The interesting thing about fighter pilots is that only ten percent of the top one percent of all pilots get to fly fighter jets. When someone like Bill says that even elite pilots fall into the complacency trap, it’s a powerful message. Although Bill writes about fighter pilots and business in general, what he says also applies to proposal professionals. It is too easy to become content with one’s current knowledge and disinterested in investing the hard work and training necessary for continued growth.
The best of the best of Government contractors shape the requirements in the RFP to raise their win probability. They wire the contracts to themselves early on, and seal the deal with the perfect proposal. Wiring seems like something negative, but unless you are violating the procurement integrity laws, there is nothing unseemly or unethical in doing this, just good business for Beltway insiders. The good news is that you can wire the contracts to yourself as well.
As a proposal manager, you know the state of your proposal document better than anyone else.
Proposal planning begins prior to the kickoff, with the development of an outline. You have two options when planning an outline:
1. Develop a regular outline then use storyboards to think in a structured way through the sections
2. Develop an annotated outline with a proposal manager (perhaps with additional help from subject matter experts (SME)) providing guidance to the writers for the sections
After the kickoff meeting, people don’t really get to jump into writing right away. Instead, they should think first about what they are going to say, entering the brainstorming and research phase. This is where the authors make decisions on the final solution, come up with details, and find facts. Brainstorming can be done individually or in small groups.
I have to fess up, these days I’ve been embracing bad behavior in the midst of working long hours to keep the fun alive. It’s so much more interesting than being boring and conventional, or just trudging through the day.
