Martin Reeves of the BCG Henderson Institute returns to Amtower Off Center to discuss his latest book. "Like: The Button That Changed the World".

Topics include:

• The evolution of the Like button
• What the creation and adoption of the button reveals about technical innovation
• Why the button is addictive
• The rise of the "Like" economy
• How Like transformed advertising and marketing
• Like-facilitated influencer marketing

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Laura Ries, chairwoman of Reis Consulting and author of multiple business strategy books, joins host Mark Amtower on this week's Amtower Off Center to discuss her latest book: The Strategic Enemy.

Topics include:

• Building your brand with an "enemy" in mind
• Branding mistakes entrepreneurs make
• The power of saying NO to maintain focus
• Why brand extension does not work
• Creating a category where you can be first

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This week on Amtower Off Center, host Mark Amtower is joined by Evan Weisel, principal and co-founder of W2 Communications for a discussion on thought leadership in GovCon.

Topics discussed include:

• What constitutes thought leadership for our market
• Thought leadership examples including white papers, case studies, data-based research and more
• How to consistently leverage thought leadership
• Developing a thought leadership playbook for company SMEs and execs

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This week on Amtower Off Center, host Mark Amtower is joined by Kaamil Khan, president of Makpar Corporation, a small IT services firm.

Topics discussed include:

• Khan's journey to become president of the family owned business, leveraging his law degree and a natural talent for BD
• Makpar's experience with my LinkedIn training and the benefits thereof
• Kahn's experience in the ACT-IAC Voyager program and the benefits of the program
• How Makpar is navigating the current GovCon environment
• -Kahn's use of AI in his role as president

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This week on Amtower Off Center, Kevin Plexico, SVP of Deltek, joins host Mark Amtower for a deep discussion on the current state of government contracting.

Topics include:

• YTD contract activity vs FY 24, and how it has impacted spending
• The impact on SIs, VARs, small contractors and others
• Regulatory changes and the future of GWACs
• The new Deltek Clarity study (available free) which deals with many aspects on BD, capture and bidding
• What the "big beautiful budget bill" could mean to contracting

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This week on Amtower Off Center, Nick Wakeman, editor in chief of Washington Technology, joins host Mark Amtower for a wide-ranging discussion on the state of the GovCon market as reflected by the WashTech 2025 Top 100 contractors.

Topics discussed include:

• First year-over-year decline in prime contracts since 2016 sequestration
• A recap of CGI's Stephanie Mango's interview with Nick on the state of GovCon
• How SERCO has used strategic acquisitions to move up
• The growing gap between DOD and civilian contracting
• Candid comments of where the market may be heading

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Shauna Weatherly, former govie and now founder and president of FebSubK,joins host MarkAmtower for an in-depth discussion on the current state of the SmartPay (government charge card) program.

Topics include:

• The charge card program background from inception in the late 1980s
• How it works and why it is so successful at what it does
• What is happening now with the program, including consolidated buying at GSA
• The "pilot" program RFI that went out the Thursday evening before Good Friday with responses due in seven days
• A candid discussion of why the pilot the pilot may be happening and why it is totally unnecessary

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This week on Amtower Off Center, host Mark Amtower is joined by Nick Wakeman, editor in chief of Washington Technology for a wide-ranging, candid discussion of the new

administration's executive orders impacting the GovCon industry.

Topics include:

• The order from GSA to investigate the"consulting" contracts of the top 10 OASIS contractors
• Tthe temporary suspension of the government charge card program
• The downsizing of federal agencies across the board and the impact on government programs
• The impact of the Executive Order on DEI initiatives

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