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TZL: What is the greatest problem to overcome in the proposal process? RA: I don’t know if it’s the biggest problem, but a signifi- cant problem is ensuring that your BD team is focused on the right proposals. It is important to be disciplined in your pursuits. Everything after that is execution. TZL: Once you have won a contract, what are the “march- ing orders” for your PMs? RA: The external marching orders are to ensure that we ful- ly understand the client’s needs and objectives and that we have the best solutions. From an internal perspective, it’s all about proactively managing scope, fee, and schedule. TZL: How does marketing contribute to your success rate? Are you content with your marketing efforts, or do you think you should increase/decrease marketing? RA: Marketing is very important to our firm’s success; it’s foundational to our business development model. It in- creases market awareness, positions us as a “top-of-mind” solution for clients and prospects and communicates the unique value proposition associated with partnering with Jones|Carter. In terms of our investment in marketing, we closely track our results against objectives for all of our cam- paigns and regularly adjust our tactics and investments. As such, it’s possible to be simultaneously increasing and de- creasing marketing efforts across the firm, depending upon the phase of the individual marketing campaign. “Winning work is largely about identifying opportunities and overcoming objections. We believe that it’s important to be objective about our prospects for success and focus our business development activities in those areas that hold the greatest potential.” TZL: What has your firm done recently to upgrade its IT systems? RA: Jones|Carter has made investments in: ❚ ❚ A global file sharing platform ❚ ❚ System-wide upgrades to servers and communications/con- nectivity ❚ ❚ Implemented a managed care program to replace our previous “break-fix” maintenance model ❚ ❚ Upgraded our disaster recovery capabilities ❚ ❚ Implemented more robust cyber security technology See CONFERENCE CALL, page 8

we must work to resolve those issues before pursuing pay- ments. If the client is experiencing financial stress then we endeavor to work out a payment plan that is consistent with our level of effort and risk appetite. “Every business must be focused on cash management. As a technical labor selling business, it’s important that we manage our billing process such that we generate timely and project-appropriate invoices.”

TZL: What’s the recipe for creating an effective board?

RA: There are two critical roles that the board of directors must play: 1)The board must reflect the views and objectives of the ma- jority of the shareholders and must work to ensure that the company vision, mission, and performance is consistent with those of the owners. 2)The board must conduct itself as a board and not as a man- agement committee. In many engineering firms, it’s common for employees to serve on the board of directors. This means that internal directors must be able to distinguish between their roles as line managers and board representative. As a board member, the director needs to focus on strategy, corpo- rate culture, risk management, financial performance and the like. Day-to-day execution has to be left to the organization’s management team.

TZL: Is there a secret to effective ownership transition?

RA: I don’t think there’s a secret, but you definitely have to put a transition plan in place that addresses the risks, tim- ing, and the firm’s ongoing capital needs. As with any im- portant planning document, the concepts need to be social- ized with the current ownership and procedures established to ensure that the plan is executed fairly and equitably. It’s also important to scrupulously stick to the plan that’s been established.

TZL: How do you go about winning work?

RA: Winning work is largely about identifying opportuni- ties and overcoming objections. We believe that it’s impor- tant to be objective about our prospects for success and fo- cus our business development activities in those areas that hold the greatest potential. This entails creating effective account plans, implementing a robust “go-no go” process, and creating meaningful and measurable milestones to as- sess progress. In that effort, considerable time is spent on developing relationships with clients and influencers and crafting a message that clearly conveys our unique value proposition, which if done properly, gives us a tremendous advantage before the RFQ is published.

rch 20, 2017, ISSUE 1192

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