Blog
Oct 29, 2019
Is There a Place for the War Room Any More?
by Kevin A. Switaj
We live in an interconnected world. When I have to travel to support my clients, I take some small comfort in being able to FaceTime to say good night to my children. I regularly use text messaging and WhatsApp to communicate with consultants and clients across the country and around the world. I recently led a proposal effort where the team was able to collaboratively develop strategies and content from two different US time zones, the UK, central Europe, and the Middle East.
Given this proliferation of communication tools to make our lives easier, many wonder if there is still a place for the in-person proposal war room. As we continue to develop better tools and processes to promote virtual content creation and collaboration, is the in-person proposal effort in its death throes? I would argue it is not. There are several reasons that proposal war rooms should continue to have a key role in our proposal efforts.
collaboration is better in person
In my article ‘The Hybrid Approach,’ I laid out the primary reasons why collaboration is better in person. As I show in that article, scientific studies prove that we work better when we are in the same location. Spontaneous ideas more easily flow, individuals are more engaged in the process, and people are less distracted by other devices (phones, television, emails). In addition, during the proposal process individuals can review content on the wall in the war room. This approach not only increases the quality of the work product through iterative comments, but also allows the team to see other sections easily. They can then use that content and input to improve their own sections.
sense of team and comradery
It can be very hard to build a sense of team when everyone is geographically dispersed. Contributors tend to feel isolated and detached from the broader group. However, when the team is in the same place, a sense of comradery develops. When you are working long hours and struggling with content, it is easier to get the help you need (whether it is information or just a pick-me-up) when you are in the same place. In addition, the value of inside jokes to team building and coordination is important to success in the proposal effort.
rally the troops!
Many times, a proposal needs a little extra something. I call it the ‘kick in the pants’ moment. It’s a natural impact of working on an effort for an extended period of time, especially when it is not your ‘day job.’ The possibility to get the team together, build them up, and deliver the Vince Lombardi-esque speech can work wonders. It is also incredibly difficult to do via a conference call.
conclusion
I recently wrapped up multiple proposal efforts where we combined virtual and in-person development. For one, we would get as many people together as we could for reviews and strategy discussions. For the other, we developed content virtually but spent the final week of the effort co-located to get the proposal over the finish line. In both cases, there was tremendous value to spending some of our time in a war room. It made our proposals stronger and ensured we caught and resolved problems quickly. Whenever possible, I like to mix in-person development into the proposal life cycle. The war room may be diminishing in importance but it still holds a key place in many proposal efforts.