Support: The Government, Yourself, Others by John Loper
How to Succeed In Government Contractor Employment
The Bottom Line Up Front (BLUF): Success in any industry requires an informed playbook and support along the way.
Executive Summary
Support: The Government, Yourself, Others offers a comprehensive, two-part guide to navigating and leading within the federal government contracting world, beginning with practical instruction on understanding support roles, entering the industry, adapting to its rules, managing workplace dynamics, and building a sustainable career. The second half shifts to leadership, providing clear, experience-based lessons on effective versus poor leadership, communicating with and supporting employees, mastering customer service, and applying tools for crisis management, contract oversight, and organizational growth. John Loper’s unique contribution lies in connecting federal contracting with fundamental leadership principles — an area rarely addressed — while equipping readers with actionable strategies, reflective questions, and real-world insights. The result is a valuable playbook for prospective and current contract professionals, especially those seeking to lead effectively in a complex, profit-driven environment that operates alongside mission-focused federal agencies.
The Content
Divided into two parts, each with fifteen concise but impactful chapters, including summaries and exercises to enhance learning, Part One introduces readers to the idea of collaborative support within the federal government employment context. The author explains the complexity of support roles, including government contracts and the various responsibilities they entail. In Chapter One, he presents a diagram to help newcomers understand how federal contract work is interconnected. Chapter Two offers tips and tricks for entering the field, including essential do’s and don’ts for the application process. Chapters Three through Seven focus on adapting within the federal contract system once hired, understanding the rules, and general advice on “dealing with the system,” points that the author emphasizes need to be thoroughly understood.
Chapters Eight through Eleven shift focus to general career guidance. Topics such as workplace dynamics are thoroughly examined, including managing personality conflicts and avoiding common communication pitfalls in both written and spoken forms. Chapter Twelve moves toward long-term career sustainability by sharing key insights on building your brand and expanding your network. Chapter Thirteen offers timeless advice on maintaining essential documentation practices, while Chapter Fourteen emphasizes being a responsible corporate citizen to support your organization’s mission. In Chapter Fifteen, which concludes part one, the author briefly summarizes the first fourteen chapters and transitions to set the stage for the second half of the book, which explores leadership.
Part Two covers the second half of the book and opens with a key chapter on leadership. Its first chapter features thoughtful questions that prompt readers to reflect on their direction, along with an example of a lesson the author learned during a leadership role. Among all the leadership chapters in part two, Chapters Sixteen and Seventeen are the most comprehensive; they offer straightforward, valuable insights into the differences between good and bad leadership and their consequences. Chapters Eighteen through Twenty focus on employee leadership, including how to understand employees, support them, and communicate effectively with them.
Chapters Twenty-one and Twenty-two explore the importance of understanding customer service in government support roles, highlighting its challenges and demonstrating that leadership in this area is more of an art than a science. The following two chapters introduce tools to help leaders succeed, including both soft and hard skills for managing contracts, leading effectively, and handling crises. The author presents the concept of “Stop, think, assess,” a method for taking action, and follows with a chapter emphasizing company growth, which, in the context of government contracts, acts as a catalyst for future employment and organizational sustainability.
In the book’s final chapters, the author reminds readers (and leaders) that failure happens and shares lessons learned from it. Chapter Twenty-eight is one of the most critical sections; it discusses the importance of recharging your batteries to improve leadership effectiveness. The book concludes with a simple yet powerful question about readers’ desire to lead and the responsibilities that come with it. He then briefly summarizes key points to remember. Finally, beyond the thoughtful chapters applied in the federal contractor context, the author also provides a detailed glossary of acronyms and various other resources for quick reference.
Ten insightful quotes from the book
1. On success: “The most successful people understand what they need to do and how to do it.”
2. On purpose: “Knowing why you’re doing the work will help you stay with it.”
3. On effort: “When you’re given an unreasonable task, do it to the best of your ability.”
4. On communication: “Agreement is not the same as understanding.”
5. On verification: “If it’s not documented, it didn’t happen.”
6. On reputation: “If you make the place you’re currently at better, you’ll create a stronger brand for yourself.”
7. On people: “Choices have consequences, and people have emotions.”
8. On career choices: “Never decide to stay somewhere because you may burn a bridge.”
9. On management vs leadership: “Choosing not to be a manager isn’t the same as choosing not to be a leader.”
10. On expectations: “Even if you do everything right, the outcome may not be what should happen.”
The wrap-up: why you should read Support: The Government, Yourself, Others
The first thing any reader needs to understand when they pick up this book is that not everyone working in a federal government building is a federal government employee. In fact, a large percentage of them aren’t. They’re contract workers, representing hundreds of thousands of for-profit organizations that employ personnel specifically to support the federal government in seemingly unlimited roles and capacities. John Loper clearly explains this concept in Support, and he does so in a way that’s not only informative but also adds value. Why? Because if you’ve worked in or around the federal government, you’ve undoubtedly encountered federal contract workers. You may even have worked alongside them, sharing workspaces, collaborating on projects and assignments, and advancing the same mission. And from the outside looking in, they’re the same.
But once you read his book, you’ll see just how sharply different they really are. While the government does not principally exist to make a profit, the organizations that support it do. How and why these two fundamentally opposing organizations work together, and why they won’t, from a leadership point of view, is what you’ll learn from Support: The Government, Yourself, Others. Also, leadership books are usually broad and industry-neutral. Although many parts of this book are general, the leadership content mainly focuses on the government contracting industry. That’s where the book’s strength lies and what makes it truly unique, because there’s not much available on how to navigate the federal contract world as a prospective employee, manager, and leader.
This uniqueness stems from the fact that there really isn’t a guide that explains how government contracting aligns with fundamental yet effective leadership practices. From that perspective, John Loper has hit a home run with this book. His drive to complete the book stemmed from his experiences in the industry, good, bad, and otherwise, and he’s packed this book full of practical and executable steps that are both thought-provoking and effective. He’s also provided anyone interested in pursuing employment in or around the federal government with an extensive playbook based on proven strategies for getting there and, more importantly, succeeding once they do.
If you’re interested in working in governmental support roles without the complexities of being a government employee, I recommend you read this book and follow its action steps. Or, if you’re curious about what that might look like, especially for recent college graduates interested in supporting specialized sectors such as defense, you’ll definitely want to pick up a copy. Lastly, from a leadership perspective, this book’s insights on how to lead effectively in a particular setting are refreshing; his methods are straightforward and relatable, and he offers just the right amount of anecdote to drive the points home.
About the book’s author
John Loper has spent nearly two decades providing direct support to the government as a federal employee with the Army and as a contractor supporting the Missile Defense Agency and the FBI. Most recently, he returned to the Army. Growing up as an Army brat, John has been immersed in the government world his entire life. He started his career as a contract specialist and has held roles including financial analyst, acquisition analyst, program integrator, task lead, and program manager in Orlando, FL; Colorado Springs, CO; Washington, DC; and, most recently, Huntsville, AL. John earned both his Bachelor of Science in Hospitality Management and his Master of Business Administration from the University of Central Florida.
Book details
Support: The Government, Yourself, Others
Publisher: John Loper (August 1, 2025)
ISBN-13: 979–8999481207
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