As a hobbyist trapeze artist, I can attest the truth in jokes about managing proposals being like running a circus. Yes, it’s a juggling act with multiple performers dancing in and out of each other’s paths. But a circus performance and a proposal submission have deeper traits in common. For instance, both activities are team efforts with defined roles and responsibilities. The teams comprise members with varied backgrounds. In proposal development, you may work with team members from different departments, of different ages, and with different levels of experience. In my trapeze classes, I also work in teams with varying levels of experience, different ages, and different abilities. Another commonality is the pressure to succeed. There is a lot on the line in proposals and in a circus! In trapeze, we face the success or failure of a performance, but we also have each other’s lives in our hands. While … Continue reading Lessons learned from the circus: how to handle mistakes
