Podcasts about request for proposal

Missouri Soybean is looking to maximize research efforts for soybean farmers across Missouri. In this Spotlight on Soybeans Podcast, experts with MO Soy explain their survey to determine what research strategy would provide the best return on investment for soybean farmers, increase production on acres, and improve the quality and quantity of soybeans produced. Listen now to learn more about their annual request of proposal (RFP), which includes a seminar explaining the process and MO Soy expectations of state researchers.See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Kies jij voor het inkopen van software? In deze aflevering van de podcast bespreken we hoe je het aanpakt zodra je inziet dat 'buy' de beste optie is voor jouw organisatie, en je wel wat hulp kunt gebruiken bij het selecteren van de juiste software en leverancier. Samen met Jochem Nuij gaan we in op het proces van een Request for Proposal (RFP). We leggen uit hoe je een RFP opstelt, wat er precies in moet staan, en hoe je als product owner ervoor zorgt dat de ingekochte software succesvol wordt geïntegreerd in je product of organisatie. In deze aflevering hebben we het over: Request for Proposal, RFP, build vs buy, software-integratie, selectieproces, leveranciers, product owner, IT-projecten, kostenbeheersing. Over deze podcast: In de Product Owner podcast spreken we elke week met een interessante gast uit de wereld van product management en gaan we in op echte ervaringen, lessen en tactieken van product owners, ondernemers en specialisten. De Product Owner podcast is een initiatief van Productowner.nl.

RFPs, do inglês Request For Proposal, significa solicitações de propostas. Na advocacia, elas são utilizadas na seleção de escritórios para fornecer serviços jurídicos específicos a empresas. Esse processo, que conta com sete grandes fases, objetiva a contratação da melhor banca para atendimento personalizado. Neste episódio, convidamos Andrea Paolillo, que é gerente de Desenvolvimento de Negócios no TozinniFreire Advogados, para falar sobre as melhores práticas para participar de RFPs jurídicas.

RFPs, or Requests for Proposals, are a common way of soliciting work in the creative industry — and they can be an equally challenging (and often painful) process for everyone involved. In a written description alone, it can be difficult for a buyer to clearly articulate what service or product they're looking for in an RFP. This can leave folks in the creative industry pouring hours into a proposal that isn't actually what the client needs, which is a lose-lose situation for everyone. Personally, we think RFPs work best when treated like a job interview. Injecting a human-centric, communicative approach to the RFP process helps buyers find vendors who will be a good fit for their organization, and takes the hoop-jumping guesswork out of the process for the creatives in the vendor position. This week, we share strategies for making RFPs effective for both clients and vendors, what we think makes certain RFPs “junk,” and our best and worst experiences with responding to RFPs.

"Everyone's hungry' everybody is out there trying to catch those leads. We've seen a ton of RFPs go out recently, and one thing we're seeing is that a lot of clients are not going right back with the incumbent. We've been invited to a lot of dances where the incumbents weren't part of the equation or were eliminated quickly because they're looking for new blood. So that really tells you that the RFP process is going to become more and more competitive." - Lauren MinorsThe finer details of this episode:The slow pipeline and increased competition Retaining clients vs attracting new onesTracking success in RFPs and client feedback Episode resources:Summit Virtual CFO by Anders website – summitcpa.netEmail us with questions or if you'd like to be a guest on the show – vcpasuccessshow@anderscpa.comHome (reasononeinc.com)Lauren Minors | LinkedIn

Dive into the complex world of RFPs and why they fail for CRMs. The conversation is a deep dive into why businesses choose RFPs, where they fail when it comes to CRMs, and suggestions for rethinking the approach. Doug emphasizes moving away from only focusing on technical requirements and points to a more business processes-focused approach. Not to mention this HOT TAKE

Tommy submits his first RFP, and Dani is impressed! New episodes of Lyfe n' Shyt premiere every Wednesday! Join Tommy and Daneyel Walker, a power couple and business owners, on their journey overcoming fears, boundaries, marriage, family, lifestyle, business, and any other shyt you can think of. They're two individuals who came together to create one unit, with one mind, and one goal. #podcast #lyfenshyt #tommywalker #daneyellewalker #fears #boundaries #marriage #family #lifestyle #business --- Support this podcast: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/lyfenshyt/support

Your Past Doesn’t Dictate Your Future E39 What a treat! We skipped over the pleasantries and interview-style questions and dove straight into real talk! This episode of Collaborative Connections Radio Show and Podcast was chock full of advice, lessons learned, motivational quotes, mindset tips, and inspiring stories. Host, Kelly Lorenzen, was honored to be in […]

Your Past Doesn’t Dictate Your Future E39 What a treat! We skipped over the pleasantries and interview-style questions and dove straight into real talk! This episode of Collaborative Connections Radio Show and Podcast was chock full of advice, lessons learned, motivational quotes, mindset tips, and inspiring stories. Host, Kelly Lorenzen, was honored to be in […] The post Your Past Doesn’t Dictate Your Future E39 appeared first on Business RadioX ®.

On this episode, Gloria Castillo, Sr. Manager, Partner Programs at Loopio, discusses how Loopio built their partner program, outlining five key features as well as lessons learned. Loopio is Request For Proposal software that streamlines and automates the RFP process and allows for easy team collaboration. Particularly interesting is that in 2019 when Loopio wanted to get started building their partner program, Gloria, from a marketing and process improvement background, came aboard to help but had no real partner program experience. However, the numbers demonstrated their success, and by 2021, just a year later, 17% of the company's revenue was a result of the new partner program. Loopio's goal was to build a successful and certified network of partners and their first step was to define what success looked like to them. Five key features of Loopio's partner program are: 1. Partner onboarding 2. Partner Portal 3. Partner Academy 4. Co-marketing 5. Co-selling Gloria explains how each of the features work, and overall, the presentation provides valuable insights into what a successful partner program consists of. Note: SaaS Connect 2023 will take place in San Francisco April 19th and 20th. If you would like to be a sponsor, please contact us at admin@cloudsoftwareassociation.com for information. #saas #software #cloud Thank you to our amazing podcast team at Content Allies. Want to launch your own B2B revenue-generating podcasts? Contact them at https://ContentAllies.com.

#34 - In this episode, I'm talking with Justin Witz, Founder and CEO of Catapult HQ, Inc. about their RFP solution called "Catapult."

In this episode, we're talking with Michael Thompson, Vice President of Strategic Communications at Nuveen, who puts together RFPs; and Bethany Potter, Senior Manager, Growth & Administration at Proscenium Events who responds to them. This episode is chock full or actionable advice about the entire RFP process from both sides of the table. So hit the download button, screw your headphones on tight, and get ready to take notes.Michael Thompson joined the Global Media Relations team at Nuveen, a TIAA Company, in December of 2020 as Vice President of Strategic Communications with responsibility for executive communications and supporting strategic messaging for the firm's leadership, brand, and business priorities.Michael joined the firm after two years as Assistant Vice President for Executive Communications and Content Syndication at LPL Financial, where he was responsible for strategic message development and executive speechwriting for more than 20 advisor-facing conferences throughout the year. Prior to his tenure at LPL, he spent eight years as Executive Communications Manager at Lowe's Companies, Inc., writing speeches for C-Suite executives and creating messaging for major sales and leadership meetings. This followed a 13-year career in professional sports, including 11 seasons with two different National Basketball Association franchises as Director of Corporate Communications and other community relations and game operations roles.Bethany Potter joined the Production team at Proscenium in 2016, working on events for brands like HEINEKEN USA, Harley-Davidson, Lowe's, and Ortho Clinical Diagnostics. She also managed many of Proscenium responses to RFPs. She has expanded her role from Production to Business Development Manager, to her current role of Senior Manager of Growth and Administration (and ProCast Producer!) where she manages almost all of Proscenium's RFP responses.CREDITSHosted and Written by Jeremy DobrishProduced by Bethany PotterTheme Music by Mike ManciniLogo design by Shraddha MaharjanSpecial thanks to Dossie McCraw WHERE TO FIND USProscenium WebsiteLinkedInInstagramTwitterFacebook

Dios nos hace una invitación a acrécenos a Él. En este Podcast te decimos tres razones por la que debes aceptar su solicitud.

The role of county auditor goes beyond numbers and spreadsheets. Missoula County Auditor Dave Wall shares how his office keeps the County's spending in check not just by tracking  dollars and cents but through incorporating value into every transaction. Wall shares his journey of working up from the County mail room to elected official and the progression of learning how his personality and strengths can be used in public service. As an elected official, his office serves as the independent internal auditor for the County, so every claim is reviewed with equity and fairness, and taxpayers know their money is being distributed with due care. He also discusses why he's decided to prioritize making sure the County's policies reflect its values, which includes viewing them through the lens of justice, equity, diversity and inclusion. Anyone who wants to learn more or view spending reports is welcome to contact Wall at dwall@missoulacounty.us or by calling 406-258-3526.   Thank you to Missoula's Community Media Resource for your podcast recording support. 

Gary Nissim is the Managing Director of Indago Digital and the author of the guide, “How to avoid choosing the wrong digital agency in 27 steps. Gary says he's taken the best parts (and learnt from the worst parts) of the more than 500 RFPs to provide all a marketer needs to create a seamless Request For Proposal that will help find and appoint a fully aligned agency partner. He also questions how his guide stands up to the perspective of a pitch consultant and turns the conversation on the host with a surprising outcome. https://www.trinityp3.com/2021/09/whats-wrong-with-rfps/

In this episode, Mike Lander and Kevin Gibbons discuss how to improve the conversion rate on RFP (Request for proposal), RFP qualifications and success factors, and what the agency can do to stand out. Learn how RFP process is viewed from both buyer's and seller's sides, what is the scorecard and the qualifications for it and how to increase your chances to win.Check It's a Good Start Youtube channel for more episodes and discussion.

On today's Week in Review, Crystal is joined by Seattle Times political reporter Jim Brunner. They discuss congressional races across Washington State, how the GOP's shift to Trumpism may impact Republican incumbents, how redistricting might change the calculus of political races, and the González and Farrell campaigns touting internal polling in the Seattle mayoral race. Stay tuned at the end of the episode for an update on police accountability and participatory budgeting from Shannon Cheng, Chair of People Power Washington - Police Accountability and member of the Hacks & Wonks team (and U.S. Mixed Veteran Rogaining Champion)!  As always, a full text transcript of the show is available below and at officialhacksandwonks.com. Find the host, Crystal Fincher on Twitter at @finchfrii and find today's co-host, Jim Brunner, at @Jim_Brunner. More info is available at officialhacksandwonks.com.   Resources “Republicans target Washington state to help flip U.S. House as Matt Larkin challenges Rep. Kim Schrier” by Jim Brunner: https://www.seattletimes.com/seattle-news/politics/republican-matt-larkin-to-challenge-rep-kim-schrier-as-gop-looks-to-flip-house-in-2022-midterms/  “An earthquake warning for politics? Not yet, but you can feel some tremors.” by Danny Westneat: https://www.seattletimes.com/seattle-news/politics/an-earthquake-warning-for-politics-not-yet-but-you-can-feel-some-tremors/  “What's next for the two WA Republicans who voted to impeach Trump?” by Melissa Santos: https://crosscut.com/politics/2021/01/whats-next-two-wa-republicans-who-voted-impeach-trump  “Redistricting shows how far incumbents go” by Peter Callaghan: https://www.thenewstribune.com/news/politics-government/article125095439.html  “Gonzalez and Harrell Essentially Tied for Top Spots for Mayor” polling results: https://www.thenewstribune.com/news/politics-government/article125095439.html  Participatory Budgeting Advances from the Office of Civil Rights: https://council.seattle.gov/2021/06/01/participatory-budgeting-advances/  “Seattle City Council Votes Against ‘Tough Compromise' Bill to Trim SPD Budget” by Nathalie Graham: https://www.thestranger.com/slog/2021/06/02/57933742/seattle-city-council-votes-against-tough-compromise-bill-to-trim-spd-budget    Transcript: Crystal Fincher: [00:00:00] Welcome to Hacks & Wonks. I'm Crystal Fincher, and I'm a political consultant and your host. On this show, we talk with policy wonks and political hacks to gather insight into local politics and policy in Washington state through the lens of those doing the work, with behind-the-scenes perspectives on what's happening, why it's happening and what you can do about it. Full transcripts and resources referenced in the show are always available at officialhacksandwonks.com and in our episode notes. And stay tuned at the end of this episode for a quick update with Shannon Cheng, the Chair of People Power Washington, for updates on Participatory Budgeting and a bill to trim the SPD budget.  Today, we're continuing our Friday almost-live shows, where we review the news of the week with a co-host. Welcome to the program, Seattle Times political reporter, Jim Brunner. Jim Brunner: [00:00:58] Hello! Good to be here. I always enjoy talking with you about politics.  Crystal Fincher: [00:01:02] Always, and I've just followed you for years, decades - long time, long time - here in Seattle. So, you know, I wanted to start off - you've been covering the congressional candidates and we have not yet talked about congressional candidates. Certainly a lot has happened this week - including the banning of police from the Pride Fest and parade, Democracy Vouchers - new news and a rule change that's going to be moving forward, King County banning use of facial recognition technology, a study about civilians potentially being able to take over police work in Tacoma, and new vaccination news including incentives.  But also there's been news in these congressional races and challengers that have presented themselves, and these races are really shaping up. So I guess starting with the eighth congressional district with Kim Schrier, who is a Democratic incumbent - the first Democrat to hold that seat in the eighth district and now tasked with defending that seat against Republicans who are really eager and excited to take that on, and especially looking at redistricting to potentially help them. What is going on in that race and how's it shaping up, Jim? Jim Brunner: [00:02:24] Well, yeah, like you said, this was a Republican seat up until about four years ago when Dave Reichert decided to step down or retire - I think he was not super eager to remain in the party and the Trump era, frankly. And when he stepped out - Dino Rossi, who everyone in Washington politics knows - is a very well-known Republican figure, but has not had much success winning statewide or high-profile elections. He was their candidate and Kim Schrier emerged - she's a pediatrician. She emerged from a pretty crowded primary and then beat Dino Rossi. And so that was a big deal - it helped the Democrats flip that seat, and help the Democrats flip the House.  And I was a little surprised - in 2020, the Republicans didn't really make a big push to flip it back. You'd think that in that first go round, maybe there, they would take a big shot. They had a candidate I think was - had some merit. His resume had some good qualities on paper - Jesse Jensen. He was a decorated combat veteran and a tech administrator, but he just could never get his fundraising going, and there was no evidence that the GOP was really going to back him. But this time around, we're coming up on midterms next year, and there's usually a backlash against the party in the White House. And so Republicans, I think, sense an opportunity. And so I wrote about recently this guy, Matt Larkin, who ran for Attorney General as a Republican in 2020. He's set his sights on the eighth district now and announced, and it looks like the national Republicans are actually going to make a play this time. And then Jesse Jensen, who I mentioned, might also run again, but my sense now is that Larkin might be the guy that they're going to coalesce behind.  So - potential for another big money race. The race in 2018 was like a $30 million race. It was crazy, you know - you might remember the ads blanketing TV screens, so we could see a redux of that. And I'll say quickly about Matt Larkin - his campaign, much as his Attorney General campaign did - this district does not cover Seattle. It's East King County, Pierce County exurbs, and then it goes over the mountains to Chelan County, Kittitas County - but Larkin has made his early campaign entirely about scenes of violence and protests in Seattle, which, you know, I've pressed him on that and I understand why he's doing it. It is very much a play for the Fox News audience. In fact, he, I think, did his exclusive announcement on Fox News and then he had a pretty friendly interview on Fox and Friends. And so that's where he's going, you know, in the early going.  Crystal Fincher: [00:05:16] Yeah, certainly and you - we certainly have noticed and you've talked and written about, as you said, him citing the issues in Seattle, which is not included in his district, and taking those on - including homelessness and the Republican whole shtick of Seattle is Dying, and it's being overrun by lawlessness, and crime-riddled - this caricature of homeless people that's like violent and vagrancy and often not true. But we've talked before on this program about that being - it's not ringing true in Seattle, but it is being used in suburbs and suburban areas around the country as really a symbol to run off of and kind of really a totem of the culture wars, basically. And citing - what they love to cite is - Democratically-run metropolitan cities and increases in crime, which in fact that whether it's a Democratic or Republican-led city - crime is rising uniformly across the board. But it's really interesting to see if that works. The law and order message seemed to fall pretty flat in 2020. Do you see that gaining any speed or traction? Jim Brunner: [00:06:40] I don't know like you - and I've watched it, and you're right. . It hasn't - the Republicans have tried that in multiple cycles in this state - running against Seattle is a super common thing and it really just has not worked for them, generally speaking. However, I do think that there is a possibility that nationally and in certain areas in districts, including in Washington, that this kind of sentiment can be stirred up and that there are people who, you know, you see these things on TV, on local TV news, for example, or on Fox news or whatever - burning police cars, attempts to burn police precincts. And there's a reaction to it. And I think there is a danger if Democrats are perceived as being indifferent to it. I mean, I've asked Kim Schrier about this before - last year when she was running for reelection - because her opponent then, Jesse Jensen, also raised some of these same issues. And she said, Look, I don't want to be drawn into the trap of having to respond to everything that happens in Seattle, but she pointed to - I think some statement she made where - she's not endorsing attacks on police. She hasn't - I don't think isn't personally endorsing the defunding of police in Seattle. It's not in her district. But she - she's supportive and Democrats are supportive of reforms to policing. And so I think it'll be interesting to see how that goes.  I will say that my sense is that the scenes of chaos in Portland, for example, I feel like may have had an impact on the challenge to Jamie Herrera Beutler this last cycle from Carolyn Long. She'd also run two years earlier and didn't make it, so there's - it's not necessarily like she was going to win, but given the nightly chaos there in that media market, I think that you could make an argument that it did have some impact. So we'll see, but I think it's important to, like you said, fact check things, like, is it true? You know, is the violence the responsibility of this politician or that politician, or is it going up uniformly? And what is actually behind this and what is your actual solution other than to say Kim Schrier should be speaking out about this more, which is right as of this point, and again, it's an early stage - that's been kind of the extent of the argument right now. Crystal Fincher: [00:09:09] Yeah, it'll be interesting to see and as you also mentioned in the article about this - redistricting could potentially play a role in this race. How is that looking?  Jim Brunner: [00:09:20] Yeah, it's interesting. Nationally, you've seen a lot of stories about redistricting helping Republicans in a lot of states' legislatures, whoever has the majority controls it. And they'll do gerrymandering and they'll draw all kinds of weird districts. And then sometimes they get struck down in court. We've seen states where the Republicans have internally literally admitted, We're doing this because we want to break up the vote of people of color, for example, or Democratic constituencies. And they've gotten - some of those maps have been thrown out because they're violating the Constitution, essentially.  In Washington, of course, we have our Redistricting Commission. It's a bipartisan commission, I always like to say. It's not non-partisan - you got two Democrats, two Republicans, and then a fifth non-voting chair. And so here - they have to hash out a map by November, and the changes probably won't be as dramatic as last time around because we got a new congressional district then. But, unlike other states, there's not a chance - I don't think - for Republicans to just redraw the district, the eighth district, for example, to their advantage. But I think the Democrats - what usually goes on is each party tries to protect their incumbents. So when Dave Reichert still had the eighth district seat, it got redrawn to make it safer for him, but politics shifted so much that once he was gone, the Democrats were able to take it. If I'm the Democratic redistricting commissioners, I'm probably looking at shaving off some of the more conservative parts of the district, if you can, and try to shore up Kim Schrier's support. And the Republicans will probably try to not let that happen. So yeah, this race isn't until next year, so we'll know the real map that they're running for by the end of the year.  Crystal Fincher: [00:11:18] Yeah, it's really interesting with that - and politics has shifted, and also demographics in many of the areas have shifted. There's been a lot of population growth and diversification, certainly in the western area of the eighth district. And so it'll be interesting to see who's district that winds up in and what they do. And then there's also just an interesting effect of drawing districts to protect incumbents and making them more Democratic or more Republican. Does that then make those districts safe and the Republican's one redder and more extreme? And if it's a safe Democratic seat, does it get more progressive? Sometimes that happens, sometimes it doesn't - but it's also interesting to consider the consequences of districting around incumbents - and how that sometimes has some short-term benefits, but long-term drawbacks. Jim Brunner: [00:12:22] ] Yeah. I think there's people who have advocated - and I think some other states have moved this way way - to really take the parties completely out of the redistricting. And just have it be a more independent citizen-led panel. I haven't seen that move here, but you can make an argument - why should you consider the incumbents when you're redistricting? It's supposed to be about equalizing the number of votes in each district, trying to adhere to political boundaries, natural county/city boundaries, to the extent you can. And so maybe where the incumbent lives shouldn't, maybe in an ideal world, be part of the calculation. On the other hand, I've heard people say, Well, look, the people have voted for this person. There has been a democratic sort of endorsement of this incumbent, so maybe they should have some deference. And then, you know, politics, I mean, it's just - the incumbents are all going to be lobbying the commission and the parties who control the commissioners, basically, to take them into consideration. Crystal Fincher: [00:13:28] Yeah well, certainly a party with the majority wants to try and lock that in as much as possible. Other states, especially as you cited - the Republican states - definitely do all they can to make sure that they lock that in. States like ours, where both parties do have to agree - things usually don't turn out quite as lopsided as they do in those other states, but it'll be really interesting to see - including in a race like the one we have with Adam Smith, who's drawn at least three challengers to his left, in the ninth congressional district. Which is interesting and Danny Westneat wrote about earlier this week in the Seattle Times - have you looked much at that race?  Jim Brunner: [00:14:12] I haven't really dived in, and Danny wrote an interesting column about it. It sort of - he framed it right - it's not evidence that the Democrats are tearing themselves apart, necessarily. But it is evidence of this just continuing debate - tension, if you want to call it - between progressives and the more - I don't know if you want to call it mainstream or what do you want to call it - moderate wing, or just the incumbent? You know, Adam Smith has been there for a long time now in the ninth district and it's funny - in redistricting - he is the Chair of the House Armed Services Committee and his district used to include the military base down in Pierce County. And in redistricting, he no longer has that in his district, but he has this vestigial influence in that realm that he's continued to hold, but because that's where he came up. And it's been interesting - his district is more liberal than it was when it - before the last round of redistricting. And I think he has signaled to voters that he's trying to be progressive too on issues like immigration. I mean, it's very apparent that he is trying to make it known that he's with them, but these progressive challengers saying, You know, it's not enough. You're part of the old guard. It's time for new voices.  Crystal Fincher: [00:15:42] Yeah, absolutely. And one thing that I think also influences some of the further left-leaning candidates and constituency - that is the fact that Pramila Jayapal is also right there, and so visible and so vocal on many issues that are important to several areas of the district in a way that they didn't see her predecessor or Adam Smith before. And a lot of people going, Okay, well, comparing to that - Adam looks real moderate. And as you said, he's certainly been trying to signal that - and say things in some areas - that seem to be more progressive than they were before. And another is he's maintained, so it's going to be interesting to see how that race shapes up - how the incumbents gain traction, but it seems like - from some institutional forces that they aren't uniformly aligned necessarily with Adam Smith. So he certainly is going to have a bottomless war chest with his donors, and it really is going to be about - do people see him as the leader that they want moving forward, or is it time for a change as has been in so many other areas?  Jim Brunner: [00:17:02] And will he lobby the Redistricting Commission to shift around his district again - maybe get rid of some of the Seattle portions or something. The former, great Tacoma News Tribune columnist and reporter, Pete Callaghan, who's in Minnesota - he wrote a really good story after the last round of redistricting that I was kind of jealous of - where he got all the emails that went to the Redistricting Commission and wrote a story about how Adam Smith was the most active lobbyer - he wanted his district to get moved. He wanted to have, I think, Mercer Island and Bellevue, where he lives now, and that happened. So there's a varying level of people - politicians - keeping an eye on it and being active in it. So it'll be interesting to see if he moves in that direction this time, or if he feels sort of content in - with the boundaries where they are. Crystal Fincher: [00:17:59] Yeah, it'll be interesting. I live near the border of the eighth and ninth congressional district, so we'll see where I end up.  Jim Brunner: [00:18:06] You might get shifted. Yeah, absolutely.  Crystal Fincher: [00:18:09] It'll be interesting to see. Now this is really - these races are really important, particularly races in - like that one in the eighth congressional district, with Kim Schrier, because the majority is narrow in the House right now. The Democrats only lead by five - is it five seats?  Jim Brunner: [00:18:26] I think that - yeah, I think the Republicans need to flip five seats. And people are projecting that, just given their advantages in legislatures for redistricting around the country and some of the population shifts, they may already be on their way to taking the majority back in 2022 - like they're favored. Crystal Fincher: [00:18:49] They're definitely favored. It's going to be a fight and Democrats are going to have to win competitive seats - and some competitive seats that are currently held by Republicans to hold on to the House. And the Senate. So it'll be really interesting to see what Democrats do right now, just in terms of voter protections and making sure people have fair and equitable access to the vote and the ballot. And whether they take action or not now - with Kyrsten Sinema and Joe Manchin saying that they are not in favor of ending the filibuster - that's not looking likely unless that changes. So this is going to be interesting.  And then - you've been covering races on the Eastern side of the state, where some more moderate Republicans have held seats, but they're being challenged by people further to the right - challengers who publicly will not say whether Joe Biden really won the presidency, they're major Trump supporters, they're into conspiracy theories and at least not refuting them publicly. That's a very different place than we were 10 years ago. What do those races look like? Jim Brunner: [00:20:12] Yeah. So of course, Dan Newhouse, in the fourth district - a Republican incumbent - and Jaime Herrera Beutler, incumbent in the third district, voted for the Trump impeachment, the last, the latest Trump impeachment. And then they supported the January 6th commission. And so - but their impeachment vote immediately set off a lot of anger among the Republican base, who - a lot of people in the Republican base think that's a betrayal. And say it was kind of extraordinary - the only member of Congress in Washington who didn't vote for impeachment was Cathy McMorris Rodgers, out of Spokane. So it was 9 out of 10 of our House members - it's kind of extraordinary and bipartisan in that sense. And so, yeah, both Jamie Herrera Beutler and Dan Newhouse have some pretty, you know, fair to say, Trumpy challengers who are running because they made those votes. And people might remember Loren Culp, who ran for governor - he's declared against Newhouse. And he's definitely somebody who has even tried to claim - just falsely without evidence - that his own 500,000+ loss to Jay Inslee in 2020 was somehow - might not have happened, or in some cases I think he said, Well, I don't know if you know - I could have got all that back. But he's tried to raise doubts about the electoral process - even though, of course, it's Secretary of State Kim Wyman here, who's our top elected official, or elections official, who's Republican. And then in - I think State Rep Brad Klippert, very conservative, also running against Newhouse. And there's a third guy who is kind of along the same vein.  And then against Jamie Herrera Beutler you've got three, at least three, very pro-Trump challengers. I would say two of them are really fighting it out to be the one. I think it's most likely that Joe Kent, who is on a daily basis still saying, Yes, we should audit - we should examine, Congress should examine - the 2020 election as though it's still up in the air. He's an ex-special forces veteran. His wife was actually killed by a terrorist bombing. She was in the military and in intelligence too, and she was killed overseas - so it's a pretty interesting background story that he has. And he definitely has been outspoken about endless wars. And so he thinks he's aligned with Trump on that sort of isolationist, you might call it, foreign policy. And then he has just bought into some of the conspiracy theories too. But he has been - he was out in Florida, I think he did a rally with Marjorie Taylor Greene, he's met with Donald Trump. I think he might get the full-on Trump endorsement. Billionaire Peter Thiel, I think, has indicated he might back him. And so that'll be interesting if they marshal a bunch of forces against Jamie Herrera Beutler, who not only voted for impeachment, but then offered to be like a star witness. And really kind of ignited the end of the impeachment proceedings. And then really quickly, the other main competitor there, is a woman named Heidi St. John, who's a kind of a Christian self-help author, homeschooler, very anti-mask, very dismissive of the coronavirus pandemic - is calling masks "face diapers" and things like that. And she's out there organizing, and has some support too. So again, it'll be really interesting to see how that race plays out and where the Democrats fit in, because Democrats haven't been able to compete there, but, you know, I just don't know - it's a very chaotic situation that's going to play out.  Crystal Fincher: [00:24:19] Yeah. I think it's going to be a chaotic situation. I still think - out there, Republicans have the advantage. And I think there's a lot of wishing and hoping, especially from people in Seattle on the west side of the mountains, that like logic and reason will prevail. Surely it has to - this is Washington state. We've had, you know, moderate Republicans and that's just not who we are. And I think that we are far past the point of recognizing that this is where the Republican party is now. The Republican party is the party of Trump. If there is someone self identifying as a Republican, that's more than likely what they're identifying as - as a supporter of Trump, and what you've seen from him, and all of that. And that's what we're close to. And we haven't just seen these challengers rise up and have support - but also the censure from Republican local parties and the state party of people who took the impeachment vote and who wanted to do that. And we just saw the January 6 commission be not voted and supported - and those challengers saying - some of them are saying, "I don't know if I would have voted yes or no on that. Others are just like, no, it's a witch hunt." That is where we're at. And really, it's hard to see how that doesn't take over in 2022, just based on redistricting. So I hope people get involved and get engaged with these - hopefully there is real engagement and activism on the Democratic side, just to not have that conversation be so focused on that element of the conversation. But it'll be a show to watch - it will be interesting to see.  Jim Brunner: [00:26:19] Yeah. I think another thing that's interesting is, I dunno - I find it kind of funny sometimes - Democrats in places like Seattle will get excited about, Oh, you know, we're gonna, you know, take off, take out, Ted Cruz or something. Or Mitch McConnell. And they'll spend a whole bunch of money and send checks out there, which I understand - I mean, Republicans are doing the same things if they think that, you know, they could take out Nancy Pelosi or whatever. But it is kind of interesting to see how just, I don't know, everything is so nationalized. And I think sometimes people aren't paying attention to what's in their backyards necessarily. It's interesting - Dan Newhouse - you do see kind of this cross-party admiration among people who are alarmed by Trump - that they're like, Thank you, Dan Newhouse. Thank you, Jamie Herrera Beutler. But you know, Dan Newhouse is very conservative and he's not a Democrat. I mean, he has his ideals and he's - I think he's been very consistent actually, whether you agree with him or not. And he voted - he's voted like, you know, 90+ percent with the Trump agenda - which is in Congress was mainly just a pretty standard low taxes and cut back regulation agenda. So to see him potentially get ousted, just because he said this insurrection was a step too far is pretty interesting. I still think he can probably get re-elected, but we'll see.  Crystal Fincher: [00:27:51] I still think they have the advantage, but that could change. I think that we - we don't yet know what's gonna come from the Trump camp, leading up here through the summer and into next year. I think these conversations may move and the ground may continue to shift under them. I think that the pressure is also on them to move further to the right. So I think where we've seen people be consistent before, there may be a challenge with that in the future. And in the same way that Adam Smith is trying to signal that he's moving further to the left, we may see these once, you know, people who were considered moderate Republicans start to take on a different tone.  The one thing I wanted it to touch on before we head out was, speaking of local races - there were a couple of polls that some of the Seattle mayoral candidates referenced - specifically Jessyn Farrell and Lorena González. Now they did some polling - they were internal polls, they were pollsters hired by their campaigns. They did not release the full polls, which is standard in polling, and so we don't know what all the questions were, how they were all asked, or anything in that. So when that happens, automatically, you're taking the polls with a grain of salt because you don't know what they're really saying. But there were some consistencies between them and the biggest consistency was that Bruce Harrell appears to be in first place. And Lorena González appears to be in second place. Is that how you read them, Jim?  Jim Brunner: [00:29:32] I mean, from what I've seen, I think that was the common thread. I, like you, I'm pretty skeptical about internal polls, candidate polls - because they usually don't release the whole thing. And even when they do - generally I won't, I don't write articles on them - just based on internal polling, but I do love to consume them, and I'm fascinated by them - and how, not only what the results are, but how they're deployed to try to move the campaign. So from what I've seen - yeah, I think Harrell appears to be in first place in this race. And as we're getting closer to the August primary and the - people like Lorena González and a few others are competing for second. But you know, this is - this could all shift. The messaging is just starting to happen. People are trying to carve out their identities. People like Jessyn Farrell, Andrew Grant Houston - who's in - really raised his profile because of his Democracy Voucher haul.  Crystal Fincher: [00:30:37] Absolutely. And it is early on. And the third common thread between them is that - both of them, I think, had at least 40% and above of the electorate is undecided. It is early in a City race, which doesn't get all the nightly attention on the news. The campaigns really haven't started, people haven't gotten mailers yet, they aren't seeing commercials, they aren't hearing radio ads or anything like that yet. And that can certainly change the dynamics of the race. And as more forums happen and some of the contrast between the candidates are known, we will see that.  Also Casey Sixkiller was a late entrance into the race - seems to be more - closer to Bruce Harrell, who a lot of people consider to be the most moderate candidate in this field. And so is drawing support there and people are wondering, Okay, so in terms of the Times endorsement - the Chamber itself is not going to be doing endorsements or supporting candidates, but all of the entities will be supporting in the same way, just through different means. So where does that support go? And I think Casey Sixkiller is looking to see if he can put a dent into that, and we'll see how that turns out. Jim Brunner: [00:31:57] Yeah. I think it's interesting. There's some candidates fighting through the sort of - within the Seattle sort of bubble, to be on the more progressive side. And then there's people like Harrell who are still, I think, liberal Democrats basically, but are talking to businesses. And I think Harrell has a - and they're trying just to talk about the City's homeless encampments in a way that attracts support. And that's going to be a big issue in this race. And to what extent are people going to talk about encampments in a way that - where they're trying to attract support from people who were just alarmed by seeing them, and versus trying to get people housing and how we can solve the problem. And it's a mix, it's a balance - I think for everybody. It's going to be interesting to see how that goes. I think with Harrell and the - if you call it like the business support side or the moderate support side of the equation - you mentioned Sixkiller who is a well-known name in Seattle. And there was another guy who jumped in that I wrote a short story on, Art Langlie, also has a well-known name in Seattle - never really been involved in politics, but he's the son or grandson of Arthur Langlie, who was Seattle mayor long ago and the governor long ago. And I don't really see a path for him, but I could see him taking a few points out of Bruce Harrell's totals, just as I can Sixkiller.  The other dynamic, I think - I'd be curious to hear what you say, think about this - there's a whole inside-outside game here. You know, you had people like Sixkiller declare and he's been a Deputy Mayor under Jenny Durkan, but he's saying I'm a fresh outside voice or I can bring fresh, independent outside voices. And I think that's kind of gonna cause some eyebrow rolling or whatever. And then you've got like Bruce Harrell - he was at City Hall for a long time, but then he stepped away. So now, you know, to what extent can he credibly say, I am sort of an outsider, but with also some insider knowledge - in a way, that's a good position to be in. And then you've got Lorena González, who's City Council president, also has expressed ambitions to run for Attorney General. So, it's going to be interesting to see her honing her message. And all of them - like you said, it's going to be kind of a scramble. I'm curious what your take on that is too.  Crystal Fincher: [00:34:32] You know, it's going to be interesting. I think that - I think people kind of uniformly reacted with raised eyebrows to Casey Sixkiller saying, You know, I'm an outsider. It was just like, you're the Deputy Mayor right now - for homelessness actually - the number one issue in the City for a lot of people. And I think there has been a challenge in him trying to independently define who he is, then there's - I don't know if he's going to wind up ensnared in this text controversy or not. There are a lot of people in the mayor's office - I don't know if Casey Sixkiller has been pressed on that, but it seems like a relevant question. I also think that there - I don't know that it was wise for him to say, No, we absolutely have spent all that FEMA money. I think that - we certainly saw Colleen Echohawk take exception to that online and dedicate an entire Twitter thread to debunking that with a variety of independent  reporting. And in a forum, Andrew Grant Houston saying, Hey dude, you're lying about that, and I personally worked on it - because even Andrew Grant Houston works in the office of a Seattle City Councilmember. So this whole conversation about insiders and outsiders is interesting and unique - and a lot of insiders who are claiming to be outsiders, and outsiders who are insiders and -  I think it's really gonna come down to how people are talking about the issues. I think one thing that's going to be telling, and that's going to be used kind of as a proxy and dividing line is whether or not they support the Compassion Seattle initiative, which Casey Sixkiller and Jessyn Farrell have said that they do. Bruce Harrell has signaled mixed support - I'm not exactly sure. I feel like he said yes before, but he definitely said no in a forum, but then asked to explain himself and, you know, seemed like he wanted to hedge that. So I'm not sure, but that'll be, I think, what helps to separate and define where people look to see where they are on homelessness - is where are you at on the Compassion Seattle initiative. Which is viewed very differently by people. Jim Brunner: [00:36:51] And that's why people talk about defining yourself. I mean, that initiative campaign is trying to define itself - for the charter amendment, I guess.  Crystal Fincher: [00:36:59] Yes.  Jim Brunner: [00:37:01] Yeah, and we're at Seattle Times - we're trying to press the candidates, trying to get some clear answers on where they stand on issues like that, doing some voter guides and things like that. But yeah, there've been some forums out there where people are starting to get to see the candidates answer those questions. And I sort of feel like people know the field here, of the top candidates, even though there's more than - like there's 15 people that will be on the ballot. You know, we can name the 5 or 6 who are really being invited to the big forums and are part of the conversation. So it's good - it's good to have, to be able to winnow it a little bit, because realistically there's not that many who have much of a shot - that they should all have a chance to make their case, but we should focus on the ones who have demonstrated some support. Crystal Fincher: [00:37:52] Yeah, some minimum viability. I also think that now there are two people who have communicated polls that show Bruce and Lorena as the frontrunners - that that in effect put a target on their backs for other candidates in the forums who are now saying, Okay, I have to take one of them out and leapfrog them in order to be, in order to make it through the primary. So I think we're going to start to see where a lot of people were making their case. Some people feel like someone has got to do the work of drawing some direct contrasts on some other issues and that'll be a new dynamic. Jim Brunner: [00:38:28] Yeah. It kind of reminds me of the presidential, Democratic presidential debates, when you had so many, and then it got winnowed and then it became clear that at one point - well, I mean, at some point, of course, Biden was the frontrunner and had a big target on his back. People came at him and he just kinda, amiably sort of, not always excelling in the debate, but got through it. So I've had somebody - I can't remember who I was talking to - claim that they think they see sort of a Biden-esque position or quality in Bruce Harrell in a weird way, you know. I don't know. What do you think?  Crystal Fincher: [00:39:13] Uhhhh -  Jim Brunner: [00:39:13] In terms of his positioning.  Crystal Fincher: [00:39:14] You don't see the look on my face right now, but you know -  Jim Brunner: [00:39:17] In terms of his positioning in the field is all -  Crystal Fincher: [00:39:19] You know, I guess - especially, I think for - I think that could be fair to say. Especially if you think back to how that was viewed during the campaign. I think that Biden has actually governed a bit more progressively than people expected so far. Partly because bipartisanship isn't really a thing at this point, certainly not as people think about it 20 years ago. So potentially, I think that just in terms of - Biden was certainly viewed as one of the most viable moderates. And Bruce is viewed as a viable moderate. I don't know that I would go much further down that road, personally. You know -  Jim Brunner: [00:40:08] And then there's no Trump to run against at the end of the primary, which is different. Although, I believe there - I've heard some mayoral candidates continue to talk about Trump. Crystal Fincher: [00:40:19] Yeah. I don't know how much that helps or not in Seattle. I don't think that's really relevant to the City race. I think it's going to be interesting as candidates look at, especially the last election in 2019 and the backlash to some of the Amazon control and corporate control, income inequality, workers' rights and conditions - that candidates who have been more closely aligned with those corporations may take some heat coming up. I don't know if that's going to come up in these races or not, and certainly some candidates have more of a vulnerability on that than others, but who knows.  Jim Brunner: [00:40:58] Yeah. And I'm sure that that will be part of the conversation. Absolutely.  Crystal Fincher: [00:41:03] Yeah.  Jim Brunner: [00:41:04] You know, it feels like Amazon and the Chamber kind of got stung by playing their big money hand too extremely a couple of years ago. Of course, I know that they resent that to some extent, because they point out that unions and others spent a lot of money too, but it was a big splashy - a million dollar push - and it arguably backfired. So they're trying to be much more strategic -  Crystal Fincher: [00:41:33] Covert.  Jim Brunner: [00:41:33] Or covert - yes - this time, but they clearly will have a preference, like everybody who's watching this race, every interest that is.  Crystal Fincher: [00:41:44] Yes. And a handy PAC to support Bruce Harrell is already in existence. So, he certainly looks like he will have support. Jim Brunner: [00:41:52] I asked him about that - he said, you know, like candidates always say when you bring this up, Well, I didn't start it. You know, it's people like me so much. You know, what can I do? You know? So we'll see others - it's not going to be the only one.  Crystal Fincher: [00:42:05] Yeah. Yeah. It'll be - this will be an interesting race. And certainly just because a poll said this today does not mean it's going to stay that way. Polls are snapshots. We don't even know if those were legit polls and followed the standards of regular polling, or more just a marketing project. So -  Jim Brunner: [00:42:26] I mean, I think the campaigns - they want good data, they want good polling - but is that what they're releasing to us? Yeah. I don't know.  Crystal Fincher: [00:42:36] Yeah. So we - there's a lot of conversation we could have about that, especially how they released it, and what they were telling about those candidates. Which was interesting and not necessarily what you would expect, particularly from one of them. But they did tell the same top line story, so I found that interesting. But we have talked for a while today - we'll spare you more conversation, but I do want to thank you for listening to Hacks & Wonks on KVRU 105.7 FM this Friday, June 4th, 2021. The producer of Hacks & Wonks is Lisl Stadler and assisted by Shannon Cheng and Lexi Morritt. And our wonderful co-host today was Seattle Times political reporter, Jim Brunner. You can find Jim on Twitter @Jim_Brunner. That's B-R-U-N-N-E-R. You can find me on Twitter @finchfrii, spelled F-I-N-C-H-F-R-I-I. Now you can follow Hacks & Wonks on iTunes, Spotify, or wherever else you get your podcasts - just type "Hacks & Wonks" into the search bar, be sure to subscribe to get our Friday almost-live shows and our mid-week show delivered to your podcast feed. If you like us, leave a review whenever you listen to Hacks & Wonks. You can also get a full transcript of this episode and links to resources referenced in the show at officialhacksandwonks.com and in the episode notes. Thank you so much for joining us today, Jim - appreciate having you and your perspective and enlightening us about the congressional races.  Jim Brunner: [00:43:57] Thank you. It was a lot of fun - we could keep going.  Crystal Fincher: [00:44:00] Yeah, absolutely. And we'll talk to you all next time. And now, I'm super excited to have Shannon Cheng, who not only works with me at Fincher Consulting, but is the Chair of People Power Washington - Police Accountability. And is - really has been involved for years in all things police accountability, including in the city of Seattle. And so I just wanted to have her on real quick to talk about two big items this week. One, the Seattle City Council voting against the tough compromise bill to trim the SPD budget. And then two, the Council unanimously passing the Participatory Budgeting bill. So starting with that bill to trim the SPD budget, Shannon - what happened?  Shannon Cheng: [00:44:49] Yeah, that bill has been "tortured", I think, is the word I've seen used to describe it. So it started - all the protests that broke out last summer and people seeing how SPD treated peaceful protesters egregiously - there was a lot of call for wanting accountability for SPD and kind of their overspending. And so what happened is that at the end of last year, SPD came to City Council and said, "We need $5.4 million extra dollars for our 2020 budget" - because basically they had spent too much on overtime. And this angered both City Council and a lot of community activists, who had been spending the whole budget cycle wanting to cut back funding for SPD. And so what City Council ended up doing was - they needed to give them the money last year, but they said, "What we're going to do is take that same amount of money away from your 2021 budget. And so you need to do better next year and make sure to not overspend."  But then what has happened is that that money has - then the federal monitor who oversees the consent decree got involved and expressed concern that the Council was taking money away from the department. And so it's just gotten very complicated. There's been a lot of arguments with people wanting to take the money and the intent being about accountability, whereas other people are saying, "Hey, you can't take that money away because we need the police to provide a certain level of service." So the bill has gone through many, many different amendments and in the end - nothing happened. They ended up voting against it - and it was interesting because some councilmembers voted on the same side, but for very different reasons. So for example, Alex Pedersen voted against it because he doesn't believe in defunding at all, whereas Councilmembers Mosqueda, Morales, Sawant voted against it because it wasn't defunding enough. Crystal Fincher: [00:46:49] Interesting. And where was Lorena González on that?  Shannon Cheng: [00:46:52] She was kind of on the fence. She did vote against it, but she said something more along the lines of that we need to wait and see. And maybe this needs to get taken up during the normal budget cycle in terms of seeing how things play out with budget questions. So a less clear statement, but she did vote against it.  Crystal Fincher: [00:47:14] Okay. So nothing happened. So does this mean that there were basically no penalties for SPD intentionally overspending on their overtime budget?  Shannon Cheng: [00:47:26] I think that is still TBD because they don't - so basically nobody gets the money still. I think the money is still under proviso - so originally the intent was to take the money away from SPD and put it into Participatory Budgeting. And now it's just still on hold. So the bill that had been addressed had talked about a compromise where - okay, maybe only $2 million was going to be taken away and given to Participatory Budgeting, whereas the rest was going to go to other SPD priorities, such as community service officers and funding public disclosure request office budget needs. But - yeah, basically nothing is happening and they're tabling it for later.  Crystal Fincher: [00:48:12] So it may be taken up in the regular budgeting process. It may not be taken up at all. We'll just have to stay tuned and see, basically?  Shannon Cheng: [00:48:20] Yeah. Yep.  Crystal Fincher: [00:48:22] All right. So you also mentioned the Participatory Budgeting, and some of that money might have gone to it if it would have passed, but it did not. But what did pass unanimously with the Council was the entire Participatory Budgeting bill. What happened with that? Shannon Cheng: [00:48:38] Yeah! So that was huge and exciting - you know,  community activists have been working towards that for a very long time. And so last year, $30 million got promised for Participatory Budgeting that was going to be centering community. And it had been held up for a long time. I think that's been talked about on this show previously - there had been kind of tension between the mayor's office and City Council - and in the middle of all that were just the City staff trying to work on this problem and figuring out, Okay, how do we actually implement the program? And so what finally happened is Councilmember Morales introduced a bill where the Office of Civil Rights is going to be given money to hire some full-time employees to run the Request For Proposal process to find somebody, who will then run the Participatory Budgeting program. So, it's not like an immediate step. We're not going to get Participatory Budgeting happening tomorrow, but it is at least a step forward in direction of something where we had been kind of spinning in circles for basically six months.  Crystal Fincher: [00:49:48] Well, this is big news. And what does this do then, or how does this affect the Black Brilliance Project? Shannon Cheng: [00:49:57] So the Black Brilliance Project had put in the time and the research to propose a plan for how the implementation could happen and they submitted their proposal, so that was one of the things on the table. But one of the big things that came out of their report and that they mentioned was that they - there are certain City departments they don't necessarily trust - that have not done the best job of kind of truly representing community voices before. And so one of those was the Department of Neighborhoods. And so they had specifically asked that the Participatory Budgeting not be handled by that department. When the mayor's office released their counter proposal of how this should be handled, that was their suggestion - was that Department of Neighborhoods had already handled a much smaller Participatory Budgeting project in the past, so they said that we should just let them have it. It will save a lot of money because you know, they already have expertise there. But the problem is they don't have the trust. So this is kind of why things are being handed to the Office of Civil Rights instead, where that was the preferred office from the Black Brilliance Project to handle setting up the implementation. Crystal Fincher: [00:51:13] All right. Well, we will stay tuned to developments on this, but thank you so much for the expertise and information. Those, you know, were one big development and one big non-development, but important, especially as we consider these Council and mayoral races moving forward, but also in just how we consider public safety and how we're treating each other as community members in Seattle and beyond. So thanks so much, Shannon.  Shannon Cheng: [00:51:43] Yeah - thank you!  Crystal Fincher: [00:51:44] And if people want to get more information about People Power Washington, where can they go?  Shannon Cheng: [00:51:51] So our website is wethepeoplepower.org - it will get updated soon. We're going to be doing a voter guide for local elections coming up. So stay tuned - that will be updated in the next couple months.  Crystal Fincher: [00:52:05] Perfect. Thanks so much.

On this episode, Paul tackles the challenge of differentiating your solution…even on the RFP! Show Notes: "Get there early"—before the customer submits an RFP. Request a meeting prior to submitting your proposal. Don't limit your proposal to the ….  What makes you different from your competitors? Include that in your proposal.   Click here to purchase the latest edition of Value-Added Selling! Thanks to our production team at The Creative Impostor Studios! Click here to book a complimentary consultation with Strategist and Producer, Andrea Klunder, to find out how to launch, produce, and grow your company's podcast. *** Thank you for tuning in. Our show is updated weekly with the questions you ask. So, please go to the home page to ask the question that you want answered. Be sure to follow our show in your favorite podcast app and share this episode with a colleague or friend. And most importantly, you know what to do...make it a big day.

Author, speaker, podcast host, coach, and entrepreneur Show notes: https://www.markgraban.com/mistake17 My guest for Episode #17 is Melanie Parish. She is an author, speaker, podcast host, founder of Experimental Leader Academy, and Master Certified Coach. She is the author of The Experimental Leader book and an expert in problem solving, constraints management, operations, strategic hiring, and brand development, Melanie has consulted and coached organizations ranging from a Fortune 50 company to IT start-ups. In today's episode, Melanie shares her “favorite mistake” about the contracting process with a client. Why was she “naive” about this process? We also discuss what it means to be an “experimental leader” and a “new kind of boss.” How can we cultivate a culture of innovators? What should we do when some experiments seem like “mistakes”? You can get a free promo copy of her book by going to book.experimentalleader.com and using promo code podcast100. --- Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/favorite-mistake/support

It's difficult, but not impossible, to communicate value in a competitive bid. In this episode, we cover several tips that will help you sell more profitably in bidding scenarios. Show Notes: The acronym RFP might stand for Request For Proposal. It really means Request For Price! Think about it…buyers are trying to squeeze every bit of margin out of the deal by putting you into a competitive scenario. The acronym RFI might stand for Request For Information, but it really means Request For Imitation. Review the last RFI you provided. I'm guessing it sounds, looks, and feels the same as your competition.  “The bidding process is flawed because it's based on the buyer's interpretation of their own needs.” Too often, buyers are unaware of their needs. Or, they don't fully understand the impact of their decision on other areas of the business. Before spending too much time on bidding opportunities, ask yourself, “Do we even want this type of business?” If you're going to spend your time, energy, and effort on a competitive bid, you are entitled to certain rights. We call this the Seller's Bill of Rights. Every salesperson has the right to these four things… A buyer that withholds decision-making criteria is the equivalent of a teacher not telling you how they calculate your grade. You have the right to this information. Managing a competitive bid or tender is a three-part process: preparation, submission, and the recap. Preparation is key.  “Instead of a competitive bid, ask the buyer for a negotiated settlement. Ask the buyer, ‘What do you hope to get in a bid that we can't figure out one on one?'” What if you decided not to participate in their process? Instead, make the customer an alternative offer.  “Never let the bidding process stifle your creativity as a value-added salesperson.” *** Our show is updated weekly with the questions you ask. So, please, go to the home page, subscribe, share it with your friends, but most importantly, ask the question that you want answered.  The Q and A Sales Podcast is edited by The Creative Impostor Studios. Thank you for tuning in. Make it a big day. http://www.theqandasalespodcast.com

Last week we discussed Part One of our steps for writing a bid on a Request For Proposal.  This week we are going to discuss a ton of tips to assist you. Proposal Writing Tips Most important, your proposal needs to address the government's requirements, be written clearly, and be persuasive.  Below we will discuss our suggested writing tips.  Please feel free to use them as you see fit. The Proposal Is a Sales Document. Write your proposal like a sales document. Your bid must sell your company's ability to meet the requirements, to fulfill all the stated conditions, and to deliver on time.  Be specific and direct. Don't be vague as this will demonstrate that you do not understand the requirement and create questions in the minds of the evaluators.  Substantiate your promises and assertions with facts and details.  Remember your goal is to persuade evaluators that your offer is superior to those of competing companies and to prove that your company can do the job. Demonstrate your understanding of the government's need. Demonstrate a complete understanding of the requirement or problem. This may sometimes be a challenge.  While, in some cases, the buying office will know exactly what it needs, in other cases, it may not know or may use conflicting or vague terminology.  In either event, it is your responsibility to demonstrate your understanding of the requirement.  Remember, It is not the responsibility of the buying office to interpret your knowledge.  If your proposal does not respond to the stated need or responds to only part of the requirement, your bid will not be considered for contract award.  Worse case your proposal may not even receive a complete evaluation!! Demonstrate Your Qualifications It is your responsibility to prove to the government that you are qualified to provide the services or products that they need. This means that not only must you demonstrate your understanding of the problem or requirement; you must also demonstrate your ability to solve or meet it. Make sure to include your staff's qualification, relevant facilities, and equipment, as well as any other qualifications that are specific to the project.  Your proposal should communicate your ability to perform the contract successfully.  Include documentation of successful fulfillment of past contracts can also help prove your point. List Your Past Performance. Give examples of excellent contract performance on past contracts.  This will show experience in related areas and your ability to correct any problems or situations that might arise.  If you had issues on a contract let the government know that and explain how you resolved those issues.  Under those circumstances, the government will want to see how you resolved the problems and the final outcome. If you are looking at a contract that is much larger than you have had in the past, show how you will manage it, what you are going to do, who you are working with and how you will work together.  Include who is responsible for what, and who will do the work.  To sum it up be as transparent as possible! Respond to the stated evaluation criteria. Section M - Evaluation of Proposal Section M of the solicitation identifies the factors that will be used by the buying office to evaluate your proposal.  Cost is one factor but not the only one the government will review.  A point often overlooked is that the government will consider lowest price and technically acceptable on a ton of contract. If your proposal does not respond to every criterion, it will be judged "technically unacceptable" and will not be considered for contract award.  Don't miss out on a contract because you overlooked the evaluation factors. Review Section L - How Proposal Needs to Be Formatted. Follow the required proposal format.  Section L of the solicitation specifies which topics should be covered in your proposal as well as the order in which they should be presented.  If you do not follow the required content format and organization, you risk neglecting or omitting important information, which will result in rejection of your proposal.  To point out lots of times the government will tell you how many pages you have to write something along with the font, and font size to be used on your proposal. Writing Style Use a Consistent writing style. Don't try to get wordy or long winded.  Stay on topic and get to the point.  Read the evaluation factors and use that to make the reader's job easy.  If there are areas that you might be deficient, don't try to hide them, highlight them, and show how you will "solve the problem."  Use graphics sparsely and only to illustrate a point that needs to be made.  A point often overlooked is when cutting and pasting from another document.  The style from the last proposal maybe different from this one.  When you copy and paste lots of time the formatting copied with the content.  Use bullets and headlines that will help you keep on topic.   Cost & Management Information.  Provide adequate management and cost information. You need to demonstrate your ability to manage the work and account for all the costs involved in performing the contract.  Also, provide adequate cost and pricing data.  Critique & Proofread Your Proposal. Proofread and critique your proposal. Writing an effective proposal requires time, patience, and care.  Be prepared to write, evaluate, and rewrite, as needed.  Rewriting gives you the chance to improve the quality and responsiveness of your proposal.  Pay attention to detail. Proper grammar and spelling count.  If necessary, ask another person with those skills to proofread the final draft for you. Provide Clear Explanations. If you use abbreviations, acronyms, or in-house or trade terms, make sure that you spell them out or define them at least the first time they are used. Attend Proposal Workshops You can learn a ton of tips and tricks by attending a proposal writing workshop. There are several good proposals writing workshops offered through your Procurement Technical Assistance Centers. (PTAC) Build a Proposal Database Keep a database of all your project proposals. Why keeps a database?  For one thing a database can save you time and money down the road.  The next time you must write a bid, you can go back and perhaps use all or part of a proposal that you did in the past. Prepare for Presentations. Make Plans for an Oral Presentation. The government may require prospective offerors to give oral presentations as part of the selection process.  For example, GSA will record the performance on video and review it on a later date.  When they request the officers to come in and do a presentation, which does not mean the sales manager; it means the president, and the vice-president of marketing (if larger enough company). In addition, now is the time to discuss your set-aside status. Set-aside Status If your business is a woman-owned small business, it means the "woman," not the male sales manager or husband.  If you represent yourself as a particular business type, be sure that comes out at the presentation.  This could mean the difference between being the winner or requesting the post-award debriefing.  This is your shot to demonstrate that your business has the answer to their requirement.  It is important to realize that the decision makers in the government are people.  To sum up, the more transparent you are with these representatives the more comfortable they will get to be with you and visa versa. Now with that said, let's wrap this article up. Conclusion In summary, there is a ton of things to consider while writing your proposal.  We obviously could not cover every item but tried to highlight those that we felt were most important. As a result of today's topic, we hope you are better prepared for writing your next proposal. Remember to subscribe so that you are notified when we release new content.  In case you wish to read more from our author, please see our blog.      

  FCME uploads new episodes every Monday & Friday morning at 6:00 a.m. MST. Topics include proposal writing, bonds, types of contracts, why do business with the federal government, 8(a), business services for veterans and women, where federal opportunities are listed, and more. You can listen to the podcast here or with your favorite podcast provider (iTunes, Google Play, Spotify, or Stitcher). FCME is also active on social media and launched the Federal Contracting Made Easy YouTube channel on January 1, 2019.   Website Facebook Twitter Instagram YouTube   Last week we walked through how to write an Invitation to Bid. Today, we are going to concentrate our discussion to the Request for Proposal (RFP). We will however be mentioning the Request for Quote (RFQ). An IFB your proposal consists of filling out the forms provided by the government. However, RFP and RFQ are different. Sooner or later you are going to want to bid on a Request For Proposal. To find all requirements over $25,000, click here. What is an Request for Proposal (RFP)? RFP is a bid document that outlines a problem or requirement and asks small businesses to propose their methods for solving the problem. You will also need to calculate all associated costs necessary to solve the problem or fulfill the requirement. So, how does the RFQ differ from an IFB? With this in mind let us go over how an RFP differs from an IFB. How Does the Request for Proposal Differ? We know that an IFB requires the bidder to fill out forms. Does that mean that you won't have to fill out some forms? Unfortunately, no, there will be some forms to fill out, but most of the proposal will explain your plan for meeting the government's need. You will also provide your documents. What kind of papers? Well, you may have to provide your drawings, bio on your personnel, management plans, and any other documents pertinent to the requirement. Next, you need to demonstrate your capabilities. While you're at it, you need your proposal to be as simple and straightforward as possible. It must be concise, complete, and accurate. However, an RFP can drain your resources. Additionally, you need to balance your current workload with your resources available to bid on projects. For that reason it is best to be selective on which RFPs you chase. Time Consuming Yes, an RFP is more time consuming than an IFB. As a result, preparing your proposals are going to cost you more money. Don't expect your bid to take just a few hours to complete. Bids can take weeks to prepare. Since responding to an RFP or RFQ can be time-consuming. It is best to come up with a way to evaluate the requirement before you waste a substantial amount of time on something that you don't stand a chance of winning. At any rate, most companies have devised a way to evaluate the solicitation. By evaluating the solicitation they can determine if it is worth their time, and resources to submit a bid. Even so, you maybe asking yourself how to make this determination. We will provide questions that you can use to help you make the determination on whether to bid or not. This is known as the Bid-No Bid. Decision Time How can you decide whether to bid or not on a requirement? Well, the easiest way is to ask yourself some questions. Maybe you will want to create a checklist of items and rate them to help you make your decision. With this in mind, pay attention to the solicitation. Is the solicitation a request for information (RFI) or a request for Proposal (RFP)? With this purpose in mind let's go on. Is the Requirement a Request for Proposal (RFP) or Request for Information (RFI)? If the requirement is an RFI, then the government is looking for market information. RFI is not a bid. Sometimes an RFI will become a requirement in the future. Am I saying not to respond to the RFI at all? No, not at all. It is always best to provide information to the government. But don't give away too much information. Make sure you mark all the information considered private as "proprietary." This statement will help protect your proprietary information. If you fail to do the government can use that information as they see fit. Given that information it is best to protect your company as much as possible. In addition, you may want to contact your attorney for his recommendation of wordings to use. Does the Requirement match the products or services that you provide? You don't want to be one of those companies that try to respond to every RFP that comes their way. These companies are hoping that they will win sooner or later. Kind of like the lottery! Responding to every bid is a great practice, but it is not reasonable to do so. Remember that most companies only win one contract out of every ten that they bid on that matches their capabilities. If you write a proposal for every solicitation, your win-loss ratio is going to be much higher. Add to this all the time and resources you and your team put into bidding on these requirements. What's more, you could go broke doing things this way! As I have said earlier, you need to come up with a system to help you determine whether to bid on a solicitation or not. Do You Have the Technical Capabilities to Perform the Contract? Any requirement that you bid on needs to matches your capabilities. If it does, then you need to look a the technical specifications. Does your business have the technical background to be able to bid on the project? If you cannot provide or you do not have the technical background to perform the requirement, then pass on this one. There will be other solicitations for you to submit a proposal on. FCME uploads new episodes every Monday & Friday morning at 6:00 a.m. MST. Topics include proposal writing, bonds, types of contracts, why do business with the federal government, 8(a), business services for veterans and women, where federal opportunities are listed, and more. You can listen to the podcast here or with your favorite podcast provider (iTunes, Google Play, Spotify, or Stitcher). FCME is also active on social media and launched the Federal Contracting Made Easy YouTube channel on January 1, 2019. Website Facebook Twitter Instagram YouTube   On the other hand, don't fail to respond to an RFP that is a good match for your capabilities just because the solicitation appears written to a specific company or specific technology. From time to time the government may use parts of past solicitation for something they want that is similar. At this time, if you can demonstrate that you make, or your service is the same thing, or perhaps even better you have a possibility of winning. Proposal Tip You may come across a requirement that looks like it is specifically for a particular company. Don't assume that the government wrote the requirement for that business. The government may have used that company's brochure as the basis for the scope of work in the RFP. Also, the government may have used a company's brochure because it happened to describe the best what the agency wanted. If you can meet or exceed the requirements contained in the solicitation and scope of work, bid the project!!! Are there any market considerations to be aware of? That is what we will cover next. Any Marketing Considerations? If the request something considered a new product to you? And, if so, can you leverage this into more business by selling to other customers? Above all, look at whether winning will cost you an existing account or be at the expenses of your different product lines and services. For this reason you want to make sure that you can fulfill all your current and future client needs. If you can't then maybe it is time to review the products or services that you provide to eliminate the least profitable ones from your business. Equally important, ask yourself if this customer meets your criteria of an ideal customer. Is the Requirement with Your Ideal Customer? In other words, do you already have a relationship with the buyer? Is it good, or is it strained? Also, as you are working with a government agency's, you will find that some agencies are easier to work with than others. You may decide that it is not worth the hassle to deal with specific customers. I have numerous clients that will not work with specific agencies because they can be difficult. Also, consider letting customer go that are not worth the hassle that they give you. Life is just to short to but up with problem customers. I totally believe in the Pareto principle, otherwise known as the 80 20 rule. Basically it means that 80% of the effects come from 20% causes. In other words, 20% of your customers cause you 80% of your time. Well, at least for me that is. Has the Project Been Funded? This is an excellent point to keep in mind. If there are not any funds for the requirement, the government cannot issue the contract. You do not want to spend a ton of time and resources on a proposal if the government has not funded the project. If you are told that there are reserved funds, the government could redirect the funds elsewhere, and the project you are bidding on will go unfunded. So what happens if you elect not to respond to an RFP, but you have had contact or discussions with the government before the RFP being released? Well, you should, out of courtesy, let the contracting officer know, in writing, that you are not bidding and the reasons why. Next, we will talk about the steps you need to do before writing your proposal. What to Do BEFORE You Start Writing? You have decided to bid on the RFP. Now what? Everyone that will be involved in writing the proposal should do the following before you start writing. 1. Reread the RFP. 2. Outline the RFP by section and decide who is responsible for responding to each section. 3. Create a proposal calendar with timelines, milestones, and due dates spelled out. 4. Review the evaluation criteria that the buying office will use to measure each proposal. Ask the buyer or contracting officer if there is anything else that you need to know and to clarify any criteria that you don't understand. Make sure that you know all points so that you can address every aspect in your proposal. Do this before you begin to write. 5. Think like the Evaluators   Next, we will look at the criteria the government will use to judge all proposals. Evaluation Criteria Below are just some of the standard criteria that evaluators that maybe use when evaluating a proposal: · Have you formatted the bid according to the instructions? · Is the project solution presented in the bid plausible? · Have you organized the proposal, and is it responsive to the basic requirement? · Did you follow the basic requirements in the RFP? · Is the company's delivery schedule acceptable? · Does the company demonstrate the capability to perform? FCME uploads new episodes every Monday & Friday morning at 6:00 a.m. MST. Topics include proposal writing, bonds, types of contracts, why do business with the federal government, 8(a), business services for veterans and women, where federal opportunities are listed, and more. You can listen to the podcast here or with your favorite podcast provider (iTunes, Google Play, Spotify, or Stitcher). FCME is also active on social media and launched the Federal Contracting Made Easy YouTube channel on January 1, 2019. Website Facebook Twitter Instagram YouTube   · Do you and the company have related experience? · Has the company had past performance history? · Is the company financially stable? · Are the costs reasonable · Is the costing method creditable? · Are the company's personnel resources adequate? · Has a bill of materials been created? . Have you read the evaluation factors? Next, we will look at preparation to write your proposal. Preparation is Key Remember that preparation is the key. Any checklist or systems that you can put into place to assist you now will pay dividends on future proposals. You can use some of the information from previous projects on current proposals. Just remember to use the same formatting that the government is requesting on anything that you cut and paste. For instance, your organizational charts and business history, resumes of key personnel are going to be the same no matter which solicitation you are bidding on. -Proposal Tip- Don't make the mistake of concentrating on the Statement of Work (SOW) Section of their proposal. Make sure to spend the same amount of time on the evaluation section and write to this as well. While the Statement of Work may state the requirement, the Evaluation Section will contain the requirement might have to be delivered within a specific time frame. For that reason, you need to address both factors. You need to be as familiar with the evaluation factors, as you are with the Statement of Work. Analyze Your Competition Gather together and review any information about your competition. It is easier to communicate the superiority of your products/services if you are very familiar with the features and benefits that your competitors offer. Include information on any subcontractors you will need to use. Your Proposal Needs an Outline Create an outline for your proposal. We have enclosed some sample categories that you may want to consider for your outline. They will provide you with a general idea of the areas that need to be covered and how to organize them. Note: The outline applies to contracts valued over $100,000 but can be used for smaller proposals as well. Proposal Outline A. Executive Summary B. Introduction C. Benefits of Proposed Solutions D. Your Organization & Experience E. Company's Project Management F. Technical Methods a. Explanation of Proposed project 1. Project Overview 2. Proposed Project Configuration b. Project Requirement 1. Standard Products/Services 2. Maintenance 3. Project Characteristics 4. Bill of Materials c. Future Enhancements 1. Project Growth G. Proposal Cost a. Cost Basis 1. Project Procurement costs 2. Operating Costs 3. Maintenance Costs H. Delivery & Acceptance I. Qualification J. Pre-Award Considerations K. Organization L. Financial Status Use these headings as a template for your proposal. But what if your proposal contains sensitive or proprietary information? Next week we will discuss how to handle sensitive or proprietary information. In summary, checklists are necessary in government contracting as well as the commercial world. The better defined your checklists are the better your proposal. That is as long as you use the FCME uploads new episodes every Monday & Friday morning at 6:00 a.m. MST. Topics include proposal writing, bonds, types of contracts, why do business with the federal government, 8(a), business services for veterans and women, where federal opportunities are listed, and more. You can listen to the podcast here or with your favorite podcast provider (iTunes, Google Play, Spotify, or Stitcher). FCME is also active on social media and launched the Federal Contracting Made Easy YouTube channel on January 1, 2019. Website Facebook Twitter Instagram YouTube   checklists. There is a ton of things to consider while writing your proposal. We obviously could not cover every item but tried to highlight those that we felt were most important. As a result of today's topic, we hope you are better prepared for writing your next proposal. Remember to subscribe so that you are notified when we release new content. In case you wish to read more from our author, please see our blog.

When you are ready to delegate your software project to Zerocracy, you will need an architect, who will guide you through the bootstrap steps, will understand the requirements, will build the team of freelancers, and will supervise it, with the help of Zerocrat, our AI-powered chatbot. To find that architect you have to submit a Request-for-Proposal (RfP), which will be "purchased" by one of the most active and reputable programmers and you will get a chance to discuss your project with him or her. Then, if you both like each other, the project will start and you will be the Product Owner and requirements provider. If not, you will have to try again or ask help in our Telegram chat. The full video is here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QsxwHdKoWEI

KPI Golf sent out 2 proposals today for 2 different golf courses. One proposal was a response to a 90-page RFP (request for proposal)! Crazy right? --- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/golf-essentials/message

KPI Golf responded to 2 requests for proposal today - one of which was a whopping 90 pages long! So, you can probably imagine the work that went into composing a 90-page RFP. I won't mention which golf club it was, but they spent a whole lot of time, energy and money on conducting market research, surveys, competitive analysis, and outlining much of the club's recent history. Ownership is looking to present all relevant data (I mean ALL data) to all comers in hopes that they will be able to provide an adequate business plan to help the club turn things around. The problem that we see is that the work/reward ratio just isn't there under this kind of format. In order for us to respond to this RFP completely and as ownership intended, we estimate 100 - 150 man hours. How can any effective organization invest this kind of effort into their own research, data analysis, strategic planning, and presentation on pure speculation? It just doesn't make sense. Pay Rate = (Hours) x (Fee) x (Win %) It's kind of like asking all real estate agents out there to do a bunch of work finding homes for you. Whichever one happens to come up with the home you choose is the only one to get paid. If you do the math on this, each real estate company might spend 20 hours researching and touring sites with you. This, for a 10% chance to earn a fee. It's bad business. Better strategy is to spend time properly vetting candidates. Choose the most reputable, most authoritative and trustworthy firm...and go with them. Now that they know it's their deal to keep, they'll go to the ends of the earth for you. From KPI's perspective, once we get the deal, we'll conduct all of our own intensive market research, interview staff and leadership, research historical trends, perform competitive analysis, and otherwise. But without knowing we're hired, we can only expend so much time on any project. I know this club is trying to be thorough in their request for help. Logic would tell you that more information and more data is best, but it really isn't. I have a feeling they're deterring a good number of highly qualified firms from jumping through those hoops.

One of the most common reasons why companies come to us for help on an ERP project is because they need help creating a Request For Proposal. But what are the missing steps that seem to create so much confusion for subject matter experts who themselves know their own business processes inside and out? Join us to hear how to avoid the stumbling blocks that will prevent you from writing this key document you will need for communicating to software vendors.

Sander, Sander en Guido hebben het deze week over het opstarten van een (Magento) project aan de hand van een Request for proposal: wat heb je er aan, hoe stel je het op en heb je het überhaupt nodig? Photo by Helloquence on Unsplash

Here's how you need to Respond to a Request For Proposal and RFP, but before we jump into the how, let's see what does RFP stand for…. #1 Request For Proposal #2 Request For Punishment: #3 Remember First Principle: there's only 2 winners to RFP #4 Run Fast People: Make sure you are the first one out. #5 Really? Failed Potential: Opportunity cost - How else could you be spending this time? #6 Realize Fast Predicament: Working on something for nothing is a mistake #7 Regret First Project: Usually bidding on an RFP restricts creativity, which you will regret! #8 Real F**ing Problem: #9 Rally For Principle: Let's all rally around saying NO to RFPs!

How do you stand out when responding to your next Request for Proposal?  Today we're joined by Michael Riscica, a Facilities Project Manager for the City of Portland, Oregon. Michael is a young architect and blogger at Youngarchitect.com. In today's episode you'll discover:

Zone:Zone 4 Listen and Learn…   One of the many unique elements of federal contracting is the Debriefing. In this cast, we explain what a debriefing is (and what it isn’t). We also describe the...

Ever wonder why it takes, or at least feels like it takes, so long to get an RFP out sometimes? In this session, we discuss what the government team is doing while contractors wait for...

Do you know how to respond to a Request for Proposal? Recently, I joined Jim Blasingame to discuss: How to prepare for a request for proposal (RFP) How to know when to not respond  How your proposal can have a long shelf-life  Listen to this interview on the Marketing Mentor Podcast. If you're working on a proposal now, and you'd like 11 actual proposals to use as models (+more) check out The Proposal Bundle: 25 Resources for Project-Winning Proposals.

Welcome to episode #68 of Six Pixels Of Separation - The Twist Image Podcast. Two big questions came out of this episode and I really need your help in starting the conversation. The first one is about how prepared us Marketers are for creating content and advertising for all of these new devices that are coming out on to the market - from the new Apple iTouch iPod to the N Series from Nokia. It's a new game and I'm not sure how prepared we all are. Second question revolved around RFPs for Digital Marketing agencies. Do you think when a Request For Proposal is made that both the client and the agency are well-educated enough to make the right choice, or is there an underlying knowledge to Digital Marketing that is hard to bring across in this type of process? Lots of big questions - lots of stuff to talk about. Enjoy this conversation... Here it is: Six Pixels Of Separation - The Twist Image Podcast - Episode #68 - Host: Mitch Joel. Running time: 53:03. Audio comment line - please send in a comment and add your voice to the audio community: +1 206-666-6056. Please send in questions, comments, suggestions - mitch@twistimage.com. Hello from Beautiful Montreal. Subscribe over at iTunes. Comments are now live on the new Blog - sixpixels.com/blog. Facebook Group - Six Pixels of Separation Podcast Society - please join (we have close to eight hundred members). The new Blog and Podcast design is live - finally. How come no one picked up that everything is now called: Six Pixels of Separation? Have you checked out my other Podcast, Foreword Thinking - The Business And Motivational Book Review Podcast - sponsored by HarperCollins Canada. Just posted episode #6 with John Wood - founder of Room To Read and Author of Leaving Microsoft To Change The World. IAB Canada - Interactive Advertising Bureau - Social Media Marketing full-day seminar: Just back from Calgary, Alberta. Toronto, Ontario - September 20th, 2007. Ottawa, Ontario - September 26th, 2007. Montreal, Quebec - October 10th, 2007. Please let me know if you would like to meet up for some drinks or a Geek Dinner of sorts. Contest - Osheaga Festival in Montreal - the winner is Dave Thomas who knew that the festival is taking place at Parc Jean Drapeau. Featuring Smashing Pumpkins, Feist, Bloc Party, Interpol, Macy Gray, Arctic Monkeys and many more. Contest courtesy of Gillette Entertainment Group - Michael Wielgus. Geek Dinner Montreal with Tod Maffin from the CBC - Tuesday, September 11th, 2007 at 7:00 pm. Please join us. PodCamp Boston 2 - October 26 - 28, 2007 before VON Boston. Audio Comment - Jay Berkowitz - Ten Golden Rules. DVD Video Soft. Audio Comment - Mario Parise - Happy Pixels. Are you creating marketing materials for all of the new channels that are out there? Greenfields Report - Bernie Goldbach - Podcasting.ie. Nokia - Ovi. Audio Comment - Bill Sweetman - Sweetmantra - Marketing Martini - Tucows. Does is make sense to do RFPs for a Digital Marketing agency?  Six Points of Separation - Six Online Tools To Get You Organized - inspired by Jay Berkowitz's audio comment: Google Reader. Google Notebook. Windows Live Writer. Zamzar. Google Docs and Google Calendar. PowerGramo. Six Pounds Of Sound (but no C.C. Chapman): David Usher - 'Ugly Is Beautiful'.  Please join the conversation by sending in questions, feedback and ways to improve Six Pixels Of Separation. Please let me know what you think or leave an audio comment at: +1 206-666-6056. Download the Podcast here: Six Pixels Of Separation - The Twist Image Podcast - Episode #68 - Host: Mitch Joel.