Grundman cited in National Defense, “Contractors Advised to Focus Less on Stock Prices, More on Customers”
“Company executives, for instance, may have to reconsider how much time they dedicate to efforts that boost their stock value, compared to what they spend taking care of their customers, says Steve Grundman . . . . During the Cold War, contractors talked obsessively about ‘the customer.’ When the budget plunged in the early 1990s, companies still thrived by acquiring or merging with competitors. The shareholder became king. Now the pendulum may be swinging back to the middle, Grundman tells executives at a conference in Washington, D.C., hosted by Aviation Week. ‘The Defense Department wants solutions to problems’ and the Pentagon’s leadership does not see much help coming from the industry right now, Grundman says. The mantra of Defense Acquisition Chief Ashton Carter is to do ‘more without more.’ Translation: He wants the cost curves that consumers enjoy at Best Buy. Besides cost, the other big problem that Defense wants solved has to do with innovation, but not in the traditional sense, Grundman says. It’s no longer about designing the shiniest or the sexiest widget. Military commanders worry about things like the weight of armor, the efficiency of batteries and how unbearably long it takes to analyze video streams from overhead drones.”
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