DECISION COACHES, INC.
Specialists in Complex Decision Making
Copyright © 2010, Decision Coaches, Inc.
Decision Coaches Win-Strategy™
“Introduction”
The innovative and powerful approach of a Decision Coaches Win-Strategy
Workshop™ will transform your Win Strategy into a dynamic targeted plan
instead of just a deck of benign templates. In perusing the next ten slides
you’ll see why our customers win 80% of the time by proactively assessing the
situation and outmaneuvering the competition.
Copyright © 2010, Decision Coaches, Inc.
Decision Coaches Win-Strategy™
“The Problem”
The toughest challenge in any win strategy effort is to identify meaningful
discriminators – not just discriminators you care about, but a contractor
identity that the customer will value most when confronted with more than
one compliant proposal.
Capable BD and capture
personnel armed with their
capture processes can usually
achieve compliance – getting to
the “red zone.” But, calling the
play that gets you into the end
zone (winning the award)
consistently and predictably,
requires something more.
Award!
Copyright © 2010, Decision Coaches, Inc.
Decision Coaches Win-Strategy™
“The Decision Coaches Advantage”
The Decision Coaches Win-Strategy Process™ gives you that something
more…
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A comprehensive view that lets you see it all at once everything your customer wants, needs and hopes for from
this procurement, not just what they’ve chosen to ask for.
•
A proven framework that will lead your team to surface
powerful, but latent or unexpressed areas of differentiation
for your Customer.
•
The only scientifically valid way to prioritize quantifiable
requirements against intangible considerations that lets you
compare what you know with what you feel.
•
A fully documented decision-process that forces your team
to identify their biases, assumptions, conclusions and datasources.
•
A fully software-enabled process that lets you instantly see
changes in your customer’s priorities, your competitive
position, the importance of your actions as scenarios change
and new information becomes available.
Copyright © 2010, Decision Coaches, Inc.
Decision Coaches Win-Strategy™
“Understand the Mindset, Not Just the Requirements”
To find truly meaningful discriminators, your team must speculate the benefits
that will matter to your customer if they were deliberating between compliant
proposals. Then, they can role play the trade-offs your customer will make in
choosing between them to capture your customer’s mindset. Decision Coaches
leverages the latest, state-of-the-art methods to garner these priorities.
Management Discriminators
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Management Structure/Alignment
Trusted Program Manager
Understanding
Contractor Integrity
One Team
By assessing and analyzing the customer’s mindset, actions can be assigned to
validate the mindset and condition the customer to your value proposition.
“Better to speculate and validate, than to estimate and hibernate.”
Copyright © 2010, Decision Coaches, Inc.
Decision Coaches Win-Strategy™
“Consider Every Angle”
The first step in identifying powerful discriminators is to brainstorm the full,
holistic set of possible benefits including: “what” your customer wants, “how”
they want it supplied, “why” they want it, and “how much” they’re willing to
give up to get it. This dialogue always
surfaces new benefit possibilities especially
of the intangible and “unwritten” variety.
Winning your customer’s preference in
any of these regards can always be
reflected in the evaluation criteria. Also,
this dialogue reminds the team that your
customer will appreciate a comprehensive
value proposition. This avoids the all-toocommon problem of fixating on one
aspect, say technology, and forces your
group to face all that they know about
the customer.
“Better to consider all possibilities, than to fixate and be myopic .”
Copyright © 2010, Decision Coaches, Inc.
Decision Coaches Win-Strategy™
“Avoid Drinking the Bathwater”
To avoid drinking your own bathwater, you have to think like your customer will think
when they are in decision mode. When the pressure is on, they will probably operate a
bit differently than the way they talked in your cordial meeting. Intangible
considerations may take on more importance. Quantifiable requirements may offer less
room for discrimination.
The only scientifically proven method to prioritize both - the tangible and intangible –
and simulate your customer’s mindset is the Analytic Hierarchy Process (AHP). This
state-of-the-art approach forces your team to ponder the incremental benefits the
customer will value when
Management
entertaining two competitive bids.
Innovation
By comparing each combination at a
Benefits
Benefits
time (pairwise), relevant customer
facts surface and are discussed that
reveal new and complementary
avenues of winning the customer’s
preference.
“Best to deliberate like the customer,
than to rely solely on hot buttons.”
Copyright © 2010, Decision Coaches, Inc.
The Decision Coaches Approach™
“Understand the Mindset, Not Just the Requirements”
The pairwise tradeoff exercise generates a priority graph which indicates where the
customer will value discrimination most. Remember, the assumption is that you are
already compliant in all these regards. Therefore, if cost is lower on this list, it is
likely because cost doesn’t offer much
room for discrimination, but you still
need to be within the competitive range.
The team can now focus the action
discussion on the areas of greatest
potential discrimination based on the
brainstormed list of possibilities that
underlie each category. In a macro sense,
this construct reveals an insightful view
of the customer’s overall decision
mindset as demonstrated in examples on
the next slide.
“Best to act on what you know and feel,
than to struggle for a deal.”
8
Copyright © 2010, Decision Coaches, Inc.
Win-Strategy Workshop™
“Real Results – NG, Boeing, & L-3”
The Result
The Situation
Performance
Cost
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Analysis: “Incumbentitis”
Action: Thorough Call Plan
Adapt: Revised Model & Actions
A Win!
The Result
The Situation
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Cost
Performance
Analysis: “Commodity Mindset”
Action: Low Cost Exercise
RFP: Tech. Acceptable/Low Cost
A Win!
The Result
The Situation
Aircraft Performance
Innovative Electronics
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Analysis: “Unexpected Perspective”
Action: Validate Perspective
Action: Sub & Prime Switch Roles
A Win!
“Better to move early, than attempt to win with the prop.”
Copyright © 2010, Decision Coaches, Inc.
Decision Coaches Win-Strategy™
“Perception is Reality”
To now understand your competitive position, your team must rate the
customer’s current perceptions of the contractors in light of these potential
means of discrimination. The result is that you gain an understanding of how
you are perceived by your customer where it matters most – as opposed to the
attitude, “we have the technology.”
The Gaps
Suddenly the critical
strengths and weaknesses
become clear as perceived by
the customer.
By assessing and analyzing your competitive position, targeted actions can be
assigned to validate the perceptions, counter and correct perceptions where
necessary, optimize your team, or even elect to no-bid. If bidding, the call
plans now have discreet focused objectives tied to winning.
“Better to sense and influence, than to read and reply.”
Copyright © 2010, Decision Coaches, Inc.
Decision Coaches Win-Strategy™
“It’s All Relative”
The Competitive Ranking Result
By combining customer
mindset and perception,
a competitive ranking
results that is not based
on just a SWAG.
Now the real
planning to make
a difference can
begin because
there is a
logical basis.
Sure, every bidding contractor has a chance to win, but winning
requires understanding fully your starting point and acting accordingly.
“Better to be real and prevail, than be blind and behind.”
Copyright © 2010, Decision Coaches, Inc.
Decision Coaches Win-Strategy™
“Action With A Purpose”
Action with a Purpose
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Influencing the RFP
Teaming Strategy
Discriminators
Positioning
Call Plans
“Better to calculate and dominate, than to grope and hope.”
Copyright © 2010, Decision Coaches, Inc.
Decision Coaches Win-Strategy™
“The Deliverable”
Decision Coaches is unmatched in combining a
structured process, professional facilitator,
and analytic software aid to generate rational
actionable win strategies that complement any
capture process. The results emerge from
collaboration by the team with the underlying
rationale understood by all generating buy-in.
With at least one hard hitting Decision
Coaches Win Strategy Workshop at the right
proactive juncture, our customers win 80% of
the time. Our customers are left with a
dynamic deliverable that explains the situation
at hand and the rationale that drives action
with a purpose - winning.
“Better to take a stand and have a plan, than to stray and pray.”
Copyright © 2010, Decision Coaches, Inc.
Decision Coaches Win-Strategy™
“Value Throughout the Capture Life-cycle”
• Speculate
Customer Mindset.
• Play Scenarios.
• Call Plan
Objectives.
• Influence the RFP.
• Formative Themes.
• Teaming
Requirements.
• Refine Customer
Mindset.
• Refine Competitive
Position.
• Evaluate Teaming
Combinations.
• Finalize Teaming.
• Refine Themes.
• Final Call Plan.
• Engage Subs.
• Black Hat.
• Involve Prop
Manager.
• Smooth Transition to
Proposal Team.
• Capture Positioning
& Proposal Aligned.
“Collaborate, validate, align, and act ahead of the competition”
Copyright © 2010, Decision Coaches, Inc.
Decision Coaches Win-Strategy™
“Rational Situation Assessment”
Attribute
Benefit
Comprehensive View
Scientifically Valid
Reveal All Customer Wants,
Needs, Hopes
Address Quantifiable Requirements
& Intangible Considerations
Fully-Documented Decision Process
Force Recognition of Assumptions,
Biases, Conclusions, & Sources
Proven Framework
Surface Powerful Yet Latent
Areas of Discrimination
Fully Software-Enabled Process
Instantly See Impact of Changes
in Assumptions & Actions
Assessment
Analysis
Action
15
Copyright © 2010, Decision Coaches, Inc.
WIN!
The Decision Coaches Approach
“Roadmap for Effective Decisions & Action”
Company
Org. Plan
Which Markets?
Market Plan
Resources
Business
Unit
Programs
Brand
M&A
R&D
Bus. Unit Plan
Which Programs?
Win-Strategy
Bid/No-Bid
Black Hat
Teaming
Objective Facilitators
• Push the boundaries
• Challenge Assumptions
Process Designed for Group Interplay
• Garner Priorities - Focus
• True Collaboration
• Deep Understanding of Results
Software-based Decision Tool
• What ifs, Sensitivity Analysis
• Comprehensive Visuals
• Thought Linkage
Research & Experience
• Comprehensive Considerations
• Narrow the Focus
Gain Insight
Save Time
Take Action
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Copyright © 2010, Decision Coaches, Inc.
Decision Coaches, Inc.
“
“Our Goal”
”
The people can be smart, but the institution can be dumb.
~ Alvin Toffler
The Decision Coaches vision is to
help organizations leverage their
often stove-piped knowledge to
address an increasingly complex
world. Success will not come by
chance nor by maintaining the
status quo. Decision Coaches
techniques help your organization
avoid being collectively dumb with
a little timely, outside help. Our
approach is specifically designed to
avoid groupthink, but we do help a
group…well…think.
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Copyright © 2010, Decision Coaches, Inc.
Thomas Watson, Sr. - 1874-1956
Image Credit: Yosuf Karsh
Decision Coaches, Inc.
Contact Information
Steve Leonard
Vice President Sales & Marketing
Decision Coaches, Inc.
6953 Penn Avenue
Pittsburgh, PA 15208
412-916-1172
steve.leonard@decisioncoaches.com
Win Strategy Short 1-4-2010.ppt
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Copyright © 2010, Decision Coaches, Inc.