Thursday, April 5, 2012

Hakuna Matata

I spent the last few months as a silent observer in the Vodacom bid management office. While I had coffee with their team this morning, the words made famous by the Lion King came to mind: "Hakuna Matata...it means no worries." What a wonderful phrase indeed. I have decided that is now my new life motto.


This ICT procurement business is quite complicated. With all sorts of requirements from sms bundles to providing entire communication solutions for customers, the life of a bid specialist is chaos, just chaos I tell you. Although at Vodacom the chaos seemed quite organised.


Here I am, lying on my back under a proposal file, hiding while the Vodacom proposal team independently go about doing what they do best.


So what have I learnt here? Zen and the art of proposal management. Here are the top 8 ways of finding your ‘hakuna matata’:


1. Bring your jovial presence to the office before you forget you have it. Walk in singing or telling a knock knock joke.

2. Have regular coffee sessions as a team to talk about absolutely nothing in particular but everything at the same time, a conversation may come in handy at same point.

3. Always have an emergency proposal kit. Flu medicine, vitamins and shifty looking regmaakers pumped with caffeine.

4. Create a wrestling tag team, tap them in when necessary.

5. Find time to eat and drink.

6. Ask for help, you never know how many people are willing to jumpstart your car.

7. Keep true to your objectives in your life, your career. Don’t get your priorities twisted.

8. And my personal favourite; when in doubt say a spell or two! You just never know…

And there you have it. As a proposal manager, remember there are no problems just ways to deal with life. The bid specialists at Vodacom remember this. And look how relaxed they seem.