“What a strange world we live in,” said Alice to the Queen of Hearts.
Being a Decision Maker for a Day would be a strange world indeed. My professional brain says it would offer an excellent opportunity to create fairer standards for all involved in the bid process.
My passionate brain wants to dispense some truths to senior management teams in a similar way to the Queen of Hearts. Not “Off with their heads!” but “Off with their…”
- Audacity!Deciding to show an interest the day before submission is not helpful. If multiple opportunities have been provided to get involved, senior management shouldn’t be allowed to drop a “Maybe I do need to review it” grenade on the rest of the team at the last minute.
- Use of weekend working as “normal”!It’s not – or shouldn’t be. Not for bid teams, and not for senior managers either. If senior managers work weekends, that’s their choice – but they often turn that choice into a requirement for bid teams. Team members are not indentured servants – they’re employed, not owned. Their time at the weekend (or at lunch, or in the evening) should be their own and they shouldn’t be made to feel guilty for treating it as such.
- Assumption you’ll take your laptop/phone on holiday “just in case”!Companies go on and on about mental health and wellbeing – and then unapologetically undermine it. How do you rest, reset and relax if you never log off? Senior managers usually have a deputy but many still take their equipment with them on leave and expect others to do the same. This isn’t right for anyone – but if a team member doesn’t have someone to take over while they’re on leave, it’s not their fault. They can’t pass responsibility to someone who doesn’t exist. Hire more people!
- Inability to meet a £$%^@* deadline!It’s never ‘turnabout is fair play’ in this situation, is it? If the bid team misses a deadline, the bid falls apart and may not be submitted. They would certainly be disciplined; maybe even sacked. But if a senior level person misses a review (or any other) deadline that jeopardises the submission or creates even more stress, work, etc (see all of the above), that’s just FINE, is it? No. It. Is. Not. Fine.
The Cheshire Cat said, “Only a few find the way, some don’t recognise it when they do – some…don’t ever want to.” I have sometimes worked with the “few” but much more often with those who “don’t ever want to.”
If those in charge finally lost their heads (not literally, of course) and changed these outdated behaviours, our bidding world might just become a bit less strange.
Lisa Readman
Lisa is an expert Content Evaluator and APMP Certified Practitioner as well as a highly skilled proofreader and copy editor of bidding, sales and marketing documents. Her bid and proposals career began in 2003 and she established her own business (Readman Writes) in 2018 after 15 years as a Bid Writer, Bid Coordinator and Knowledge Manager.
