The area of assessment criteria in a RFP could easily be a book on its own. Everyday questions arise when governments are writing RFPs, or contractors are responding to them.
Organizations function best when they are cohesive, when all parts of the organization work together as a single unit for the same purpose.
I am attending the Canadian Construction Association’s (CCA) annual conference in Vancouver this week, which sets the perfect example of industry unity for the entire country.
I have attended this conference for several years and it has the feeling of a family reunion with everyone attending innovative sessions and engaging with each other with positive feedback.
An important reason for conferences like the CCA is to foster the right attitude within each organization.
As in the sports arena, a team functions well when there is a strong team spirit, where all members of an organization and industry identify with the goals that have been set and believe that all levels within the organization are working towards those goals.
Teams function best when decisions enjoy consensus support. Consensus means broad support across the organization and industry. Every organization must grapple with the question of how much support exists for a proposal before it is allowed to proceed.
A bare majority may satisfy many legal requirements, but the question remains as to whether it is wise to proceed where there is such a slim endorsement for an idea.
To ensure broad based support, many organizations employ a 70-30 rule, under which an organization will proceed with a major or critical proposal only if there is at least 70 per cent support for the proposal among those who are likely to be affected by it. To garner such a level of support, it is usually necessary for the most controversial elements of a proposal to be reduced or eliminated.
If controversial elements are essential to the proposal’s success or viability, they should be cut back to the limit of what is necessary. The 70-30 approach recognizes that unanimity is only rarely possible in a large group. However, it also reflects the need for broad based support for the idea that it is to be pursued.
Joint ventures and P3 projects explain why leaders often need to form strategic alliances with other leaders, or between respective organizations, in order to improve the chances of successfully implementing their individual objectives.
When two or more organizations consider a co-operative venture, the CEOs of each need to ask themselves a number of pointed questions, both with respect to the role to be played by their own organization and that to be played by the prospective alliance partner.
Over the years, as a CEO, I have had to make these exact decisions. This is my top 10 list of questions to ask when entering a joint venture:
What is each prospective partner seeking?
Why does the other organization wish to partner with the leader’s organization? Why not another organization?
Are the goals of each organization compatible? If not, where are there inconsistencies, can these problems be resolved?
Are the cultures of the leader’s organization and those of the proposed partner compatible?
How will the proposed co-operative venture be managed? Are the management styles of the partners compatible?
In what other alliances is the prospective partner involved? How have those partnerships worked out?
Are other alliances of the prospective partner compatible with the proposed partnership?
What strength does each proposed partner add to the intended partnership? How necessary is that strength? What is the cost of obtaining it? Is the benefit to be derived worth the cost?
Is the proposed partner the best possible fit for the role?
Does the proposed partnership lay the groundwork for future expansion, such as the addition of new partners, or possible expanded or additional fields of co-operation?
It is not necessary to obtain a positive answer to each of the 10 questions. It is deeply troubling however, if most of the answers with respect to a proposed strategic partner or co-operative venture are negative.
Stephen Bauld is a government procurement expert and can be reached at swbauld@purchasingci.com. Some of his columns may contain excerpts from The Municipal Procurement Handbook published by Butterworths.
Recent Comments
comments for this post are closed