missing link between today’s best practices and your next win!
[Download not found]
SMA Town Hall Gig Economy

How to Thrive in the Gig Economy for Professionals

Watch a recording of our recent Global Town Hall discussing how developing a strategy for leveraging gig workers is critical for firms and understanding how to thrive in the gig economy is essential for professionals.
[Download not found]
Price-to-Win Re-examined

Price-to-Win Re-examined

Presenting our point of view on a modern approach to pricing strategy for competitive procurements, and how to avoid the next strategic surprise!
[Download not found]
Scribble Talk SMA Exclusive Bob Gurin

Scribble Talk SMA Exclusive Episode 9, Featuring Bob Gurin

Listen to Bob Gurin, SMA Senior Vice President and proposal guru, interviewed by Baskar Sundaram for the Scribble Talk SMA Exclusive podcast, sponsored by SMA
[Download not found]
Are We Stuck In The Past?

Are We Stuck in the Past? The Need for New Thinking

In this presentation, SMA President and CEO, Ajay Patel, CF APMP, asks if we have neglected proposal text by focusing too much on the graphics. Do we need to re-emphasize proposal text as the cohesive glue that binds the graphics and tells our story?
[Download not found]
Happy Birthday TOD

Happy Birthday TOD®!

We celebrated the 4th birthday of our industry-first Talent on Demand (TOD)® platform at our Global Town Hall last week! Watch the video!
[Download not found]
Scribble Talk John Rood

Scribble Talk SMA Exclusive Episode 8, Featuring John Rood

Listen to John Rood, SMA Executive Advisor and former Under Secretary of Defense for Policy at the US Department of Defense, interviewed by Baskar Sundaram for the Scribble Talk SMA Exclusive podcast, sponsored by SMA
[Download not found]
Solar Winds

The Solar Winds Wake-up Call

SMA Executive Advisor Greg Treverton makes the case that international rules of the road in the cyber world are long overdue, and necessary to limit attacks on national infrastructure
[Download not found]
Great Expectations

How to Turn Around a Losing Proposal: A Case Study of Great Expectations

In this case study, SMA CEO Ajay Patel offers guidance on what to do when you find yourself in the unfortunate situation of a proposal that all instincts are telling you is deeply in trouble.
[Download not found]
Scribble Talk Lana Browner

Scribble Talk SMA Exclusive Episode 7, Featuring Lana Browner

Listen to Lana Browner, CP APMP, PMP, SMA Senior Associate and Proposal Manager, interviewed by Baskar Sundaram for the Scribble Talk SMA Exclusive podcast, sponsored by SMA
[Download not found]
Climate Engineering

Thinking about—and Preparing for—Climate Engineering

In his latest opinion piece, SMA Executive Advisor Greg Treverton argues that ready or not, climate engineering (CE) is coming, and the United States should aim to be ready for it.
[Download not found]
SMA Town Hall Gig Economy

SMA Global Town Hall, 18 February

Join us at our 2nd Global Town Hall on Thursday, 18 February for a few laughs and to gain insights to help you thrive in the Gig Economy.
[Download not found]
Win Strategy

Win Strategy Assessment

So you think you have a winning strategy for your current pursuit? Let’s test how confident you really should be about it. Take this quick self-assessment against six timeless principles of good strategy decisions.
[Download not found]
APMP CBDC The Genesis Work

SMA Presenting at the APMP Capture and Business Development Conference

Listen to Dave Patterson describe “The Genesis Work” during APMP’s Capture and Business Development Conference on Thursday, 28 January. SMA is proud to be a CBDC Patron Sponsor.
[Download not found]
Industrial Capabilities

FY2020 Industrial Capabilities Report to Congress

Congratulations to the SMA team who supported the Deputy Assistant Secretary of Defense for Industrial Policy (DASD (IP)) with creating the FY2020 Industrial Capabilities Report for Congress three months early!
[Download not found]
Build Back Better

Building Back Better

SMA Executive Advisor Greg Treverton discusses the issues facing soon-to-be President Biden with enacting his campaign promise for America to “Build Back Better” after COVID-19
[Download not found]
Scribble Talk Amanda Traxler

Scribble Talk SMA Exclusive Episode 6, Featuring Amanda Traxler

Listen to Amanda Traxler, CF APMP, SMA Principal Associate and Proposal Writer, interviewed by Baskar Sundaram for the Scribble Talk SMA Exclusive podcast, sponsored by SMA
[Download not found]
Happy Holidays

Happy Holidays from SMA!

We couldn’t meet in person for our SMA Headquarters office holiday party this year, so we chose some picture from past events and our Art Director, Tom Paisley, created this video montage. Happy Holidays!
[Download not found]
Policy Planning

The Case for Policy Planning

Greg Treverton, SMA Advisor and former Chair of the U.S. National Intelligence Council, offers national security policy advice for the incoming Biden Administration.
[Download not found]
Scribble Talk Danny Long

Scribble Talk SMA Exclusive Episode 5, Featuring Danny Long

Listen to Danny Long, SMA Principal Associate and Proposal Professional, interviewed by Baskar Sundaram for the Scribble Talk SMA Exclusive podcast, sponsored by SMA
[Download not found]
Scribble Talk Brenda Ballard

Scribble Talk SMA Exclusive Episode 4, Featuring Brenda Ballard

Listen to Brenda Ballard, CPP APMP, SMA Senior Associate and Proposal Professional, interviewed by Baskar Sundaram for the Scribble Talk SMA Exclusive podcast, sponsored by SMA
[Download not found]
Scribble Talk Al Whitt

Scribble Talk SMA Exclusive Episode 3, Featuring Al Whitt

Listen to Al Whitt, SMA Principal Associate and logistics expert, interviewed by Baskar Sundaram for the Scribble Talk SMA Exclusive podcast, sponsored by SMA
[Download not found]
Success in 2021 Recording

Success in 2021: In Case You Missed Our December Town Hall…

Start the new year with success! If you missed our December Town Hall, watch the recording for a few laughs and insights to help you unlock your potential, improve productivity, and increase creativity essential to generating success in 2021
[Download not found]
Talent on Demand (TOD) - The Song

SMA Talent on Demand – The Song!

From our talented SMA Staff and Associates, and featured at our recent Town Hall, we’re proud to present SMA Talent on Demand (TOD) – The Song!
[Download not found]
19 Million Steps to Tierra del Fuego with SMA

19 Million Steps to Tierra del Fuego with SMA

19 million steps and 6½ months later, SMA Headquarters staff completed the virtual trip from our Irvine, California, HQ to the tip of South America at Ushuaia in Tierra del Fuego Province, Argentina!
[Download not found]
Failure Analysis

Conducting a Failure Analysis, Part 2: Nine Steps to Failure Resolution

In the second part of his 2-part series on conducting failure analysis, SMA Principal Associate Dan Harrison describes the nine steps to failure resolution
[Download not found]
Failure Analysis

Conducting a Failure Analysis, Part 1: Developing Ground Rules for Troubleshooting

In part 1 of his 2-part series on conducting failure analysis, SMA Principal Associate Dan Harrison looks at developing ground rules for troubleshooting.
[Download not found]
UK APMP Awards

APMP UK 2020 Awards: Outstanding Leadership

SMA is extremely proud to be the APMP UK Awards 2020 headline and Outstanding Leadership Award sponsor. Hear what Ajay Patel, SMA CEO, has to say about the award.
[Download not found]
Image

SMA Presentation Featured in APMP BPC Global Takeaways

“How to Turn Around a Losing Proposal: A Case Study of Great Expectations,” a presentation by Ajay Patel, SMA President & CEO, selected by APMP for their BPC Global virtual conference summary
[Download not found]
Scribble Talk Exclusive Alan Berman

Scribble Talk SMA Exclusive Episode 2, Featuring Alan Berman

Listen to Dr. Alan Berman, our Vice President for Research and Strategic Initiatives, interviewed by Baskar Sundaram for the Scribble Talk SMA Exclusive podcast, sponsored by SMA
[Download not found]
Town Hall Success in 2021 Realize your full talent

SMA Town Hall: Success in 2021—Realize Your Full Talent

Start the new year with success! Join us on Thursday, December 3, 2020 for a few laughs and insights to help you unlock your potential, improve productivity, and increase creativity essential to generating success in 2021
[Download not found]
Proposal Team Swing

Does Your Proposal Team Have Swing?

A great proposal development process can get you to compliance, but a team with “swing” can move beyond compliance to consistently winning.
[Download not found]
CA/PTW

CA/PTW Assessment: So You Think You Know Your Competitors?

So you think you know your competitors? Take our free CA/PTW assessment to evaluate your organization’s understanding of competitors and their pricing strategies in your markets. You might be surprised!
[Download not found]
EVMS Assessment

EVMS Assessment: How Do Your Implementation and Practice Score Against EIA-748?

How do your Earned Value Management System (EVMS) implementation and practice score against EIA-748? Take our free online EVMS Assessment and find out!
[Download not found]
BPC Global

Watch SMA CEO Ajay Patel at APMP BPC Global Today!

Watch “How to Turn Around a Losing Proposal” presented by Ajay K. Patel, CF APMP, SMA President and CEO, at APMP’s BPC Global today!
[Download not found]
China

A MAD Analogy for Mad Policy toward China

SMA Executive Advisor Greg Treverton looks at the United States’ current relationship with China. Are we looking at a new “cold war”?
[Download not found]
Proposal Assessment

Proposal Assessment: Are You Ready for Your Next Review?

Did you use best practices promoted by the Association of Proposal Management Professionals (APMP) to develop your current proposal? Take our free Proposal Assessment to find out before that next review!
[Download not found]