Every federal contractor wants to grow, but few pause to ask the most basic question: are we ready? The Foundation Phase begins with order. Before any opportunity is pursued, a company must know exactly who it is, what it delivers, and how it operates.

Artificial intelligence is changing how nearly every industry works, and government contracting is beginning to feel that shift. Business development professionals are now presented with a growing set of AI tools that can help them organize information, find patterns in data, and make better-informed decisions.

This week’s Rally Around the Guidon unpacks the $893B FY26 NDAA and what it means for GovCon pipelines. We cover TSA’s $150M IT plan, GSA’s centralized acquisition push, FAR updates, and HHS’s ChatGPT rollout. GAO oversight, NIST identity guidelines, and our BD Tip on PWIN vs readiness round out the key takeaways.