2. Bid team success can be measured both
in terms of winning bids,and in their
ability to bring their best game to each
and every bid.
The best strategy in the world will fail if
the team is ineffective,so we look to
prepare the team before we give them
the game plan.
For every bid there is a leader,and a
team, and the individuals within that
team. We need inspiring leaders,
powerful teams and high performance
individuals who have a sustainable way
of creating winning bids.
Muhammad Ali
PLAYING THEGAME.
2
3. Michael Jordan, Basketballer
AND WINNING.
The entire bid process is much like a
season of sport, it is the pre season
where we can begin to create change,
and set the foundations for a match fit
bid team!
We’re about to take a look behind the
scenes of a bid team...and uncover the
3 challenges thatare holding them back
from winning more bids.
We’ll enter The Locker Room and
identify the key gamechangers for each
of the challenges to ensure they are
match fit and ready to hit the ground
running for the next bid.
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6. CONFESSIONS OF ABID MANAGER
WE ARE
LOSING TIME
LOSING STAFF
LOSING BIDS
”We’re losing sleep….”
“We’re losing time…..”
We’re losing bids......”
”Everyone get’s so
stressed out during
bids...and it can cause
some serious friction
within the team”
”I don’t feel like we’re coming up with any
new ideas....it’s just business as
usual...we aren’t improving.”
“We have teams that are fatigued and
disengaged at the end of a bid –
regardless of the outcome (win / lose)"
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CHALLENGE #1 – LEADERS
7. CREATEINSPIRING LEADERS
Now more than ever our leaders need to be more than
a source of information. The reality is that leaders are
required to do so much more than merely provide
direction.
In fact, research shows that directive leadership is notonly
outdated,it is ineffective and potentially damaging.
Just like a sports coach,it’s the bid directors role to lead,
to motivate and to bring out the strengths of the team. The
best leaders know that their success or failure depends on
their ability to inspire and guide their teams.
It is worth taking the time in the pre-season to reflect on
past learnings,assess the currentteam, understand the
upcoming bid,and create an environmentof clarity and
capability.
By creating their own personal game plan for the bid
ahead,they can be proactive and prepared,and positively
impact the effectiveness and success of the bid.
7
8. 8
CHALLENGE #2 – INDIVIDUALS
By their very nature bids are up and down,
high energy followed by lulls… and then panic
stations at the eleventh hour.
Some people thrive under the pressure, others
crumble....and they become disconnected and
innefective.Even those who love the
challenge ofa fast paced bid can’tsustain the
stress forever.
We need to create
sustainable practises!
Let’s help our people stay on
the ball, in the team, and
match fit!
Our people are stressed out, burnt out...and checked out!
Then comes the emotional rollercoaster of
putting your heart and soul into a bid only to
lose...and yes, there’s always next time, but
what if the losses outweightthe wins?
How do we keep our teams motivated and
positive.
10. CHAMPIONS
Unique learnings from previous bids,time and space
for creative thinking,collaborative problem solvers,
proactive from the start, energy and capability are
high,the team is passionate aboutbid success!
TEAM PLAYERS
Active ongoing streamlining and development,working
well as a team, hitting targets, supporting and good
communicating,willing to learn and focused on bid
success. They bring other team members up with them!
BENCHWARMERS
Avoiding work,avoiding each other,avoiding
deadlines,avoiding meetings,avoiding turning up to
work, avoiding change,disengaged,and disinterested.
Wasting time and money, risking bid failure.
OPPONENTS
Resentful,fatigued and actively disengaged.Not
interested,not capable,fearful, detrimental to the rest
of the team. Pessimistic from previous bids. Wasting
time and money and destroying your chance of a
successful bid.
About 75% of employers rate
team work and collaboration as
“very important”, yet
39% of employees believe
that people in their own
organisation don’t
collaborate enough.
97% of employees
and executives believe
lack of alignment
within a team
impacts the outcome
of a task or project.
CHALLENGE #3 – TEAMS
INNOVATIVE
COHESIVE
EVASIVE
DESTRUCTIVE
What we
want…
What we
don’t
want…
10
11. ACCEPT THE WINSAND LOSSES
Stay motivated and engaged
CREATE
COHESIVE
TEAMS
PLAY THE BALL....NOT THE MAN
Don’t take or make things personal
PASS THE BALL
Share the load
PLAY BY THE SAME RULES
Gain clarity and purpose
ORANGESAT HALF TIME
Sustain your energy
FOLLOW THE GAMEPLAN
Walk the same path
PLAY THE LONG GAME
Be patient and focused
GO FOR THE GOALS
Share the vision
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12. “When you’re at
the top of your
game, change
your game.
Go for the gap”
Graham Henry, former New Zealand All Blacks Coach
GETMATCH FIT
IN THEPRESEASON
When we do the groundwork in the preseason
we create an environmentofinnovation and a
sustainable method ofbidding with success.
In this strategic and streamlined environment,
where our leaders inspire,our teams
collaborate,and our individuals are high
performing,we begin to create the time and
space for lateral and creative thinking.
Our teams will have the confidence to speak
up, the compassion to encourage their
colleagues,and the capacity as a team to
explore and develop newly identified
opportunities and initiatives.
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13. 3 Key Questions For You
1. Do our leaders inspire their team?
2. Do our people stay sustained and
focused during each bid?
3. Are we bringing our best game to
every bid?
Having a mentally fit, game ready
team allows them to ‘lift’ at crucial
times and sustain the ‘hum’ the
rest of the time.
They are committed to (and excited by) the idea of
submitting a truly outstanding bid.They feel
supported,they share a common vision, and they
understand the vital role they play.
If we have sustained our team during the bid
developmentphase they will be fit and full of
energy to rise to the challenge in this final stage.
If we’ve got it right they’ve actually got fitter and
not fatigued and with the supportof those around
them they are ready to kick things up a notch and
rise to the challenge in the final stage!
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14. A powerful speaker,trainer and coach, Vickie travels the
world presenting to and working with sports, marketing and
business audiences.
Founder of leading sponsorship education company The
Sponsorship Consultants,Vickie is the world’s most
recognised thoughtleader on athlete sponsorship education.
Her work has been commissioned by the International
Olympic Committee,Team GB, Deloitte Singapore and the
Australian Institute of Sport, and her clientlist ranges from
local athletes and companies rightthrough to Olympic
champions and global brands.
Author of 2 books on commercial athlete sponsorship,Vickie
loves the strong connections between sportand business.
A decade of working in high pressure bid teams, on projects
ranging from 1 million to 1 billion AUD,Vickie found a love for
this challenging yetintensely rewarding environment.
Privy to her fair share of bid launches,alliance workshops,
strategy sessions and stressed out all nightdocument
preparation,Vickie knows justhow good it can be…..and also,
how horrible it can get at times.
Working on some of Australia’s biggestand most important
bids, she understands how crucial it is for bid managers and
their teams to iron out creases and create a supportive culture.
Her experience is that bid teams need to develop a truly
efficient, effective and sustainable way of mitigating the risks of
participating in consecutive,high pressure bids.
“I’m privileged to work alongside the worlds mosteffective teams
and highestperforming athletes,and have learned so much from
the athletes themselves as well as their supportteams."
“I’ve seen first hand the damage a dysfunctional team can cause
to companies….to an individuals wellbeing and productivity,to
the sustainability ofthe team, the success of bids and to the
company itself”
BUSINESS BIDS SPORT
BUSINESS SPORT
Vickie
Saunders
About
the
Author
14
