Holiday reading

Learning organisations are made up of learning individuals. And as a proposal management professional, there’s always room to add to your domain expertise.

Extend your understanding of effective high-stakes bidding with these insightful reads.

Here are some of the classic and contemporary works we return to regularly to hone our craft and expand our thinking.

“Stop Bitching, Start Pitching” by Marty Kellard & Ian Elliot. Advertising industry veterans detail step-by-step the methods behind their exceptional hit rate.

“Perfect Pitch” by Jon Steel. A masterclass in persuasion from a leading practitioner of presentation and the art of a well-delivered argument.

“Good Strategy, Bad Strategy” by Richard Rumelt. The influential classic on designing a robust strategy to leverage strengths and overcome challenges.

“Sprint: How to Solve Big Problems and Test New Ideas in Just Five Days” by Jake Knapp with John Zeratsky & Braden Kowitz. A design thinking manual for rapid innovation, powerfully applicable to bid development sprints.

“The Levitan Pitch” by Peter Levitan. A from-the-trenches blueprint for increasing efficiency and effectiveness in your pitch process.

“How To Get New Business In 90 Days and Keep It Forever” by Wendy Evans. Actionable advice on business development, client satisfaction, and retention strategies for sustainable growth.

"Pitch Anything: An Innovative Method for Presenting, Persuading, and Winning the Deal" by Oren Klaff. A potent method for capturing attention, building desire, and prompting action based on recent neuroscience research.

“The Win Without Pitching Manifesto” by Blair Enns. An alternative approach to the conventional competitive bid, focused on building value and authority instead of playing the pitching game.

“Ted Talks: The Official TED Guide to Public Speaking” by Chris Anderson. Tips on how to develop, structure, and deliver compelling presentations, drawing on some of the most popular TED talks.

"To Sell Is Human: The Surprising Truth About Moving Others" by Daniel Pink. A thought provoking paradigm for influencing others from the political speechwriter turned popular social science author.

And one from the western front

Lastly, while it’s worth devouring everything you can find on the art and science of new business development, there’s also benefit in borrowing from other domains.

Like they say, if you want a new idea, read an old book.

Our go-to in this department is anything written about Jewish-German-Australian General Sir John Monash. The stakes don’t get higher nor the competition fiercer than the Western Front in 1918. And that’s where Monash took command of vast numbers of Australian and Allied soldiers, revolutionised the practice of warfare, and arguably helped turn the tide of the war.

Monash was courageous, creative and thorough. An expansive thinker, he integrated diverse elements, including emerging technologies, into a cohesive and focused strategy. A meticulous planner, he tightly orchestrated logistical details down to the supply of hot meals to troops on the front line.

Sounds like the ideal bid team leader.