Field Notes
Notes from inside the federal contracting workflow.
Practical writing on the work itself. RFP shred mechanics, compliance matrix construction, past performance citation hygiene, CUI handling, capture strategy, and the operational details that decide whether a small business can compete for federal work. Written by former federal contracting officers who crossed over to industry.
June 4, 2026 · 6 min read
Section L vs Section M: what each one actually controls
Section L tells you what to hand in and how. Section M tells you what the government rewards once you do. Conflate them and you write a proposal that is compliant but unpersuasive, or persuasive but non-compliant. Both lose.
Read the noteJune 3, 2026 · 6 min read
The bid/no-bid decision: a gate that is allowed to say no
The most profitable decision most small contractors never make on purpose is the decision to not bid. Every proposal you write that you were never going to win is capacity you did not spend on one you could have.
Read the noteJune 2, 2026 · 7 min read
Handling CUI in federal proposals without spilling it
CUI lives in ordinary-looking documents. Unless your shop has a deliberate process for spotting it, it gets handled the way everything else gets handled. The consequences run from disqualification through federal liability.
Read the noteMay 29, 2026 · 6 min read
The federal capability statement, built backward from the reader
The one-page document that decides whether a contracting officer keeps reading or moves on. The ones that work are built backward from a specific reader with a specific decision to make.
Read the noteMay 26, 2026 · 7 min read
Past performance citations that score, and the ones that quietly do not
Evaluators do not infer relevance in your favor. The citation is an evidence package, not a narrative. Here is the structure that produces Substantial Confidence ratings.
Read the noteMay 19, 2026 · 6 min read
How to build a compliance matrix that actually catches gaps before the government does
A compliance matrix is an internal control document, not a deliverable. The value lives inside your shop. Here is the structure that works and the decomposition rule that makes it work.
Read the noteMay 12, 2026 · 6 min read
What an RFP shred actually is, and why most small contractors skip it
A working document that turns a 200-page solicitation into a structured set of requirements, evaluation criteria, and unanswered questions. Most teams skip it. Most lose because of it.
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