Page 75 - Writing Winning Business Proposals

66 Writing Winning Business Proposals

2. Upper boxes express the result
1. Each box is an action that 2. Upper boxes express the result
1. Each box is an action that
of the actions performed below
implies a result, a deliverable. of the actions performed below
implies a result, a deliverable.
them.
them.
Make a butter
Make a butter
sandwich.
sandwich.
(How?)
(How?)
Butter one side of Join the buttered
Butter one side of
each slice of Join the buttered
each slice of
sides.
bread. sides.
bread.
3. Lower boxes explain how the 4. A grouping must be MECE
3. Lower boxes explain how the
4. A grouping must be MECE
upper action will be (mutually exclusive and
(mutually exclusive and
upper action will be
performed. collectively exhaustive).
collectively exhaustive).
performed.
our charac
FIGURE 5.3 The four characteristics of a logic tree
f
a logic tr
e
e
t
eristics o
f
F
E
5.3
R
G
U
I
T
he
Now let’s assume that you want more to eat than a butter sandwich, though
given the limited amount of food in your refrigerator, the butter sandwich will
have to serve as the main course. So instead of the box “make a butter sandwich,”
we substitute the box “prepare main course,” and we include two other boxes on
the same level, as shown in Figure 5.4.
What will be the result of those three top boxes? Prepared food, as shown in
Figure 5.5. The top box, then, will again be an action that expresses that result:
Each box needs to be an action that expresses a result because depending on your
perspective, each box is either an action or a result.
Figure 5.6 builds the logic tree further, illustrating that each box on a higher
level must be connected to a grouping below it comprising at least two boxes.
Now, if I wanted to try your patience even more, I could continue building the
logic tree ever upward. I also could continue to build it downward, since further
actions could be required to explain how you butter one side of each slice of bread
and join them together. What determines where you start and how far down you go?
I can explain the “down” part in one sentence: As far down as you need to go so that
your reader or listener no longer asks “How?” That’s easier said than done, consider-
ing that your methodology will rarely be presented to just one person. Someone like
Ray Armstrong, ABC’s president, for example, may not want to see a methodology
built as low as would someone like Paul Morrison, the chief industrial engineer.
Explaining where the logic tree begins will take two more paragraphs. Assume you
have a potential client to whom you’ve been trying to sell for some time. You have had
several meetings with her and have developed a fairly sound business relationship, but
so far you’ve been unable to make the sale. It so happens that she and your best friend