Making smart decisions about which opportunities to pursue is one of the most important elements of success in the contracting world. It’s also one of the toughest challenges.
Consider the following scenarios:
“Chasing Everything That Moves”: In this scenario, the organization has a pipeline full of contract opportunities, but does little to qualify or prioritize them. Because the organization has the capability to perform any of these contracts, it considers everything a “good” opportunity. In pursuing all of them, however, it finds itself spread so thin that it can’t give any opportunity the time, energy, and resources it really deserves. The result? This organization pursues many opportunities but wins few, if any of them.
“Hiding in the Shadows”: In this scenario, the organization focuses only or primarily on what it considers “sure things.” It takes few risks. It also has a very thin pipeline. As a result, this organization also achieves few wins–because it’s just not bidding very much.
“The Muddled Middle”: In this scenario, the organization’s pipeline may appear to be healthy, but a deeper look reveals a lack of focus, with no clear strategy and unclear criteria for deciding which opportunities to pursue. This scenario leads to middling results, at best.
Do these scenarios seem familiar? Are you interested in a better approach?
Join me for my presentation titled “Finding the Sweet Spot: A Visual Schema for Gate Review Decision Making” at the APMP-NCA Mid-Atlantic Conference & Expos 2015 on October 22nd. Details and registration information here.
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