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P/Strada's Top 10 Favorite Business/Proposal Development-Related Books

The OCIO recently completed installation of the Statewide Public Safety Radio System for use by all state agencies as well as other government entities and utilities. The next step required for suc-cessful completion of the project was to accomplish statewide cov-erage testing to ensure contract compliance. In order to do this, temporary employees were hired in a three-week time frame work-ing in the window between when tower antennae were placed and prior to the loss of Fall foliage.

1. Hope Is Not A Winning Strategy. . . But Price To Win (PTW) Is: An insider’s guide to Price To Win (PTW) (hardcopy) by Anthony Constable. A common complaint among proposal professionals is that PTW is conducted by a few individuals behind closed doors, and they seldom get hands-on experience building PTW models. This book closes the gap by providing a defined and repeatable model for developing PTW. Tony is one of the country’s leading PTW experts. (Recommended by Brenda Crist) 

2. Proposing to Win (available Used in hardcopy on Amazon.com) by David G. Pugh, Terry R. Bacon, and DeNeil Hogan Petersen. It’s out of print, but it’s one that if you find a copy, you buy it immediately – lays out the proposal process and shows the steps to follow for large, medium, small proposals. (Recommended by Kristin Pennypacker)

3. Selling to the Government – What it takes to compete and win in the world’s largest market (hardcopy and Kindle) by Mark Amtower. An easy read with lots of tips for the novice as well as the professionals on how to win the government market. (Recommended by Bob Lohfeld)

4. The Basic Guide to Government Contracting: How to Build a Successful Business Selling Your Services and Products to the U.S. Federal Government (Kindle) by Gloria Larkin. I’m reading this over the Christmas break. (Recommended by Bob Lohfeld)
5. The Checklist Manifesto: How to Get Things Right (hardcopy and Kindle) by Atul Gawande. Shows the power of simplicity. (Recommended by Wendy Frieman)

6. The First 90 Days: Critical Success Strategies for New Leaders at All Levels (hardcopy and Kindle) by Michael Watkins. Whether you are stepping in to lead a new group for a proposal or starting a new job, this book helps develop realistic strategies for transition and change management. (Recommended by Lisa Pafe)

7. The Trusted Advisor (hardcopy and Kindle) by David H. Maister, Charles H. Green, and Robert M. Galford. Explains the importance of trust for consultants in building customer relationships, and how to build it with clients to ensure mutual success. (Recommended by Lisa Pafe)

8. The Trusted Advisor Fieldbook (hardcopy and Kindle) by Charles H. Green and Andrea Howe. This follow-up book is hands-on step by step guide to develop your trust skill set, applicable to a wide range of career/project/proposal situations. (Recommended by Lisa Pafe)

9. Think Out of the Box (hardcopy) by Michael Vance and Diane Deacon. Fun book to get your creative juices flowing! (Recommended by Lisa Pafe)

10. Willpower: Rediscovering the Greatest Human Strength (hardcopy and Kindle) by Roy F. Baumeister and John Tierney. Shows the degree to which decision making creates stress and depletes mental energy – I use this information to reduce the number of decisions people on the proposal team have to make. (Recommended by Wendy Frieman)