Page 30 - Writing Winning Business Proposals

Understanding the Baseline Logic 21

of these desired results is related to three types of projects you could propose:
insight, planning, or implementation. In an Insight Project (the left column of
Figure 2.2), I don’t know if my organization should change, so I may desire a
competitive assessment or an identification of potential opportunities. Market
surveys, benchmarking studies, and audits fall into this category, and your proj-
ect’s objective could include words such as assess, compare, determine, evaluate,
understand, and identify. You provide me insight, which has value because it
makes me and my organization smarter and provides a basis for learning whether
we need to change.
In a Planning Project (the middle column of Figure 2.2), I already know that
I need to change, because I have insight but don’t know how to change, so I may
desire a plan detailing how my organization should change. Your project’s objec-
tive could begin with words such as develop, determine, define, or recommend.
In an Implementation Project (the right column of Figure 2.2), I know that I
want to change and I know how to change because I have a plan, but I need addi-
tional resources or expertise to implement the change. Therefore, your project’s
objective could be to implement, to increase or improve, or to decrease or reduce
some specific operational parameter by definable measures.
How many objectives your project will have depends on what my current situ-
ation is (lack insight, have insight, or have plan) and where I want to be at the end
of your proposed project. For example, assume that my S1 state is characterized
by lack of insight: I don’t know if we should enter a particular market. Assume
that my desired result is to gain such insight. In this instance, you would move
me one step, and therefore your study would have only one objective: to provide
insight about whether I should enter that market. As Figure 2.3 illustrates, there
are three possible combinations of S1 and S2 states that involve a movement of one
step and therefore involve only one objective.
In some cases, I might want your efforts to move me two or more steps. Assume
again that my current situation is characterized by lack of insight: I don’t know
if we should enter a particular market. My desired result, however, might involve
more than just insight—I might also want a plan for entering my target market.
In this instance, you will move me two steps, and therefore your project will have
two objectives. First, you will determine the feasibility of entering the market;
second, if entering appears attractive, you will develop a plan for doing so. Here,
then, you would propose a two-step project, and a single objective would govern
each step. As Figure 2.4 illustrates, there are two possible combinations of S1 and
S2 that involve a movement of two steps and a third combination that involves all
three steps.
Your proposal’s objective(s) expresses the major outcome(s) of your project. Therefore,
it must clearly indicate how far you will take me. As you’ll see in Chapter 5, this clarity is
essential if your proposal is to have a logical base on which to build your methodology.