I love collecting quotes – especially really cynical comments! Here are a few that might provoke a rueful smile for those involved in proposal development:
“Thank you for sending me a copy of your book; I’ll waste no time reading it.” – Moses Hadas. (Was he writing about some procurement teams?)
“He can compress the most words into the smallest idea of any man I know.” – Abraham Lincoln. (He’d obviously just read the draft text from a subject matter expert!)
“He is a self-made man and worships his creator.” – John Bright. (No, surely not a comment on some account managers!)
“He is not only dull himself, he is the cause of dullness in others.” – Samuel Johnson. (Yep, I’ve worked on proposals with more than a few folks who’d fit that bill).
“He had delusions of adequacy.” – Walter Kerr. (Where do we even start?)
“If all the experts tell you to go right, and you decide to go left, you’re probably stupid. But if you get lucky, and discover a pot of gold along the stupid path, people will call you a leader. You’ll still be stupid, but fewer people will feel the need to point that out.” – Scott Adams