A Working Holiday?
RFP responses are often due just after major holidays, stressing the proposal team and their families. Acknowledging the imposition directly is the best way of dealing with it.
Win more government and competitive contracts by using project management principles. Schedule proposal efforts and staff proposal teams for on-time delivery of compliant and high-scoring bids. Avoid version control problems and staff burnout.
RFP responses are often due just after major holidays, stressing the proposal team and their families. Acknowledging the imposition directly is the best way of dealing with it.
Managing proposal teams requires understanding of what motivates people to work so hard on them: what the sources of satisfaction are, in this environment.
Many RFP responses are written by distributed teams, working alone. Finding ways to connect with others is essential to maintaining perspective; recognizing that need for connection is key to proposal team management.
Proposal teams need people with diverse skill sets. They also need people who will work their way through new challenges, and not quit.
Proposal team members exhibit the effects of stress in different ways: some get cranky, and some get silly. As a proposal manager, use all the cues you get to identify when your team is in trouble.