Page 73 - Writing Winning Business Proposals

64 Writing Winning Business Proposals

You might believe that a compulsively logical methodology is not an important
factor in my decision-making process—and sometimes that’s the case. But more
often than not, I suspect you use this belief to rationalize your lack of effort in
developing logical methodologies (and effective project workplans after you have
been awarded the assignment).
Likewise, you may believe that the more detailed the methodology, the greater
the chance that I will take it and apply it myself, using my own resources. Yes, I’m
certain that such things happen, but nowhere near as frequently as you believe.
Listen, I want as good a relationship with a dependable, results-oriented prob-
lem solver as you want with me. If we can develop an acceptable level of trust, I
believe that the risk to you is minimal. Moreover, if I believe that the methodol-
ogy is critical, you won’t win without a logical, well-thought-out one.
I also suspect that you may not have a structured and rigorous way of con-
structing a clear and logical methodology. I do. Let me share it with you. It
involves the following four steps:

1. Clearly identify the project’s objective(s), based on my overriding question(s).
2. Place each objective at the top of a logic tree, and order the actions necessary
to achieve it.
3. Sequence the actions.
4. Identify and integrate the activities necessary for planning and communicating
your proposed actions.

I’ll discuss each of these steps in this chapter. But first, because the key to complet-
ing them is a logic tree, I need to tell you what that is and how to construct one.

Using Logic Trees

2
According to Barbara Minto in The Minto Pyramid Principle, a logic tree (Minto
calls it a pyramid) is a framework for organizing ideas, a framework for logi-
cal thinking. It structures a group of actions and their consequences that, taken
together, produce a desired result. A logic tree is based on the assumption that
sequences of actions are performed to achieve a specific result. That is, actions are
not random; they are undertaken deliberately. A logic tree expresses these actions
and the reason they are performed. For example, let’s say you decide to perform
the following two actions in Figure 5.1. Why would you do so?
The answer might be to make a butter sandwich (Figure 5.2), which is not nec-
essarily a great sandwich or a culinary challenge but is a good illustration for my
purposes at this point.
Here we have a logic tree. It contains a single box at the top. That box implies a
result, the ends, in this case a butter sandwich. The boxes below it are the actions,