Proposal Land

I logged 56 hours this week.  It’s been twelve days since I took a whole day off.  I’m on top of my game.

Or not.

Yes, I know that some folks work like this routinely, but I can’t.  If ever I could, at age 61 I can no longer.

On my breaks, I find that I have no idea what to do with my time.  Having been absent from my life for what seems like forever, I no longer know what it should look like.  It isn’t only a question of the time, of course, but also the intensity.  Always working against a deadline,  trying to respond Now when a writer needs help Right Now – it takes a toll.

And therefore never send to know for whom
the bell tolls; it tools for thee.
– John Donne, No Man is an Island

So here I am, slightly less than fully with it, hoping to recover enough today to be able to perform tomorrow.

There’s something wrong with this picture, but I can’t quite make it out.

People working non-stop on RFP responses don’t just slow down: they dumb down, too. Part of our intelligence resides in our subconscious, but working without rest leaves no space for the subconscious to speak. To find solutions to problems. To improve processes. To come up with great new ideas.   Continue reading“Time for a Nap”

The power of teamwork to improve output is at least as true on RFP responses as on other projects. There is often still too much work for the time available, but  properly harnessed teamwork will give you a better result than you could have imagined.  Continue reading“Many Hands”

Just-in-time (JIT) learning is a key success factor for RFP responses.  As I have noted  elsewhere, just-in-time learning is priceless, helping us avoid the trudgery of learning endless fundamentals, seemingly without purpose, while also dodging the smack upside the head that comes from not knowing something you really should already have known.

So – how does it apply on bids?   Continue reading“JIT Learning for Proposal Teams”