#54: A Better Approach to Go/No Go Decision-Making
Deciding whether an AEC firm should pursue a project or not, can turn into heated debates and result in hurt feelings. Some AEC firms have a pretty stringent go/no go process, that quite frankly can be manipulated. Other firms have some sort of evaluation. Many don’t have any go/no go consideration at all. They just go after all RFPs.
That’s probably why you want to listen to this episode. Maybe your firm doesn’t have a go/no-go decision-making process but wants to start one. OR you do have one, sort of, but everyone just ignores it. Either way, you want to help your firm make better decisions when it comes to what projects to pursue so you will have time to properly position, time to create beautiful and compelling proposals, and frankly, just have a life outside of work.
Even if you’re not the person making the ultimate decision, I want you to know that you can lead and facilitate this go/no go decision-making process for your firm.
In this episode, I share why I think it’s so hard for AEC Firms to make these decisions or stick to a process, what the REAL purpose of a go/no go decision should be, and walk you through an example of go/no go evaluation process you can implement at your firm. Stay to the end to learn how to get example go/no go evaluation questions.
Here are a few episode highlights:
- Why it’s so hard to make timely go/no go decisions
- Purpose of a meaningful go/no go decision
- Reasons to do evaluate every project to pursue
- Best practices for a go/no go evaluation process
- Coming to a consensus that minimizes frustration and hurt feelings
- Decision-making criteria
- Sample go/no-go decision-making questions
Go/No Go Decision-Making Example
Below is an example go/no go decision-making matrix. You will see that it includes sample criteria or factors that were considered for an example project. It looks at positive, neutral, and negative aspects for each criterion. The idea is to develop and review this as a group to reach a consensus.
And if you need even more inspiration to help you develop your go/no go decision-making, I have put together a list of 32 questions. I have personally used most of these in the past. Others I have gathered through research and collected from other marketers. Get your copy by clicking the image below. Feel free to use and adapt for your firm as needed.
In the end, I think everyone wants what is best for the firm and its success. Making better go/no go decisions, especially those that are a result of a consensus, allows you and your firm more time to focus on proposals that have the greatest chance of winning and more time to produce higher quality proposals.
Your Turn
Now I want to hear from you – does your firm have a go/no go evaluation process? And if so, how effective do you think it is? Share your thoughts in the comments below. And, don’t forget to grab the sample questions by clicking on the image above.
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