If you are interested in aviation, you’ll know this: The rigorous safety requirements and staggering number of passengers has led to an unparalleled level of professionalism and maturity in how all players collaborate. On the flight deck, the crew always knows exactly what to do: every movement or gesture, every task, every command is well-defined and has been practised a thousand times. The teamwork between the two pilots (Pilot Flying and Pilot Monitoring), Air Traffic Control, and Ground Control operates like a Swiss watch, with every cogwheel interlocking in perfect harmony.
Oh, how wonderful it would be if bid managers, sales teams, SMEs (Subject Matter Experts), and procurement agents could collaborate as seamlessly as pilots and air traffic controllers in the tower.
Clearly, the world of bid management is far less standardised: Try asking 100 bid managers what a red team review is, and you’ll likely get 257 different answers. It gets even more interesting when we ask the industry to define the difference between a bid manager and a proposal manager. Even APMP, our industry’s professional body, has yet to provide a clear answer. In general, the industry still lacks a widespread, accepted, easy-to-apply industry framework. You might think of APMP’s Body of Knowledge or the PAS360. From our point of view, while both can be helpful, they remain far from the desired level of maturity. For comparison, the PMI (Project Management Institute) provides an excellent example of a mature framework for project managers.
While the work in the cockpit has reached an unparalleled level of maturity, it sometimes feels like bid management has only just managed to ditch the nappies.
No, this is not about blaming anyone. We just have to accept that we still have a very, very long way to go.
And that’s no reason to complain, either—on the contrary! Growing up is exciting! And that’s precisely how we can stand out from the competition. Here is one recipe for success, to get just a little bit further ahead and learn how to perform better as a team:
- What’s your plan to improve your own and your team’s performance?
- What’s your plan to optimise your processes?
- What’s your plan to enhance collaboration with adjacent functions?
The runway is clear, the engines are running – now it’s up to you and your team to take off and soar to new heights.
Christopher Kalin
Chris is a global authority on bid and proposal management. He was co-founder and chairman of the Germanspeaking APMP chapter and regional director for Europe/Africa. He is APMP-certified at Professional Level (CPP APMP) and is an APMP Approved Trainer. In 2013, he received the prestigious Fellows Award.
