Honesty is Earle Mundell’s policy

Earle Mundell, the PEO EIS acquisition lead for Army IT modernization initiatives, is today’s #PEOEISTeammateTuesday.

After graduating from Morehouse College with a bachelor’s degree in political science and international studies, Mundell started his civil-service career as an Air Force contracts specialist acquiring parts for U.S. Air Force planes. His Air Force career moved him to Dayton, Ohio; Los Angeles, California; San Antonio, Texas; and Washington, DC. A shrewd contracting expert, Mundell has 35 years of defense acquisition experience that includes negotiating contract modifications for rocket-launch vehicles, managing foreign military sales and helping the Federal Acquisition Regulatory Council write regulations. To relax, he enjoys reading books and watching Colombian telenovelas. He answered eight questions about his career and life.

How is the Army modernizing IT?
We are consolidating enterprise business systems. The Army currently has 578 disparate systems. IT modernization makes us more efficient and creates better end-user experiences. For example, we collapsed over 80 systems into one finance domain: the General Fund Enterprise Business System (GFEBS).

Why have you been so successful in your career?
I never say no to something that someone asks me to do. I figure out how to do it.

Do you have any tips for contracting officers?
The requirements should drive the contract type, not the other way around. It doesn’t make sense to mandate the use of firm-fixed-price contracts for everything.

When you have a competitive environment, the more talking you can do with your vendors, the better. That way, even if they lose, they understand why. Contracting officers are afraid of protests, but if you don’t talk to industry, you are asking them to protest. Contracting officers are legally allowed to have discussions with industry and keep them informed about every step of the acquisition process. When a vendor submits an unsuccessful proposal, they should understand why they didn’t win. Contracting officers owe them a debrief that explains what they should have done to be better. If you don’t give them that feedback, they are in the dark and more likely to protest.

What advice do you have for industry?
Talk to the people who are developing the requirements and acquisition strategies to understand how you can best serve them.

Communicate as much as you can with the people who make decisions and know who those people are. Don’t talk to a person at the Army Enterprise Systems Integration Program about a GFEBS procurement.

What does a good leader do?
Good leaders can be trusted by the people who work with them. They don’t have hidden agendas. They are transparent about what is going on and what needs to be done. They take time to get to know you and understand your strengths. Bad leaders don’t communicate and leave their people hanging.

What do you consider the most valuable virtue?
Honesty.

Who inspires you?
My father was a gym teacher at a middle school in Dayton, Ohio. While he was working full-time and raising six children, he earned a master’s degree and became a superintendent of schools. He instilled in me the importance of being honest, doing your best and preserving a good reputation. He said, “Your good name is the only thing you take with you and everything else doesn’t matter.”

Do you have any book recommendations?
I am reading With Head and Heart: The Autobiography of Howard Thurman. I saw him preach at Spelman College in Atlanta. He taught me to wait before I react and make sure my reaction takes into account any second-, third- or fourth-effects it will have on another person. How you love is important. It’s an action. How do you talk to people? Make sure you are not being nasty to them. That’s just as important as what you are saying.

Why do you enjoy Colombian telenovelas?
They have great moral messages and a diverse cast of characters.

If you could have coffee with anyone in history or present day, who would it be?
I would ask Martin Luther King how he persuaded African Americans that protesting was the right thing to do.   

What living person do you most admire?
My mamma. She is the kind of person Jesus wants us to be.