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Writing the Qualifications Slot 187

written by others like him, and those qualification sections were written by still
others like him. The sections aren’t directed to specific readers in specific situa-
tions, with specific needs, problems, or opportunities. They are directed to what
I call “Generic World.” They contain discussions of abilities and capabilities that
could be read by almost any reader in almost any situation. They don’t focus on
the intersection of your abilities and capabilities with my needs or evaluation
criteria, and neither will the new qualifications section that the consultant will
write—or copy—from the old ones. In this chapter, I’ll show you how to write a
qualifications section that focuses on that intersection. 1

Your Qualifications Section Needs to Be an Argument

In Chapter 5, I showed you how to construct a logic tree to develop the actions
in your methodology. That logic tree structured an argument to address the key
question I wanted your methodology to answer: “How will you achieve the proj-
ect’s objective?” Your qualifications section also is an argument, and it also can
be developed with a logic tree. Now, however, my key question is not How? but
Why? Why are you the best-qualified firm, with the best-qualified team, to con-
duct this project? (See Figure 11.1.) The principles in building this “why” logic tree
are similar to those used to build the “how” logic tree in the methodology. In a
“why” logic tree, each box in one row of the logic tree stakes out a claim you must
substantiate, and each group of boxes below it argues why that claim is true.

We are the best-
We are the best-
qualified firm
qualified firm
Why?

Why? Why? Why?

FI GU R E 11 . 1 T he quali fi ca tions sec tion can be or ganiz ed b y a “wh y ” logic tr ee
FIGURE 11.1 The qualifications section can be organized by a “why” logic tree..