The Elephant in the Room
APMP BID & PROPOSAL CON 2015 | PAGE 2
The Elephant in the Room ROBERT MAHONEY /ROBERT GARCEAU HARRIS CORPORATION
Robert Mahoney
321-984-6389
Robert Garceau
321-984-5940
APMP BID & PROPOSAL CON 2015 | PAGE 3
Introductions
Robert Mahoney 30+ years experience in Government contracting community.
Current Position: Harris Corporation Proposal Center Manager. Proposal team
leader, author, mentor, trainer, strategy developer and executive summary
specialist.
Robert Garceau 30+ years experience in Business Development and Capture Management.
Current Position: Harris Corporation Senior Capture Strategy Specialist. Capture
team leader, mentor, trainer, facilitator, BD/sales professional development
leader. Certified Miller Heiman trainer.
APMP BID & PROPOSAL CON 2015 | PAGE 4
We want to:
Share our experiences improving & creating a culture of winning.
Present & discuss problems, barriers encountered, activities/approaches,
Lessons Learned, etc.
Think of this as a “Capture Anonymous” meeting…
We want to strengthen our professional affiliation with the people in this room.
We’re inviting you all to join our Capture revolution and win more/bid less by
applying the forces of critical thinking, strategic development & process innovation
to the business of acquiring new business
We’re not selling anything today!
Purpose of Our Presentation
APMP BID & PROPOSAL CON 2015 | PAGE 5
The Elephant in the Room
APMP BID & PROPOSAL CON 2015 | PAGE 6
Overview
So why the “The Elephant in the Room”???
The elephant is an euphemism for what we did not want to acknowledge.
We were not consistently good at acquiring new business –
we were inconsistent at best.
We had to admit that a problem existed.
We were addressing a very noisy space, peopled with
employees who were out of their comfort zone dealing with
tight schedules and often, little resources.
We had…
Processes, tools, and some very smart people.
Already invested in tools/automation to “write it for us.”
Already invested in consultants for all the wrong reasons,
utilized at the wrong time in the schedule. Aaaaaaahh!
We have a clicker today and want your input…
APMP BID & PROPOSAL CON 2015 | PAGE 7
Polling Instructions
Press the corresponding button to
your vote once “Polling is Open”
Yes you can change your mind till
“Polling is closed”
Vote your single “best” answer
Results will be tabulated
and displayed
APMP BID & PROPOSAL CON 2015 | PAGE 8
The Environment for the Elephant
We were facing LESS new
program opportunities.
To win more, we were going to have
to win it away from lots of others.
The competition was getting a
lot stronger!
We started a new emphasis on
capture/win strategy development.
APMP BID & PROPOSAL CON 2015 | PAGE 9
So, …THE ELEPHANT defined
We weren’t very good at what we did…we were winning some, but it was getting
tougher, we were losing ground. We talked a good game but…
Strategic thinking… repetitive sound bites, flawed assumptions often copied from previous
Pursuit activities not preparing the customer to receive our offer
Strategic messaging & writing…bad versions of re-use, slogan-based themes,
tangled logic, benefit-free claims, unsubstantiated claims
Prop schedule squandered on backfilling pursuit activities
Pursuit/proposal document reviews…sleep walking through process,
wrong people/available versus capable reviewers
Proposals are WRITTEN documents…We weren’t very good writers…
Complex problem with many moving parts – No one thing would make a difference
APMP BID & PROPOSAL CON 2015 | PAGE 10
How many of you have a similar elephant?
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1. Lots of sound bites portrayed as
“strategy.”
2. Lots of feature/feature tables. Few
benefits or proofs.
3. Pursuit teams comprised of “available”
people.
4. Inconsistent application of best practices.
5. Pursuit teams not “ready to write” at RFP.
6. All of the above
7. None of the above. Life is good?
APMP BID & PROPOSAL CON 2015 | PAGE 11
… what it meant to us
We needed to improve:
Skills of our capture and proposal practitioners
Skill Levels of cross-functional teams
Management’s level of engagement
Consistency and repeatability
The entire system…
APMP BID & PROPOSAL CON 2015 | PAGE 12
We could finally see our elephant!
APMP BID & PROPOSAL CON 2015 | PAGE 13
How did we start?
We Secured a Champion.
Empowered selected people to go figure it out.
Analyzed the problem – breaking it down into components.
We defined problems and targeted short term fixes and longer term solutions.
We started to push a lot of buttons. We turned on the lights in a number of
dark rooms. We adjusted the thermostat to affect everybody.
Took action that had the effect of “stealthy change”. We did not change the culture
by proclamation.
We identified four discrete TARGETS to address.
Problem formalized, decomposed into components and resourced
APMP BID & PROPOSAL CON 2015 | PAGE 14
Targets For Success
Organizational Development
New jobs/new mission & structure
Internal CONOPS
Capture profession – Pursuit Advisory Corps
Professional Development
Training, coaching, mentoring
PTW specialties
BAP – Pursuit SIM course
Process Development
Prop readiness
Early Presentation Strategy
Strategy Development (facilitation)
Critical thinking – Strategy Workshops
Strategy Action Plans
APMP BID & PROPOSAL CON 2015 | PAGE 15
Targets – Org
Organizational Development
Leadership
New jobs/new Mission
New structure
New engagement paradigm
APMP BID & PROPOSAL CON 2015 | PAGE 16
How is your capture and proposal organization
structured? (Pick the closest)
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1. No formal organization. Capture and
proposal managers are ‘assigned.’
2. Distinct centralized org for capture and
proposals.
3. Centralized proposal center only, no formal
capture.
4. Capture and proposal mangers are identified
and report in the business areas (not
centralized).
5. We’re so messed up no one knows.
APMP BID & PROPOSAL CON 2015 | PAGE 17
Barriers – Org
CMs, Prop Managers, not thought of as “professionals”… few good ones.
Decentralized culture – Highly fractionated business areas. ISLANDS.
People were assigned to a pursuit based on availability.
No clear responsibility for process ownership, improvement, lessons
learned.
Inconsistent practice, no consistent enforcement of the practice.
No process metrics.
No leverage of key talent.
APMP BID & PROPOSAL CON 2015 | PAGE 18
Actions – Org
Established the capture center staffed with the right people.
Influencers, leaders, mentors, practitioners.
Focused on people, process, and tools.
Formalized Capture and Prop Manager and
Prop Writer as professions.
Created internal “consulting” group to support
all pursuits:
• Leverage key talent
• Train and mentor
• Facilitate key events
• ID’ed in-process predictive metrics
APMP BID & PROPOSAL CON 2015 | PAGE 19
Lessons Learned – Org
Must have key leadership supporting,
engaged and visible.
Must utilize your best! They must earn
teams’ respect.
Must conduct formal win-loss analysis
& document.
People learn lessons – not databases!
“A Team” logic flawed.
APMP BID & PROPOSAL CON 2015 | PAGE 20
Targets
Professional Development
• Skill assessment
• Strategic training, JIT, coaching
• PTW specialties
• BAP – Pursuit SIM course
APMP BID & PROPOSAL CON 2015 | PAGE 21
How do you approach professional
development?
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1. Nothing focused on new biz
2. Occasional classes for high performers.
“boon-doggles”
3. Skill assessments and curriculum to
address deficits.
4. Instructors and mentors engaged.
5. Multi disciplined approach to
development.
6. 3, 4, & 5
7. We fire the losers!
APMP BID & PROPOSAL CON 2015 | PAGE 22
Barriers – PD
Capture and Proposal management treated as an
undesirable task!
Skills needed not documented, never mind having
real skill assessments.
We thought we were “good.” Many of us were too
good for “development.”
Minimal historical spending, no budget existed…
Organic course materials did not exist.
Teaching and mentoring was not part of our culture.
Our culture was over reliant on “heroes.”
APMP BID & PROPOSAL CON 2015 | PAGE 23
Actions – PD
Established a partnership between Capture Center and HR
Skills assessment resulted in a list of deficiencies.(PTW 500
students)
Engaged industry training experts and consultants…BD
institute/APMP
Funded and implemented strategic and JIT curriculum.
Created LL DB, identified internal experts.
Conducted growth workshops for all levels of management (200+).
Formalized facilitation and coaching approach (workshops VS
reviews)
Implemented experiential learning – real products, case studies and
simulations.
APMP BID & PROPOSAL CON 2015 | PAGE 24
Pursuit Simulation – Stealthy Change Example
3 teams compete in a pursuit for 3 days – ID to negotiations
1 day intensive feedback – (Abuse with laughter)
Capstone of capture training curriculum
Consistent “core instructors” (Bob & Bob)
Cross-functional students and instructors
Division president or senior VPs for 1 day
Rotating management used as “instructors”
Partnership with HR – at least 1 HR instructor
APMP BID & PROPOSAL CON 2015 | PAGE 25
Lessons Learned – PD
Set priorities and fund accordingly.
ID high impact topic(s) – i.e. PTW.
Demand participation from all levels and functions.
Classes teach fundamentals. Need more
advanced learning.
Use story telling, simulations, and real products to
teach.
Use your experts to train, coach, and facilitate.
ID and develop a few good practitioner-teachers!
APMP BID & PROPOSAL CON 2015 | PAGE 26
Targets – Process
Processes Enhancement • Strategy workshops
• Proposal readiness metrics
• Early presentation strategy
APMP BID & PROPOSAL CON 2015 | PAGE 27
Who owns your new biz process?
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1. What process???...What ?
2. No clear ownership
3. Clear ownership but inconsistent
enforcement
4. Clear ownership and consistent
practice
APMP BID & PROPOSAL CON 2015 | PAGE 28
Barriers – Process
Budget?
Lack of process discipline – optional compliance?
Inconsistent enforcement..
Process adherence not rewarded/acknowledged
Process stagnation
Lack of process ownership
Process experts not identified
APMP BID & PROPOSAL CON 2015 | PAGE 29
Actions – Process
Capture Center owns the process!
Surveyed industry, learned and adapted for us.
Knowledge transfer mechanisms:
• Process experts identified and processes enforced
• Sample artifacts made available (RRRC, Boots)
• Methods based guidebooks
• Process specific training (strategic and JIT)
• Pursuit/proposal facilitation & color teams
• Workshops VS Reviews!
• Proposal readiness metrics established
APMP BID & PROPOSAL CON 2015 | PAGE 30
Lessons Learned – Process
Line management must enforce adherence.
Facilitate the plan rather than fix the product!
Must review/work pursuit artifacts early and often.
More workshops fewer reviews!
Gate meetings reflect capture/prop plans (forward
looking).
Capture mentors assigned to many pursuits.
Deploy capture/proposal experts earlier in pursuits.
Teams must feel the value in every interaction.
APMP BID & PROPOSAL CON 2015 | PAGE 31
Targets – Strategy
Strategy Development • Critical thinking – Strategy Workshops
• Facilitation
• Pursuit, offer & presentation strategy
APMP BID & PROPOSAL CON 2015 | PAGE 32
What is your approach to strategy
development?
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1. What is your approach to strategy
development?
2. What strategy? We use the same one
regularly!
3. Teams develop their own strategies
4. B + reviewed by management
5. C + color teams support
6. D + coaching and facilitated strategy
sessions
APMP BID & PROPOSAL CON 2015 | PAGE 33
Barriers – Strategy
Sound bites and slogans abound!
Real strategies developed too late (emerging).
Win strategies/themes/discriminators not understood or
documented.
Strategy dev, theming, architecture, program design, pricing all
being crammed into the proposal phase – Ill prepared to write.
Pricing as an afterthought.
APMP BID & PROPOSAL CON 2015 | PAGE 34
Actions – Strategy
Capture mentor/facilitator assigned early
Multiple strategy sessions including color teams
Instantiated & facilitated 3 strategy types:
• Pursuit strategy – facilitated workshops, documented results
• Early win strategy workshops, full color team workshops
• Offer strategy – identifiable separate focus in strategy sessions
• e.g. Price envelope meeting, PTW specialists
• Presentation strategy – worked annotated outline/SBs prior to RFP
• Facilitated “theme sessions” pre-RFP
PTW Process and Specialist formalized as a profession
APMP BID & PROPOSAL CON 2015 | PAGE 35
Lessons Learned – Strategy
Strategy… everyone has one… teams believe
they are on track until pressed.
No one wants to write it down! All talk…
Force them to write it down!
Facilitators must be good strategists – they
must pull it from the teams (teeth) and get it
organized/written down.
Strategy development must be focused and
takes time to accomplish.
APMP BID & PROPOSAL CON 2015 | PAGE 36
Stealthy change to create a winning culture
Culture is a BIG term
It’s more than just business development:
• All functions
• All levels
No one really wants to change... they will when
they see results.
Results take time – no one year tells the story.
APMP BID & PROPOSAL CON 2015 | PAGE 37
Getting the Elephant to Work
for You Pays Dividends!
Post-Change:
4 year average
Capture Rate = 72%
4 Years Post 5 Years Prior
0
10
20
30
40
50
60
70
80
90
100
2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015
Capture Rate
Capture Rate
Pre-investment:
5 year average
Capture Rate = 43%
APMP BID & PROPOSAL CON 2015 | PAGE 38
Vision for the Future
Maintain the win rate!
Focus on efficiency:
• Apply 6 Sigma
• DMAIC, DMADV, JDI
• Benchmarking
APMP BID & PROPOSAL CON 2015 | PAGE 39
Are you interested in benchmarking?
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1. What’s benchmarking?
2. Yes
3. No
4. Yes – But not with you!
APMP BID & PROPOSAL CON 2015 | PAGE 40
Free ADVICE
Get a champion…use position power of
champion to sanction.
Plan a quiet revolution:
• Don’t tell people that you are going to change their lives!
• Create real BD/capture/proposal professionals
• Leverage a few internal experts to facilitate, train,
and mentor across many teams
• Get the experts engaged early
• Learn from others
APMP BID & PROPOSAL CON 2015 | PAGE 41
Please turn in your
TurningPoint
devices now…
APMP BID & PROPOSAL CON 2015 | PAGE 42
Questions
Thank you for your attention!
APMP BID & PROPOSAL CON 2015 | PAGE 43
Robert Mahoney
Proposal Center Manager
Harris GCS
321-984-6389
www.harris.com
Contact Us
APMP
PO Box 77272
Washington, DC
20013-7272
Phone: + 1 - (202) 450-2549
www.apmp.org
Robert Garceau
Capture Strategist
Harris GCS
321-984-5940
www.harris.com
APMP BID & PROPOSAL CON 2015 | PAGE 44
If you have not
turned them in
please do so
now!!!
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