• Leave Some Breadcrumbs Behind…

    The title here is just a metaphor for documenting your path and making it accessible to others who will follow you. In the course of getting this blog up and running, I encountered various problems with … Continue reading Leave Some Breadcrumbs Beh

    2018-11-11-17 09:55 admin 42

  • Basic Information Design for Proposals

    “Information Design” is a much-maligned term. It usually refers to the process of organizing and delivering information in a way that is easily used. Many things can benefit from good information design: wayfinding, document design, web &helli

    2018-11-11-17 09:55 admin 55

  • When is a Project Schedule Not a Project Schedule?

    I’ve just been looking at a couple different schedules in Microsoft Project. One was in the course of doing some evaluation for a nonprofit organization, the other was submitted in the course of a client project. … Continue reading When is a

    2018-11-11-17 09:55 admin 52

  • Whether to Outsource (Part 2 of 9 in Outsourcing Proposal Development)

     If you have not already read Part 1, I would suggest taking a look at that now – the scenarios regarding Company A and Company B are fundamental to these recommendations. And – these are strictly … Continue reading Whether to Outsource

    2018-11-11-17 09:55 admin 53

  • What Do The Words Mean?

    In trying to clear a block about a specific assignment, I reviewed several client documents that were a model for the assignment. The problem: they just were not like any prior models I have seen for … Continue reading What Do The Words Mean? &rarr

    2018-11-11-17 09:55 admin 52

  • Why Outsource? (Part 1 of 9 in Outsourcing Proposal Development)

    If you do business with the state or federal government, chances are that you will need to submit a proposal to secure any substantial contract. And – if you have ever worked on a proposal for … Continue reading Why Outsource? (Part 1 of 9 in Outso

    2018-11-11-17 09:55 admin 59

  • Fundamental Principles Versus Specific Answers

    This occurred to me in the course of posting a reply to an inquiry on another board. I suspect it’s just a difference in each person’s approach to solving problems. The inquiry was in the general … Continue reading Fundamental Principle

    2018-11-11-17 09:55 admin 55

  • The Limits of Project Management

    Different organizations, based on different cultures, have different limits on their acceptance of project management theory and practice. In health care, the limit seems to be Earned Value Management (EVM). Despite being a neat tool for analyzing project

    2018-11-11-17 09:55 admin 38

  • Getting Started with Project Management (or: Bridging Theory and Practice)

    Shameless plug: we have what I consider to be a pretty good class in project management for health and human services. (More here.) As with other training in project management, there is a lot to absorb … Continue reading Getting Started with Proje

    2018-11-11-17 09:55 admin 64

  • Why Did We [Choose One: Win | Not Win]?

    At the end of an intense and arduous proposal effort, you – and the team – may feel that you’ve put forth your best effort. Designed a great solution for the customer, pulled out all the … Continue reading Why Did We [Choose One:

    2018-11-11-17 09:55 admin 47

  • The Person With a Clear Head

    At the end of an intense proposal project – or any intense project – everyone on the team is spent. Sleep deprivation, poor eating habits, no fresh air, and lack of exercise conspire to create fatigued team … Continue reading The Person

    2018-11-11-17 09:55 admin 64

  • Deliver a Fresh Approach (Part 5 in Disciplined Business Development)

    “There’s nothing new under the sun.” Well, not quite. Imagine the Apple iPhone a hundred years ago… Here’s the problem. Due to requirements, inertia, and just “staying in the comfort zone”, most health plans are offering … Continue reading De

    2018-11-11-17 09:55 admin 42

  • Create a Compelling Story (Part 4 in Disciplined Business Development)

    Now the RFP is out. Great, let’s just steal some stuff from the last eight proposals and slam it into a new Word document, then ship it! Not so fast. You need to carefully consider what … Continue reading Create a Compelling Story (Part 4 in Discip

    2018-11-11-17 09:55 admin 36

  • Accursed Phrases, Part 1

    In editing work, I often encounter a sentence like the following: “Does the system have the capability to do X?” The phrase “have the capability to” is irritating and unnecessary. There are many variations, including “have &h

    2018-11-11-17 09:55 admin 48

  • Dignity and the end of life

    In the shouting about the healthcare debate, replete with charges about ‘death panels’, it’s important to remember that there are real individuals with significant problems who have a stake in the debate. Pamela Weston was a … Con

    2018-11-11-17 09:55 admin 43

  • Some Final Thoughts (Part 9 of 9 in Outsourcing Proposal Development)

    Here are a few final tips. These have been garnered from many years of working on medium- and large-scale public sector health care procurements. Having an outsourced proposal development team does not absolve internal staff from … Continue re

    2018-11-11-17 09:55 admin 60

  • How do I Use Multiple Consulting Firms on the Same Bid? (Part 8 of 9 in Outsourcing Proposal Development)

    In many years of working on proposals, I’ve seen three different kinds of situations where multiple consulting firms might be involved in working on the same bid. These are as follows, with some notes regarding potential … Continue readi

    2018-11-11-17 09:55 admin 49

  • What Do I Do to Solve Problems? (Part 7 of 9 in Outsourcing Proposal Development)

    During the course of a proposal project, you – and your chosen consulting firm – are going to run into problems. It’s the nature of the beast – you are working on a large and complex … Continue reading What Do I Do to Solve

    2018-11-11-17 09:55 admin 46

  • How Do I Manage the Engagement? (Part 6 of 9 in Outsourcing Proposal Development)

    Now you have a contract. The tasks have been defined, and consultants are assigned and eager to begin work. What’s next? Several things need to be addressed. The most important one is: who is in charge … Continue reading How Do I Manage the E

    2018-11-11-17 09:55 admin 39

  • How Do I Structure the Arrangement? (Part 5 of 9 in Outsourcing Proposal Development)

    You will probably work out the structure of the arrangement as you are considering different proposal consultants. However, there are a variety of ways to structure the engagement. Let’s talk about the two primary models for … Continue readin

    2018-11-11-17 09:55 admin 47