This analysis has several implications. The first is that the sweetspot for procurement reform has been and is in the 70 percent of issueswhere the interests of government and industry coincide. To succeed at her job, Styles will need to cultivate the ability tolook for areas of common interest, not one-sided industry advantage. This analysis also suggests where Styles might go wrong. A governmentrepresentative must focus on the 70 percent of common interests but alsomust prepare to advocate the taxpayers' interests where industry might beindifferent or critical.
Styles has little experience doing that.
Obviously, that doesn't mean she can't or won't cultivate such skills. But she needs to ensure that she does so by listening carefully to careermembers of the FAR Council and to agency procurement executives for guidance. The nightmare scenario would be an administration procurement policythat focused on the remaining 15 percent of issues on an industry wish listwhile ignoring taxpayer concerns. That would produce partisan polarizationof procurement policy. I'm definitely not predicting this will happen.