Business Development Case Study

“Hey, where’s Chris? He was supposed to be here at 8:00. We said we we’re going to discuss strategy for this county hospital project. The first response is due this week. I’ve read this RFP. I’m not in charge of this thing, but Chris asked me to sit in on this strategy session. By the way, one of the things I bring to this group is the fact that I am an architect. Since an architect seems to be taking the lead on the Hospital project, I think I might be able to provide a little insight on what they might be looking for.” “Oh, here’s Chris. I’ll see if I can get the president to join us. Hey marketing guy, would you show me a copy of the book we sent in response to this RFP?” “Sure, I’ll be right back.” The conference room which minutes earlier was populated by a dozen members of the estimating team is now occupied with a business development meeting that is trying to get underway. “We really need to consider how we position our approach as an advantage. We’ve put 15 million cubic yards of concrete in place in this region. That gives us a ton of information and local knowledge.” “Where did you get than figure?” “I made it up. I’m kidding; it’s a real number.” “You know this is a Brownfield site. Who in this room really understands Brownfield Sites? This is going to be important to these guys.” “Well, the Construction Management part of this is something I have no experience in. I mean I can try but true Construction Management and Conceptual Estimating in particular is not something I can point to a bunch of jobs where that has been my responsibility.” “Your experience is more relevant here than you realize. Don’t kid yourself Dan, your experience might be more relevant than the nonsense some of your competitors put out there. I mean our primary competitor has a guy that does nothing but conceptual estimating in-house. We need to structure it so our team has Mechanical, Electrical, Structural and Civil. These guys don’t have to even be in the room, but they will want to see a team that is that comprehensive. Remember this is an architect leading this selection process. The thing an architect dreads the most is having to re-draw. If you don’t have a good group up-front with conceptual estimating, the architect will roll his eyes and think to himself, “Here we go again.” “That’s right. When we do our estimating now, we tend to send it out to a bunch of subs to get a number. We need an in-house guy that can come up with a number that is at least a starting point.” “Now we can talk like developers.” “Okay, so with all due respect, who is going to lead this team?” So, does this scenario seem at all familiar?

Eight Areas for Discussion As a follow up to the scenario provided in above Business Development Meeting we deconstruct a little and challenge you to consider how you can avoid common pitfalls. Based on our case example, here are eight common problems that arise. Passive Aggressiveness - “Hey, where’s so and so? He/she was supposed to be at this meeting.” Make business development a routine part of business. Your business depends on timely responses to requests. Ad hoc teams sometimes are needed, but winning new business should be an understood top priority. Self-Declared Leader - Just because someone claims to be uniquely qualified doesn’t mean they should drive. The more technical the job, the more complex the stakeholders, and the more likely diverse skills will be required. This is not a time for musical chairs. Manage the business. Marketing in a Silo - Sometimes routine is so seamless we forget. Be involved in all the components of your company’s positioning and marketing materials. If someone in your project leadership team has to say, “Hey marketing guy, can you show me a copy of the book we sent in response to this RFP?”, something might not be quite right. Positioning - The object of the game is NOT to change colors like a chameleon. True positioning doesn’t work like that. You need to learn from each proposal, but you also need to be true to your company strengths as you respond. Gaps in Expertise - Part of being true to your company and your brand is recognizing weaknesses and owning them. By doing so you can fortify or augment those gaps. Surprisingly, candor will strengthen your credibility. You must be willing to truly examine requests as they match your capabilities. By doing so you will better understand the marketplace. Believing your own Hype - It is important to celebrate your accomplishments and pat your colleagues on the back. However, you are in a competitive situation. Put your best foot forward, but always with a clear understanding of your resources. Trashing the Competition - It is a mistake to underestimate your opponent. It is also mistake to fall into a false sense of security, because you allowed yourself to be superior. Things change. Status Quo - You may be playing a numbers game with responses RFQ/RFI/RRP (requests for qualification, information or proposals). Beware of the boilerplate assumptions and the idea that one size fits all. Treat every request as a unique opportunity. You may even decide to walk away from some of them.  However, if you decide to go for it, go for it!

The American Red Cross

Tampa Bay Chapter and Florida's West Coast 
Chairman of the Board.American Red Cross
Greg Morgan Presents

 June 6, 2014

“Good Morning to all the volunteers and friends of the American Red Cross. The American Red Cross prevents and alleviates human suffering in the face of emergencies by mobilizing the power of volunteers and the generosity of donors.” My brother began. He was addressing supporters of the American Red Cross as he is serving in the second year of his two year term as chapter chairman. Greg is a remarkable human being and an inspirational leader. His boilerplate opening yielded to insight into his character. 

“I want to thank my mom today – We grew up on Lake Erie and my mom wanted to be sure that every one of her 6 kids knew how to swim.  In the summertime we woke up at 7:00 AM and were carted down the street to Lakewood Park swimming pool for swimming lessons.  Now the fact that there was a 60 foot cliff in our backyard apparently made no difference (as if we would survive the fall before gracefully landing in the lake to take advantage of these swimming lessons.” Greg’s audience is amused as he continues. “Well never the less, we learned to swim.  Now that didn’t mean simply learning a stroke or two.  We learned to swim from Beginners through to Life Saving. So at 13, 14 and 15 years old, I learned CPR as part of Jr Life Saving and Life Saving Classes. Even at this young age I knew for sure that I would use this training one day.” With this Greg sets the stage for a one-two punch his audience doesn’t know is coming.

“So about 20 years ago in January of 1993 I had just started a new job responsible for two office buildings on Rocky Point Island.  One of those buildings was named Island Center where Fireman’s Fund had a large local office. While glancing at emails with my administrative assistant and eating a turkey sandwich for lunch, her hand held radio in her desk announced ‘shots fired, victims are down in the café, send help!’ After calling down to the café and clarifying that the gunman had left and set his gun on the table, the assistant property manager and I ran down 5 flights of stairs and arrived on the scene. Paul Calden, a lone gunman, had returned to the workplace where he had been fired 8 months prior by Firemans Fund. Five bodies lie in pools of blood. Shattered glass from the giant floor to ceiling window was everywhere while screaming, crying people stood in horror. One man began yelling ‘does anyone know CPR?’ It was natural, almost instinctive for me, from my childhood training, to kneel down beside the man, listen for breathing, check the pulse, and begin performing mouth to mouth resuscitation. After a few breaths the victim, Frank Ditullio came back but only for a brief time. A quiet peace came over him, he smiled and passed away. Though a horrible tragedy, I was able to report to Frank’s wife, Mary Lynn, that Frank had died very peacefully in my arms with a smile on his face. His wife asked that I speak at his funeral service. I did. I was, however, troubled by Frank’s death for months afterwards.”

Greg reads the audience as they try to comprehend such circumstances. He pauses briefly and continues:

“So fast forward 10 years…

My sons and I are in the middle of a two week vacation out west. We are spending the day at a gigantic spring fed pool in Glenwood Springs Colorado. Hundreds of people are swimming, playing, sliding and enjoying the day.

As my boys and I exit the pool area we see several people jumping and screaming for help. We walk toward the area where a man is yelling ‘Help, please Help us! Where are you? Please Help!’ As I approached another man stood up in the pool with a young child limp in his arms. Jordan LaSalle, a 5 year old boy from Golden Colorado laid lifeless, blue grey, the same color I remembered Frank Ditullio ten years earlier. There was no pulse, no breath. Once again, I began CPR. After 5 or 6 breaths, nothing. I decided to blow harder. Jordan coughed and coughed then began to cry and cry. Jordan’s mom yelled ‘don’t cry Jordan!’ I said ‘cry Jordan cry! Breathe Jordan breathe!’ He did, and this time around he kept breathing and kept breathing. Jordan’s mom cradled him and the paramedics arrived and drove Jordan to the hospital. Several hours later, my kids and I went to the hospital to give Jordan a big red plastic fire truck. He was up, clearly healthy and having fun. The doctor reported to me that it appeared that Jordan had no permanent damage and should be fine.

So a while back I checked Facebook for Jordan LaSalle and there he was with a Denver Bronco Tim Tebow Jersey on.

So thanks mom for having us learn what we learned and giving me the tools with the help of the American Red Cross, to save a life that day and also giving me a gift that I can never repay.”

Sensational. The Tampa volunteers and supporters of the American Red Cross are inspired and we are all humbled by the fragility of life itself. Thanks for being you, Greg. 

Manifesto for Self

This post was written on my iphone pretty much as a collection of notes. It contains some ideas I revisit from time to time and some randomness.

I am snarky cynical and sarcastic. I don't want to be in any club that would have me as a member. Everyone deserves a chance but not everyone is equal in talent, drive or good fortune.It isn't easy being anybody but no one is better at being you. Make the world a better place even as you will be cheated. Clarity of vision in not necessarily a good thing. As you travel through life, my brother, whatever be your goal, keep your eye upon the donut and not upon the hole. Drive fast, I'll meet you there (Maybe). If I love you, you get one get out of jail free card. Live fast. Die out of town. Keep your head while all others are losing theirs. If you have wisdom, try to give it away to someone young and more credible than you. Epitaph: here lies...he died of peer pressure. Leave the party early but never leave a baseball game until the end of the ninth. The greatest gift is given anonymously. Although I have been accused of being a leader, it is not the case. I am more likely the first one down the path of least resistance. Don't succumb to politics. Instead, change the rules of the game. Hildred said: “Rude, crude and ill mannered.”  Go Crusaders! God exists but he might not care, or worse he (or she) is laughing at you. Until we die, we cannot know that death is not the greatest joy. You may not know it now but your brother is your best friend. I will do anything for you kids as long as you remember said the woman who eventually can't remember their names. Be a fearless biller. You have talent and that has value. No effort goes unrewarded. It takes all kinds of people to make the world go around. Remember to stop and smell the flowers. Every engagement begins with the intent to be part of the solution. As time goes on you compromise and thereby are part solution and part problem. Try to avoid becoming only part of the problem. (Easier said than done.) If it doesn’t fit, you must acquit. Pay attention to negative space.  

Rubric for Art?

Rubrics have become popular with teachers as a means of communicating expectations for an assignment, providing focused feedback on works in progress and grading final products. Although the word rubric can be interpreted in slightly different ways, the commonly accepted definition is a document that articulates the expectations for an assignment by listing the criteria, or what counts, and describing levels of quality from excellent to poor. Sounds reasonable, right?

This Spring the rubric Archeology of Place is identified in an exhibition catalogue called Mound City at Laumeier Sculpture Park. The catalogue boldly proclaims that this show is, in fact, the fifth exhibition to be so governed. That means these exhibitions are somehow judged by how well they live up to the academic quest intended to “celebrate and critique the unique role our city plays in the history and myths of America.” Really? If so, where is the scorecard for the five shows?

Mound City (2014), The River Between Us (2013), Camp Out: Finding Home in an Unstable World (2012), Dog Days of Summer (2011), Night Light; (Indoor/outdoor video exhibition 2010) - these five exhibitions, of which I have become somewhat familiar, are ephemeral for the most part. Most of this work will no longer be on display in ten years, (or in one year for that matter). Artists are invited to participate and commissioned to contribute. Sometimes grants help offset the costs. The director and chief curator of the park is the driving force for each show. She is knowledgeable and plugged into academic circles, museums, art collectors and the galleries that tend to shape perceptions in contemporary art. Presumably, she is held accountable to the board, of whom she selects. These well meaning citizens are buying the rhetoric and are pleased with the results. The partnership between the county parks and the foundation seems healthy and happy.

Work is underway for a new exhibition space and renovations to the estate house. Membership drives and fundraising activity continues. It seems that all is well. I’m just wondering where I can view the scoring rubric for five years of art exhibits. Or is that too much like suggesting the Emperor has no clothes?

Question for discussion: What role should a museum play in presenting contemporary art?

A Haiku for You

Haiku poems date from 9th century Japan to the present day. Haiku is more than a type of poem; it is a way of looking at the physical world and seeing something deeper, like the very nature of existence. A haiku poem consists of three lines, with the first and last line having 5 moras, and the middle line having 7. A mora is a sound unit, much like a syllable, but is not identical to it. Since the moras do not translate well into English, it has been adapted and syllables are used as moras. 

Here are three examples of the haiku. From Basho Matsuo, the first great poet of haiku in the 1600s:

An old silent pond...

A frog jumps into the pond,

splash! Silence again.

And an example of the haiku of Yosa Buson from the late 1700s:

A summer river being crossed

how pleasing

with sandals in my hands!

Here are a haiku from Kobayashi  Issa, a haiku master poet from the late 1700s and early 1800s:

O snail

Climb Mount Fuji,

But slowly, slowly!

Natsume Soseki (1867 – 1916) was a novelist and master of the haiku. An example:

Over the wintry

forest, winds howl in rage

with no leaves to blow.

And so I offer you (humbly submitted for your review) some haiku poems of my own. They are fun to write.

Haiku Just for You.

Something fun and new to do.

Wonder of Words yet a few.

Go mighty tigers

Teaching routine kindness, calm

Character counts here. 

Blue skies and green grass

The Summer days here at last

A day in the sun

Family fun day

Memories abound for now

Gone, not forgotten

Olympic Fever

Ribbon for the Throw, Run, Jump

And the day ends with a smile

Sunset on the lake

Camelot Forget me not
Edgewater Estate

Red Yellow and Blue

Making Orange Purple and Green

White Light goes Into the Night

So the end is near;

Climate Change, Political Maze,

Miles to go before we sleep

A flower in spring

We know now, it does not mean

It is here to stay

Monument/Anti-Monument

A convener is an individual or group responsible for bringing people together to address an issue, problem, or opportunity. Co-conveners Marilu Knode and Meridith McKinley did just that to expand the conversation about the role of sculpture, public art and monuments in a context of communities. The three-day event in St. Louis engaged 300 participants in a dialogue. Along the way the region found itself proudly showcasing its own unique and powerful commitment to art as it relates to our civilization.

Marilu is executive director of the Laumeier Sculpture Park and Meridith runs Via Partnership, a firm that facilitates planning and management of public art. So they are stakeholders in such an exchange. To their credit, this meeting of minds was not at all parochial. However, they are careful to leverage the assets of this region from the Saint Louis Art Museum, The Pulitzer Foundation for the Arts, The Contemporary Art Museum (CAM), Forest Park and the nearby Cahokia Mounds State Historic Site in Illinois.

“Saint Louis has the nickname ‘mound city’ precisely because this region was home to a civilization archeologists refer to as ‘Mississippians’ more than one thousand years ago. The mounds preserved here are part of that,” advises Bill Iseminger atop Monk’s Mound as he guides a group of conference participants. The Gateway Arch at Jefferson National Expansion Memorial can be seen on the horizon on this clear day as the visitors marvel at the remnants of an ancient civilization. This reference point and indeed the Arch itself serve a powerful reminder of what Marilu Knode refers to as “the archeology of place,” as the Laumeier Sculpture Park opens its Mound City exhibition with commissioned installations by artists Sam Durant, Marie Watt, Juan William Chavez, Geoffrey Krawczyk and others.     

The conference wraps up with a keynote address by artist Rafael Lozano-Hemmer. His work embraces a sense of space with light, sound, technology. He has had exhibitions around the world from San Francisco, Sydney, Buenos Aires and Singapore. He inspires the artists and academics in the room. He demonstrates how public space can be energized. "My work lives at the intersection of architecture and performance art" says Rafael Lozano-Hemmer. “It is just like a club: you set things up and hope people will come in and make it a scene. If they don’t, it’s okay. You move on and do something else.”

At the Chase Park Plaza hotel in the Central West End of Saint Louis on Sunday morning the remaining out-of-towners make arrangements for transportation back to their respective cities. They are, like everyone else who engaged in this comprehensive discussion, processing what it all means in the context of art, of history, and how they might apply principals to their respective   places as artists, as academics and as citizens.  

       

Archeologist Bill Iseminger guides visitors atop Monks Mound at the Cahokia Mounds State Historic Site in Illinois. The group exits Monks Mound.

A Mud Hut at Laumeier Sculpture Park (below) pays homage to ancient cultures of Mound City.

Parker, Michael and Daniel at the Old Rock House

Michael Rose (Bass), Parker Millsap, Daniel Foulks (Fiddle) in front of the Old Rock House in St. Louis April 2, 2014. 

If you live long enough, you will see some incredible things. If you are talented and ambitious enough, some of those things you will see will be early in your life.  Chances are, however, they will be out of the context of the rest of your time on this earth. Parker Millsap and his band are aware and gearing up for their performance at the Old Rock House in Saint Louis. These three musicians share a passion for performance. Out of context but in the moment.   

A true artist recognizes context, maybe instinctively, maybe with a bit of spirituality and captures it with something that resonates with an audience. The band agrees to pose in front of the venue just 20 minutes before show time. It was long enough to glean the bonds between band mates. Michael and Parker have been musical partners since ninth grade. That means they have been together maybe seven years. Daniel says he joined Parker Millsap a couple years ago. His beard is a symbol of the wisdom. He is grateful in their good fortune. “2014 has been very good to us. Things are falling into place and here we are in St. Louis.” Daniel says even as the trio can see the Gateway Arch. “Hey, can you climb up that thing?” asks Michael. The band mate joking laments life on the road leaves little time for national monuments and tourism. Scaling the Arch makes its way to the stage as part of the banter between Parker and Daniel. Parker also apologizes for the weather pattern that seems to be following them from Oklahoma this rainy night with hail and tornado watches in the forecast.

Opening Day Cardinals Baseball in St. Louis is just a few days away but the Parker Millsap band will be long gone. They may not make it to the top of the St. Louis Arch but they are on the rise. Michael, Daniel and Parker are happy to sign merchandise. They know this is part of building a brand. They do it with pleasure. Somehow they have a sense of the context by which they sign CDs and posters.

Parker says, “this is a song about junkies.” He laughs because it is rather a song about nursery rymes put into another sort of different context. Artists can do that sort of thing. Thanks to Parker, Michael and Daniel for bringing it to our town.

“Mary Mary quite contrary/How’d you get your eyes so scary/Lost your pocket full of posies /Pawned your rings and cut your roses/Now I see you out struttin’ on the corner/Working for a man named little Jack Horner”

For more information www.parkermillsap.com For Bookings  Davis McLarty - Atomic Music Group - 512- 444-8750 - davis@atomicmusicgroup.com