I’ve seen lots and lots of RFPs over the years and some very good ones recently. A good RFP—at least in my view, and I’m not making any claims about objectivity here—has agencies respond to a few focused questions as a pre-qualification and sets the stage for in-person presentations. However, I’ve also seen RFPs that go a bit further and delve into some serious minutia. Make sure your margins are an inch all around, use a certain typeface, alphabetically list every client you’ve ever worked for, etc. A year or so ago, we received an RFP with this kind of flavor, and we quickly determined that the cost (in hours) to respond exceeded the project budget detailed within the RFP. That’s a no-brainer: we opted out. Worse, though, was that the RFP’s intense granularity didn’t seem to serve much purpose. It created hoops to jump through that were unnecessary, especially…
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“Every time I see an adult on a bicycle, I no longer despair for the future of the human race.”
H.G. Wells Author, Historian
A short history of revelation “Eureka!” This is the exclamation Archimedes shouted while running through the streets naked. He’d just invented a method for measuring the volume of an object through water displacement. A new gold crown had been made for King Hiero II, and Archimedes was tasked with determining if the crown was solid gold. Archimedes had to measure the crown’s density without damaging it in the process. While taking a bath, Archimedes noticed that the water level rose as he got in. He then realized submerging an object in water displaces an amount of water equal to its own volume. Dividing the weight of the crown by the volume of water displaced would yield its density—which would be lower if silver or other lighter alloys were present. Archimedes was so excited by this inspiration that he didn’t bother getting dressed for his celebration. Another popular story claims that…
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Competition is the by-product of productive work, not its goal. A creative man is motivated by the desire to achieve, not by the desire to beat others. Ayn Rand Author
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Lately I’ve been taking note of companies that really make an effort to create a positive environment and experience for their customers, and sadly, those that don’t. Granted, many factors come together to create a positive experience for a consumer—from finding a convenient parking space to being greeted by a friendly staff person. But why is the actual environment—the aesthetics, the architecture, the signage, the paint color—so often overlooked by marketers and business owners? Many retailers, restaurants and other service-related companies really hit a homerun in this department. A few of may favorite brand experiences include shopping at the flagship REI store in Seattle or slurging for groceries at Whole Foods. My favorite weekend getaway is a visit to The Inn at Langley. These experiences are memorable, unique, healthy and inviting. So, it could be argued that grocery stores and retailers and even a few banks, really have come a…
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