I am relaxed and recharged after visiting the fine city of Indianapolis to attend the recent netlogx team building activities. Despite plenty of team members being caught up with billable work, those of us remaining traveled in from several different states for what turned out to be a great experience. I enjoyed catching up with people I am familiar with as well as meeting and learning about some of our newest team members.

2018.JoelGutzki1

The two (2) days of sessions went well and I particularly enjoyed “The Three (3) R’s of Proposals: Reading, ‘Riting, and Re-doing”. After hearing some stories relating to the recently-submitted Kentucky Request For Proposal (RFP), I admit I was a little unsure of what this training would entail. However, in the end it was a lot less stressful than I imagined.

Team members were tasked with reviewing a co-worker writing sample, and then performing a 70% content review, applying “win themes” using client “hot buttons.” Basically, we had to cater our response to the client requests using their provided documentation. If the client provided examples of any specific solutions they cannot obtain by themselves, it is our job as consultants to provide ideas and services that can.

Response criteria included: what processes the author was responsible for, role-based activities, artifacts produced, and why these activities and artifacts are important to the author’s part of the project’s success. As re-writers, we addressed three (3) questions:

  • Did the author address all the requirements?
  • Can you suggest a way for a portion of the content to be stated more clearly?
  • Is there too much and/or repetitive content that can be eliminated?

Again, I admit I was more nervous than I should have been for this activity. Watching my coworkers make edits using their creativity was fun. I would say that every re-written response I listened to sounded fuller than the first, so all that it took was an attempt. Great experience!