William Shakespeare
History’s most famed philosopher-playwright and poet (baptised 1564-1616)
| Shakespeare would have made a brilliant business development operative (‘BD’) or bid strategist. |
| As much as ‘The Bard’ is revered, few people today appreciate is the sheer strategy behind the musings in his many plays. |
| Let me treat you to some of his wisdom . . . pearls at the very heart of effective business development and winning non-price-based bids. |
| Here’s a handful of his quotes, along with the underlying philosophical message I have chosen to interpret and apply for the benefit of BDs and those who lead major pursuits. |
| ‘Give every man thy ear, but few thy voice.’ (Hamlet, Act I, Scene III) |
| So often we are tempted to give every man our voice, but few thy ear . . . especially in client-facing situations where we’re convinced we have a superior solution or offering than does our competitor, and we’re keen to let the prospect know all about it. |
| Mistake. |
| It is the degree to which one listens, that determines the volume and quality of insights with which one will return to his organisation, and thus the value of information with which he will endow his fellow bid team members. |
| In turn, the value (or otherwise) of the information that he conveys will have a direct impact on the quality of the submitted proposal. |
| ‘The fool doth think he is wise, but the wise man knows himself to be a fool.’ (As You Like It, Act V, Scene I) ‘If you can look into the seeds of time, and say which grain will grow and which will not, speak then unto me.’ (MacBeth, Act I, Scene III) |
| ‘The empty vessel makes the loudest sound.’ (Henry V, Act IV, Scene IV) |
| (Closely related to the previous quote and observations.) |
| Shakespeare clearly detested arrogance – especially when coupled with ignorance (which, ironically, it usually is). |
| With good reason when it comes to business development and major bids: Arrogance erodes the capacity for developing a genuine and deep interest in the prospect or client. |
| It creates an inability to truly hear the other party, their concerns, their desires . . . and thus to use these insights to formulate a hot button-hitting, competitively superior bid strategy. |
| ‘Yond Cassius has a lean and hungry look. He thinks too much; such men are dangerous.’ (Julius Caesar, Act I, Scene II) |
| The greater the investment one makes in thinking deeply, the more power he has in any given situation. In a commercial sense, clearly this applies to the advantage an organisation has over its competitors. |
| ‘Wisely and slow; they stumble that run fast.’ (Romeo and Juliet, Act II, Scene III) |
| Don’t cut yourself short of time to conduct comprehensive research and fully develop your bid strategy, such that you’re rushing the process. |
| I’ve seen totally counterproductive workshops that try to push through a “competitive intelligence” analysis in a tightly allocated 45-minute window, by way of classic example.
‘Things done well and with a care, exempt themselves from fear.’ Writing with a clear purpose makes for a strong and compelling submission. In turn, substance, a solid and well-documented strategy, along with a genuine interest in the topic and genuine motivation for the pursuit, help any submission section author write purposefully. Where “purpose” borders on “passion”, let the border be crossed. You can always reign yourself in, in the necessary places, in your self-editing or re-writing phase. |
| ‘Words without thoughts never to heaven go.’ (Hamlet, Act III, Scene III) |
| Never write about something you don’t understand; the fact you’re out of your depth will be, or will become, obvious. |
| (This is one of the primary reasons I favour the writing of highly specialist bid sections by the relevant subject matter experts themselves, as opposed to by general bid writers. |
| Consistently commit these follies, and – as the great philosopher writes in |
| ‘A Midsummer Night’s Dream.’ (Act V, Scene 1) |
| – it will be: ‘The true beginning of (y)our end.’ |
