Contractors can be forgiven for not being able to keep track of all of the “chiefs” in and around the federal market.  There’s a Chief Information Officer, Chief Technology Officer, Chief Information Security Officer, Chief Human Capital Officer, and more, in many of your customer organizations.  To really confuse things, an industry group recently successfully pushed DOD to create a Chief Innovation Officer, meaning that there will be two people with the same abbreviated title in at least one customer agency.  Talk about “Who’s On First?”.  The problem isn’t just confusion, though.  Each title confers its own sense of importance, something that can make access and meaningful discussions more difficult.  Ironically, federal “chiefs” can end up being more isolated from companies that truly can show them innovative solutions.  The old adage of “too many chiefs, not enough Indians” also comes to mind.  Contractors may find that they’re better off seeking relationships with such team members, who may be more attractive as “customer” than “Chief”.  Sorry about that, Chief.