Think’s Government Services Division President Bryan Wolbert was born to help companies, agencies, and individuals in their worst moments

Unlike most people, Bryan Wolbert, President of Think’s recently launched Government Services Division, leans into the crisis. Whether he is helping an organization recover from or avoid a calamity or saving lives as a volunteer fire fighter, Bryan enjoys the adrenaline rush and challenge of remaining calm and effective during stressful situations. He also likes helping people and organizations when they are at their worst. “We fix projects, programs and organizations that don’t look fixable,” he says.

Can you give us some background about Think’s recently launched Government Services Division?

We formally launched the Government Services Division about a year ago, but have provided support to the public sector for roughly five years. The entre of Think into public sector was opportunistic. We didn’t actively seek government work, but it came to us via close connections we’ve work with. We took what we were doing for private sector businesses and translated it to support government agencies.

The opportunities have continued to grow, even during the pandemic. The government services division provides Think with some level of risk mitigation. Many commercial companies slowed or stopped projects during the pandemic, but government kept spending. It became clear that we needed to formalize our government services offering, and today we have a team of 40 with serious potential to grow.

We are already a bit larger than many of the small companies in this space and if we’re lucky, in a few years we’ll tackle the challenge of playing in the same arena as titans like Lockheed Martin and Booze Allen Hamilton.

What are some services Think provides to the public sector?

Think has successfully demonstrated its ability to stay current on major federal healthcare initiatives and IT strategies since 2004. We bring a highly skilled corporate management team focused on exceptional service, performance, compliance, and advanced customer communications to deliver executive program and project management, agile transformations, training and content development and delivery, alignment and operational maturity among other strategic operational improvement and development services.

Each engagement is tailored to fit the needs and desired outcome of the agency with which we are partnered. For one agency, we played a part in transforming their management of projects to be more agile, providing coaching for as they implemented SAFe® to help implement framework in a multi-vendor environment. Under another contract we deliver training and additional support that enables efficient operations.

Our decades of experience rescuing projects/programs/organizations in both the private and public sectors sets us apart from your typical prime or sub-contractor. We’ve experienced a multitude of difficult and complex issues across industry silos, which gives us the ability to apply a unique lens to each engagement allowing us to recommend and implement the right solution.

Why is this division so important? What sets you apart from the competition?

There are still a significant number of contractors who are, frankly, cashing government checks but delivering a mediocre product or service. As a taxpayer, I am not satisfied with contractors to the Government doing a mediocre job.

This is an opportunity to bring Think’s cutting-edge business expertise and unparalleled commitment to quality to help the public sector accomplish its goals. We provide government agencies with the same top-tier support and service that we provide in the private sector. We have a history of delivering a diverse array of projects and programs for a variety of organizations, from mid-sized companies to Fortune 500.

We bring perspectives gained from many years in the private sector trenches, with companies that move at light speed and have time sensitive problems. And we almost never start at the beginning. We’re who you call when there’s a problem and things break down.

You get better by getting your ass kicked in difficult situations that push you to perform under pressure. I don’t think that a lot of government contractors have that same experience or bring that same perspective.

Tell us about your team and where you see the Government Services Division in the future?

Over the last decade, we have refined the way we select, interview, and evaluate candidates. At Think we hire professionals who are leaders in their field of expertise.  As a result, the team we have assembled to support the government services division is delivering outstanding results. Thanks to their commitment to quality, we are receiving exceptional ratings from our government partners. Instilling a set of shared values, we prioritize quality and value creation for our customer. Members of the team have a competitive nature, they like to win, and have had a history of success throughout their careers. This drive and passion are not necessarily typical in the space, and we are excited to bring this energy to the public sector and every project we work on. 

There is immense potential with this team and for the entire division. The public sector has been robbed of the value a company like Think can provide. My mission as president is to continue to build on our success and grow Think’s Government Services Division to provide more private sector expertise and support to the public sector. If the team is successful, we will certainly turn our 40 team members into hundreds. The business need is there – now is the time to capitalize.

Tell us about your experience as a volunteer fireman? Is there a connection to your career?

There are a lot of parallels between firefighting and the kind of project/program/organization rescue I have grown up providing. In both, you must rapidly immerse, assess the situation, produce a plan, and execute. Like every other kid, I wanted to be a firefighter and I started volunteering when I was eighteen. I revel in helping people when they need help the most. Think’s Government Services Division also helps when our partners need it most, what you might call their worst moments. We fix projects, programs, and organizations that don’t look fixable, and make it look easy. I guess you could say I’m drawn to complex and difficult situations where others fail to quickly define a path to a feasible solution. Some say it’s the adrenaline rush, but for me it is about finding a way to success when success seems impossible.