Posted by BJ under Word play & writing | 
I know I focus too much on words. This was pointed out to me by my good friend Henry when I commented on the poor grammar within a sub-title on a magazine.
The sub-title, next to a scantily clad, curvaceous young lady in a provocative pose and sporting a “come hither” look in her eyes, read:
“100 women, 99 bikinis. Never has math been so fun!”
My immediate thought was that this should have read, “…so much fun.” or “…such fun!”
Henry pointed out that I might be focusing on something other than that which the magazine intended its readers to focus upon.
Posted by Jon under Musings |
An interesting discussion yesterday with a friend who’s taken on a new role heading proposal management for a rather diverse organisation. To what extent, she wondered, do proposal managers earn commission if they help to win the deal, and does that vary by sector?
It’s always been a regret for me that I didn’t accept a win bonus when I ran the bid centre at Compaq years ago. Given my team then helped to secure $1.5bn of business in a very short time, I’d have been rich had I been pocketing a share of the spoils. But the purist in me prevails: the proposal is a key element of the win, but far from the only factor. Moreover, if you put proposal managers on commission, it can drive the wrong behaviours: rivalry between proposal centre members (”why is s/he always given the good deals”); lack of mutual support on bids (”I won’t get any money, so why should I help”); sales people feeling threatened (”they’re stealing from my pot”).
Then again, we do deserve to be well-rewarded – and helping our sales colleagues to win is, after all, what we’re here to do. My personal preference is that there’s a hefty bonus scheme in place, in which the amount and percentage won is a major factor. Barbara Esmedina’s excellent survey tends to validate the assumption that win bonuses are rare: only 16% of respondents receive a “bonus tied to winning business (specific to RFP/sales activity”), whereas 65% get bonuses linked to performance / merit. I’m curious to know what others think – and what works well in organisations around the world. Do let us have your comments!
