TArticles tagged with: war stories

Industry experts’ proposal war stories and lessons learned – Part 4 of 4

Once more unto the breach, dear friends, once more; Or close the wall up with our English dead. In peace there’s nothing so becomes a man As modest stillness and humility: But when the blast of war blows in our ears, Then imitate the action of the tiger; Stiffen the sinews, summon up the blood… Now set the teeth and stretch the nostril wide, Hold hard the breath and bend up every spirit To his full height. On, on, you noblest English. (-William Shakespeare, Henry V, Act III, 1598.) Here’s the wrap-up of my current 4-part series on capture and proposal war stories shared from industry veterans (stay tuned for more jaw-dropping war stories as I’ve received many from readers that I’ll share in future posts). As you engage in your next capture and proposal effort – unto the breach again – consider the war stories shared in my previous … Continue reading Industry experts’ proposal war stories and lessons learned – Part 4 of 4 →

Industry experts’ proposal war stories and lessons learned – Part 3 of 4

What do two or more capture and proposal folks inevitably talk about when we get together – our latest war stories, of course! Just like ants and bees go back to their nests and hives and share information with their peers, I think the sharing of war stories at every capture/proposal gathering is some sort of subliminal survival mechanism in this profession. I recently asked a number of my colleagues to share their favorite war stories – and tell us what they learned from the experience. Here is part 3 of my 4-part series on capture and proposal war stories. Over the years we’ve seen people suffer serious health issues, buildings be struck by lightning, FedEx packages go missing, and weather-related apocalypses. The best advice I can take from all of these is to leave extra time; never ever push final production or delivery until the last minute! –Colleen Jolly, … Continue reading Industry experts’ proposal war stories and lessons learned – Part 3 of 4 →

Industry experts’ proposal war stories and lessons learned – Part 2 of 4

We’ve all heard, “The definition of insanity is doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results.” (–Albert Einstein) Has this quote applied to any capture or proposal efforts you’ve supported? I’ve heard war stories and observed some first-hand over the past 25 years that make me wonder how some capture and proposal folks simply haven’t learned from their own and others’ mistakes and broken the constant cycle of self-sabotage. I asked a number of my colleagues to share some of their favorite war stories – and tell us what they learned from their experiences. Here is part 2 of my 4-part series on capture and proposal war stories. There have been many wars, death marches, battles, and skirmishes through the years. When I think back, most of the war stories stem from not using a defined proposal process, and as the process matures and even small … Continue reading Industry experts’ proposal war stories and lessons learned – Part 2 of 4 →

Industry experts’ proposal war stories and lessons learned – Part 1 of 4

We’ve all heard the war stories around the office coffee pot and at industry events and cringed, thinking, “Wow! I’ll make sure that NEVER happens to one of my proposal efforts.” There are as many potential disasters waiting out there, however, as there are RFPs in the Cloud – and I’m sure we’d all rather learn from someone else’s horror story than become the originator of a classic ourselves! I recently asked a number of my colleagues to share their favorite war stories – and tell us what they learned from the experience. Here is part 1 of my 4-part series on capture and proposal war stories. I was in an organization that decided to bid on a job where we did not know the customer, the customer did not know us, a well-loved incumbent was in place, we only had a 75% solution for performing the job, and our … Continue reading Industry experts’ proposal war stories and lessons learned – Part 1 of 4 →