In my plan to release 25 new Intellectual Property (IP) products in 2025, February was NOT a win, and March was significantly less than desired, but for good reason.
Near the end of January, the DOGE and a bunch of Executive Orders put my life’s work in Acquisition and Contracting on hiatus, maybe permanently. It meant the books I was planning to release on Federal Contracting and Rapid Acquisition no longer had a market. But I had other things to do first.
For 7 weeks, beginning 20 January 2025, I spent 18 hours a day helping my former colleagues find new jobs and matching their amazing talents to companies who would appreciate them. During that time, my matchmaking placed about 30 of the best and brightest in the Federal Acquisition workforce. It was really heartbreaking to see the people who negotiated contracts brilliantly and devoted their lives to public service be pushed out overnight.
When I wasn’t getting them placed, I was working to give them information they needed to make decisions about the Deferred Resignation Program, early retirement, and the possibility of being fired under a Reduction in Force announcement. I spent all my waking moments, including my writing time, helping them to find solid ground and make the best decisions they could financially. Many were still required to do their regular jobs for a couple more months, yet the regulations they were required to use to negotiate contracts terminated by the DOGE were removed from their Government websites, so I provided them with a backup site of the regs they no longer had access to (all absolutely legal).
Most of those Federal workers are gone now, and it really became clear to me in February how important it was for me to be able to step in and help them make it a smoother transition on their way out, all completely as a volunteer, but as someone who was able to speak up and help openly.
But eventually, when others started taking over the urgencies of the situation, I needed to take a step back and take care of myself.
Around the end of February, I had a dental emergency that meant I had to slow down for a month to heal. The chickens from a bad experience with a bad dentist 25 years ago came back to roost! The “great dentist” and I knew this would happen eventually, but yeah, that’s gonna be a big part of 2025 for me, too.
In the middle of that emergency and lacking sleep, I tripped over a crack in the sidewalk, latent damage from Hurricane Milton where a tree was slowly leaning over and destroying the sidewalk and street, one day at a time. Let’s just say that I was never good at cartwheels, and I’m still not. I was very, VERY lucky not to break and ankle or a wrist, but I was off my feet for the next month and have a few scars.
While I wasn’t able to do my usual 5 to 10 miles a day–which really hurts if you consider what beautiful weather we had in March in Tampa–I paused to think through what I wanted to do with my ready-to-release books on Acquisition, since the workforce had just been obliterated and so many of the ones left don’t have a lot of experience. I wasn’t even sure how long these books would be relevant, given the changes in governance for Acquisition, even though that’s a bit of a poop show at the moment. So I decided, instead of publishing them to the world, I would serialize these two books on my Rapid Lorna – Agile Acquisition Blog and to my audience on LinkedIn. That way, as I serialize, I can determine what needs to be updated (hint: it’s not as much as I thought). So serialization means one last round of edits to whatever becomes the ebook and print book. Also, serialization counts as another form of IP!
# 5 – The Trifecta of Effectiveness: How a Badass Cubicle Dweller Optimizes Tools, Mindset, and Relationships, 17 Mar 2025, serialization at AgileAcquisition.com. New IP, entirely new book.
A practical guide to transforming your organization through the foundational trio of tools, mindset, and relationships. For the Government Acquisition workforce in particular and leaders in general.
# 6 – Contracting for Rapid Acquisition: A Practical & Personal Guide to disrupting the Status Quo for a More Responsive Future, 29 Mar 2025, serialization at AgileAcquisition.com. New IP, entirely new book.
A sharp, field-tested guide to Contracting for Rapid Acquisition, built on the Trifecta of Effectiveness and Crumblestones framework—and packed with insights on how to set up a Contracting office that actually delivers.
A Southern witch returns home. Secrets won’t stay buried. A chance to confront and heal—or face the consequences.
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