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Characterising proposal success

1/11/2008

2 Comments

 
Posted by Jon
Our second Proposal Guys Panel topic challenged our ‘panellistas’ (comprising proposal professionals from around the world) to: “List the ten adjectives that best describe a successful proposal function”. BJ and I also took on the challenge, as did a few of our team. Here’s what came out on top:
1st
Organised

=2nd
Collaborative / co-operative
Creative
Flexible

​=3rd
Accurate
Adaptable
Client-centric
Competitive
Dedicated
Detail-oriented
Diligent
Knowledgeable
Passionate
Professional
Strategic
Easy job this, isn’t it?! The full list ran to over 80 adjectives, So, the next time your boss asks why you deserve that pay rise, or that extra member of staff, or those funds you need in your budget, remember – it’s because to do your job well, you need all of the characteristics listed above, and you also need to be…
…adequately-staffed, adrenalin-junkies, amazing, analytical, appreciated, appropriately-utilized, capable, cohesive, commercial, committed, communicative, compassionate, competent, content-sensitive, continually improving, curious, determined, direct, disciplined, effective, efficient, efficient, empowered, energetic, energising, even-keeled, experienced, facilitative, first-class, focused, forward-thinking, hierarchical, innovative, inquisitive, insightful, inspired, level-headed, linguistically-aware, meticulous, motivated, motivating, optimistic, original, patient, perceptive, perfectionist, persistent, personable, persuasive, planned, proactive, questioning, quick, reliable, resilient, responsive, sales-oriented, sceptical, self-starter, skillful, structured, structured, team-oriented, team-oriented, thick-skinned, thorough, tireless, trustworthy, well-read, and winning!
I rather fancy getting those printed up on a T-shirt for the next APMP conference!
​
Needless to say, a few of the more cynical contributors added in their alternative lists, and one of the team kindly pointed out that “one man’s adjective is another man’s cliché” (thanks, Jeff!). I did rather enjoy some of the following:
fun-loving, humorous, incompetence-tolerating, insane, landfill-filling, masochistic, overly-optimistic, tree-killing, pizza-loving, underappreciated, weird.
What would be in your top ten? And are they a good description of how your proposal function really operates today.
2 Comments
Jeff Scurry
3/26/2016 04:32:03 am

Thanks for this. I am shocked at the words I missed. Hmmmm.

Reply
Tenders
3/26/2016 04:32:11 am

Great list! I’ll put a link to your blog from our site. We are primarily a UK tenders (business contracts) finding service, but our members would be interested in this. Thanks

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    BJ Lownie and Jon Williams are the co-founders of Strategic Proposals.

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