#onecobec
We are a people-centric consulting company helping organizations improve processes, decision-making, and performance.
Our Vision.
Cobec continually works to be thriving, people-centric, and disruptive.
We create a company people love to work for; in turn, clients want to work with us. We model a new way of government contracting, management consulting, and building a chosen family company culture.
We call this #onecobec.
Cobec has more than a vision statement.
We have a complex, colorful, and complete narrative of the company we hope to be. Our vision is the next iteration of the company that we have always been.
Just with more people and diversified clients. Join us.
Our Story.
To understand how Cobec became the consulting company it is today, we need to start with what it didn't want to be. Like many things, Cobec started as a reaction to what was.
A group of colleagues desired a different way of working; they wanted to operate, live, and work with more purpose, freedom, and joy. What they were looking for simply did not exist. It became clear this must be designed and built from the ground up as a new company.
Cobec began by breaking the constraining, undesirable model that was government contracting—companies with ‘butts-in-seats’ mindsets, and hustle cultures focused on overworking and under-living, all to the benefit of the shareholders and at the expense of the people and clients.
Cobec challenges that conventional government contractor stigma by Breaking the Mold. With thousands of small, people-centric decisions, Cobec blazed its own trail.
In 2007, Cobec started with default (and at the time progressive) work-from-home Fridays, Paid Time Off, a laptop (a desktop was standard, and laptops were a privilege at other companies), and a company paid mobile device, no matter what position you had.
Today, Cobec has built a geographically dispersed workforce that is made up of smart people that deliver quality work from their home offices.
Our intentionally flexible culture embraces both living and working well.Our employees make kids’ sports games and take hikes while the sun shines. We also recognize that each employee lives and works differently and that a truly great company appreciates and supports that diversity. Beginning with our first award in 2017, the national “SHRM’s When Work Works” -- our people consistently vote Cobec as a Best Place to Work.
Cobec gathers its people in meaningful, dynamic, and impactful ways.
Our Washington DC Headquarters is an intentionally designed in-person destination for collaboration, meetings and social events. Social spaces significantly outnumber individual workstations. Intentional design balances the benefits of remote work with valuable in-person connections.
Valued and talented people deliver quality work.
Our clients are energized by our consultants’ positive attitudes and happiness. We are known for high levels of customer satisfaction and clients keep coming back to work with us again and again. And we still support our first customer, providing them with expanded competencies that meet the needs of the future.
This is #onecobec.
A Guide to Cobec Values.
Values are the foundation underlying the culture of the company, the behavior of our people, and how we achieve growth. Values are a code of conduct – they are fundamental beliefs that guide our actions, decisions, and behavior in practice, not just words.
Our approach to an award-winning culture and values is simple - when choosing to join Cobec, you become a part of the family – a chosen family.
This means we help each other, back each other up, and take responsibility for what we say and do. We feel safe sharing both celebrations and disappointments with each other. We are genuinely happy to see each other and have relationships that go beyond work. We thrive better together.
Cobec Values.
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Caring about the Whole Human
We welcome and respect our wholeness and diversity as humans. From large decisions to tiny actions, we make space for living and working well.
We encourage people to show up and engage with authenticity to their individual needs, capacity, and preferences. We are honest when we are struggling and non-judgmental when asked for help.
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Doing Great Work
We deliver services with technical excellence and a positive attitude. We are dedicated to meeting our client’s needs while striving to exceed expectations – resulting in long-term client relationships.
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Collaborating as a Team
We foster high-performing teams that collaborate on projects with clarity and trust. We welcome questions, dissent, and diversity of perspective to build more meaningful outcomes, products, and experiences. We lead, follow, or get out of the way.
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Operating with Transparency and Integrity
We share information and knowledge openly throughout the company – from the CEO to our newest consultants. We choose what is right over what is fast or easy.
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Cultivating Camaraderie and Fun
We enjoy connecting and working with an upbeat attitude and a lighthearted tone. We create opportunities for camaraderie and fun with events, volunteering, and sharing meals.
Familial togetherness is a core part of our culture.
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Encouraging Innovation and Experimentation
We recognize failure as a part of learning and growing. Experiments are a way to test assumptions, gather information, and an opportunity to innovate and make more informed decisions next time.
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Acting with Initiative and Passion
We contribute to the overall collective vision while leading with individual autonomy and agency. Passionate about our careers, we care personally about our work, colleagues, clients, and growth. We proactively address challenges. We look for ways to add value and improve services.
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Growing with Awareness
Individually and collectively—we are self-aware and actively growing our technical expertise, emotional intelligence, interpersonal skills, and leadership capacity.
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Communicating with Clarity and Candor
We actively listen with an open mind, respect, and willingness to learn. We communicate proactively and directly. We speak with tact and authenticity and receive feedback with grace and empathy. We have clear boundaries about acceptable and unacceptable behavior, words, and actions.
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Owning Accountability
We are reliable and attentive to tasks, commitments, and actions. We acknowledge mistakes without blame and then move to repair it. Whether it’s a mess with a client, colleague, or in the kitchen, we take individual responsibility for cleaning it up.
Our Award-Winning Culture.
We strive to create a company people love to work for and the people have spoken. We are continually voted an award-winning #onecobec by employees.
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SHRM'S When Work Works Award 2017
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Washingtonian Great Places to Work 2017
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SHRM's When Work Works Award 2018
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Washingtonian Great Places to Work 2019
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Washington Post Top Work Places Award 2020
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Washington Post Top Work Places Award 2022
Consulting is the work we do.
And do well.
We build dashboards integrating multiple data sources to enable true portfolio management with real-time decision-making.
We act as a guide through an acquisition process, providing a complete package of technical analysis to help make well-informed program investment decisions.
We provided integrated program management support, data science, systems engineering, and will even help you set up your UAS drone program.
We are always looking for great people!
Culture is lived in the details.
We are actively involved giving back to the community, with a corporate sponsorship of Horton's Kids, donation matching, and contributing to social justice work.
Gathering Together
Since the beginning, Cobec has valued gathering together as a company to build relationships and camaraderie. From taking the entire company and families on a long-weekend winter trip to a local ski resort, flying people in for a company-wide picnic full of bounce houses, bands, and beverages, to the next all-day Cobec Collective Summit — Cobec invests in its people. The look and feel of the gathering changes over the years as Cobec evolves and grows, but the heart and purpose remains.
We are #onecobec.
We are out in the digital world too.
Follow our journey.