What Type of Capture Manager Are
You?:
How You Can Improve Your
Performance
APMP Webinar
December 2013
Eric Gregory, CPP APMP Fellow
A Few Introductory Thoughts
Capture
•
Knowing your Capture Manager type can
lead to more successes
Capture
•
Knowing your Capture Manager type
determines what help you need
Capture
•
Knowing your Capture Manager type tells
how you should execute your program
The Goal
Your Capture Manager type determines how you behave here and how you win.
The Capture Manager Box
Every Capture Manager Exhibits Some
Characteristics of all Types. One predominates.
Disrupter Visionary Strategic Tactical Mission-
focused
True Capture Cuts Across All Categories
The Disrupter
•
Strengths
•
Creative
•
Innovative
•
Energetic
•
Agile, moves fast and hard
•
Synthesizer of complex ideas
•
Weaknesses
•
Perceived as chaotic, disorganized
•
Blunt to a fault, hyper critical
•
Way ahead of the team
•
Intolerant of questioning
Strategies for Improving Performance
Team
Need stellar organizer on the team (senior proposal coordinator)
Need good functional leads who can execute fast, accurately and with personal touch (Solution, Pricing, Contracts, Subcontracts, Proposal, BD)
Need solid advisors willing to tell you when you go too far with ideas, pushing, and criticism
Need a really good scheduler who can lay out a plan and keep team on track
Program Execution
Slow down a bit. Not much. Keep the pace such that people can keep up
Take time to lay out strategy clearly. Simplify with graphics so people can visualize your solution
Encourage questions. “Got it?” “Anybody confused?” “Does this make sense?”
Always start meetings with a review of actions and schedule so people can see organization and progress
Let functional leads direct their areas. Guide don’t direct their teams.
The Visionary
•
Strengths
•
Focused on solution
•
Appreciates risk/reward
•
Develops clear paths to the future
•
Articulates the vision
•
Moves team toward the vision
•
Weaknesses
•
Lack of attention to detail
•
Lack of customer focus
•
Often selling more internally than
externally
•
Hard to connect dots between mission
and solution
Strategies for Improving Performance
Team
Need a BDer capable of keeping the focus on the customer
Need a Solution Architect and a Proposal Manager to focus on detail
Visionary Capture Manager MUST go on many calls with the customer(s) to stay grounded in mission needs and expectations
Need a really good PTW and Pricing team to remain competitive
Need a dedicated team competitive analysis expert for reality checks
Need an independent PTW expert
Program Execution
Get on the graphics early and use graphics as the principal means of communicating the vision
Place more emphasis on call plan and make sure each call has a specific strategy/objective to validate concepts
Have more frequent gate reviews to keep customer/competitive focus
Conduct multiple Blackhats at reasonable intervals for ground truth check
The Strategic
•
Strengths
•
Focused on long-term
•
Balances long-term/short-term goals
•
Effective long-range planning
•
Effective delegation
•
Builds team around specific actions
•
Weaknesses
•
Communicating strategy and actions
•
Connecting strategy and solution to
customer benefits
•
Keeping focus on progress
•
Expects team to achieve without
specific direction
Strategies for Improving Performance
Team
Get a proposal manager early and use them to manage action items
Get the proposal manager to issue formal capture or proposal directives providing specific direction
Get a conceptual graphic artist as a member of the core team
Get a proposal coordinator to capture and display metrics demonstrating real progress Get Solution Architects for each solution: technical, management, past performance, pricing—connects strategy with tactics
Program Execution
Use Executive Summary drafts to communicate strategy
Develop critical graphics early and use them to communicate value and benefits effectively in context
Hold effective weekly capture meetings where critical information, thoughts, expectations, and direction are communicated
Use a simple table to connect specific
strategies with specific actions (action item list labeling)
The Tactical
•
Strengths
•
Focused on short-term
•
Driver--gets short-term actions done
•
Effective day-to-day planning
•
Measures progress daily
•
Keeps team moving at good pace
•
Weaknesses
•
Strategy not connected with customer
needs
•
Fails to communicate “Big Picture”
•
Stands outside the team
•
Focuses on detail to exclusion of
changing conditions
Strategies for Improving Performance
Team
Get a strategist as a partner on your team— junior capture manager as deputy
Get a BD person as your communicator Get highly team oriented proposal manager Get BD person focused on the win
Get a proposal manager highly sensitive to changes in the customer and competitive field
Program Execution
Review strategy at every session and put prominently “on the wall” and graphically communicate connection to customer issues Distribute regular updates to Executive
Summary draft to vector in on the “Big Picture”
Rotate leading the action item review to gain team integration
Acknowledge detail orientation and ask team not let you fall into trap
The Mission-Focused
•
Strengths
•
Knows customer mission inside and out
•
Can connect strategy with key customer
issues, hot buttons, biases, hopes, fears
•
Understands competitive position
•
Translates issues into clear solutions
•
Weaknesses
•
Not a team organizer
•
Poor judge of team needs
•
Prefers hero execution model of capture
•
Poor communicator to team
Strategies for Improving Performance
Team
Get a great proposal manager to run day to day ops. Create the effective team of 2 not 22. Proposal manager hand picks coordinator to keep team organized and focused on day to day
Core team must be fleshed out with A players Proposal manager designated as team voice and communicator
Get the best Solution Architect available
Program Execution
Personally keep team focused on customer issues at every team meeting since you’re the expert
Work individually with each core team member to impart knowledge of customer and mission
Participate actively in all solutioning
Delegate, delegate, delegate…..do not become the bottleneck
Do weekly newsletter type update to team to force effective communication. Mark
The Technological
•
Strengths
•
Creates leading edge solutions
•
Solutions appear to have high value
•
Articulates complex solutions simply
•
Solutions solve major customer issues
•
Weaknesses
•
Solutions have no programmatic
backbone
•
Tends to be on leading edge of risk
•
Problem solving not supported by data
•
Alienates team with unrealistic solution
expectations
Strategies for Improving Performance
Team
Get a great risk analyst who can effectively identify, categorize, and mitigate risks
Get a systems engineering oriented Solution Architect who can lay out a realistic
implementation plan
Get a true conceptual graphic designer who can simplify visually a complex technology-based solution
Get a technology-oriented proposal manager capable of putting the technology-based solution in the customer’s context
Get your best PTW person wherever
Program Execution
Use facts and data to present solution: modeling, prototypes, test results must be presented for credibility
Design effective communications plan with customer(s). Must have acceptance before submittal
Use internal and external PTW experts and estimates
Develop comprehensive risk identification, management, and closure process early Have core team be your design review team and get buy in
What have we learned….?
• Understanding your Capture Manager type can affect the success of your capture
Objective 1
• You should build your core team based on what Capture Manager type you are
Objective 2
• You should build your capture program to leverage your
strengths and manage weaknesses to increase probability of win
Objective 3
• Failure to understand your Capture Manager type puts you and your capture program at risk
How do I know what type I am?
1. Look at the strengths and weaknesses of each type
presented. Which ones best represent you?
2. Look at your last 3 captures and identify problems that were
caused by you.
3. Correlate these in a simple table. The answer will reveal it
self quickly.
Wrap up…
“To lead people, walk beside them
... As for the best leaders, the
people do not notice their
existence. The next best, the
people honor and praise. The next,
the people fear; and the next, the
people hate ... When the best
leader's work is done the people
say, 'We did it ourselves!’”
Lao-tsu
Contact Information
Eric Gregory
Senior Vice President,
Capture and Proposal
Consulting-East
Shipley Associates
