The Decisiveness Habit

News flash: Not making a decision, is making a decision. A CEO was once asked how he became so successful. His reply: “Good decisions!” The follow-up question was then how he made good decisions. His reply: “Bad decisions!”

Making a decision, even a bad one, is an opportunity to learn and grow. In the July issue of Departures magazine, chef and restaurateur Marcus Samuelsson put bad decisions in the context of “love for the craft” and the learning process.

Effective practices make decisions in a timely manner, and there are many decisions to be made on projects to pursue, revenues to invest, or profits to take or hold. In order to support decision making, effective practices are able to test decisions against the firm’s core values. Did I say something you didn’t understand? Yes, your firm must have core values. These define how difficult decisions can be made. If the firm’s core value is profitability, it will make decisions based on its fiduciary position. If the firm’s values reflect client service and client need above all else, decisions will be based on clients’ satisfaction.

Why is this important? Because as organizations grow, decisions that must be made on a daily, hourly or minute-to-minute basis cannot be controlled by one person. Decision making must be shared by all levels of the organization. In the absence of clearly defined core values against which staff can test and make decisions, the result is either a lack of decision making (at any or all levels of the organization) or a fear that one will make a mistake and be chastised. This is often called the “paralysis of analysis,” and characterizes an ineffective organization paralyzed by fear.

Let me give you the advice I gave to a senior partner in a successful architectural firm...ready? Staff are going to make mistakes. They are NOT going to always do it your way. Provide staff with the framework to make a decision (values), define the outcome you expect and move your firm forward by practicing the Decisiveness Habit.

Karen Compton, CPSM. Karen Compton is principal of A3K Consulting (Glendale, CA), a business development and strategic planning firm specializing in the architecture, engineering and construction industries. Ms. Compton is also the founder of Industry Speaks™, a web-based business-to-business portal that connects AEC firms with experienced consultants, provides peer reviews of consultants, reports on key industry trends, and publishes expert reviews of professional courses and books. Contact her at kcompton@a3kconsulting.com.

We Came in 19th Out of 20!

A client of ours submitted a proposal for the “AnyCity” small community library. They weren’t shortlisted, and in fact came in 19th out of 20. A few months later, when the firm retained us, I asked to look at the submission. My conclusion: every “Don’t” they “Did.”

1. They responded to a blind solicitation. They pulled the RFP off of a list serve, decided they “met the qualifications” and submitted. This rarely works. In today’s competitive environment, there are a number of firms that “meet the criteria.” Clients like AnyCity mitigate their risk by selecting firms they know, or have a relationship with. That brings me to the second problem:
2. They had no relationship to AnyCity. That meant that in their proposal they could not define what made them uniquely qualified in their understanding of AnyCity’s library needs or its issues and concerns. Most clients don’t want to take a risk on a firm that they don’t know; let alone on one that doesn’t know them.
3. They didn’t have relevant project experience.Yes, they had done a library project before, but that was a TI of a smaller library, not a new building. Without starting advantages, they couldn’t compete against larger multi-office firms with expansive portfolios bottom feeding for smaller projects. They needed to show a strong correlation to work they had completed. It’s a tough sell, especially if you don’t know the client.
4. The visual quality was abominable. There, I said it. In the age of more work and less time, clients want to be entertained. They want to be swept up into the proposal that you’ve presented for their reviewing pleasure—especially since that viewing pleasure is taking place more and more on their “off time.” Proposals don’t need to be glossy covered books, but their graphic layout and design must engage the reader. Getting your document read is step one. Taking the headers of the solicitation and responding with dense, narrative paragraphs is not a winning approach.

These types of mistakes are costly and avoidable: costly in the sense that to produce the proposal cost about $10K in manpower; avoidable in the sense that the same $10K can and should be invested in pre-selling to clients. That $10K investment in pre-selling would automatically eliminate three of the four mistakes made above!

Karen Compton, CPSM. Karen Compton is principal of A3K Consulting (Glendale, CA), a business development and strategic planning firm specializing in the architecture, engineering and construction industries. Ms. Compton is also the founder of Industry Speaks™, a web-based business-to-business portal that connects AEC firms with experienced consultants, provides peer reviews of consultants, reports on key industry trends, and publishes expert reviews of professional courses and books. Contact her at kcompton@a3kconsulting.com.

Mistake: That’s Their Sixth BD Director!

If you go through business development directors faster than bloody towels at a boxing match, you’ve got to stop and look at the one variable that remains unchanged: you.

There are some carpetbaggers out there and there are LWL (ladies who lunch). With a well thought-out and well-developed business development plan, however, you can reduce (and in some cases eliminate) this bloody phenomena that has come to be the norm.

There is immeasurable pressure in firms these days to get work. The pressure is real, and so is the need for those capable of delivering new opportunities. But, “Just get work!” isn’t going to cut it. Our business—architecture, engineering and construction—is based on relationships, not sales calls. Hiring and firing business development directors can well be a reflection of you—your unrealistic expectations, lack of focus, inattention to market conditions, and oh yes, your inability to close the deal.

Keep in mind, unless you’re hiring a seller-doer, you (or some principal) must close the deal. Ask yourself: “What is my plan?” “Who am I targeting?” “What is my value proposition?” If you don’t know, here’s a thought: before you hire your seventh business development director, ask them to develop a business plan outline. Who would they target for your firm, and why?

A client used this technique before they hired their business development professional, and guess what? It worked! Why? Because they understood the successful candidate’s proposed plan and direction and were able to “weed out” others who could not deliver on all the hype. In the end, it saved them time and unnecessary lunches. But, more importantly, it created stability and focus in their business development efforts.

Karen Compton, CPSM. Karen Compton is principal of A3K Consulting (Glendale, CA), a business development and strategic planning firm specializing in the architecture, engineering and construction industries. Ms. Compton is also the founder of Industry Speaks™, a web-based business-to-business portal that connects AEC firms with experienced consultants, provides peer reviews of consultants, reports on key industry trends, and publishes expert reviews of professional courses and books. Contact her at kcompton@a3kconsulting.com.