How to Keep Your Government Strategy on Track and in Budget
I’m often asked these questions from SMEs trying to open Government revenue streams:
What’s the best way to keep track of the moving parts?
Is there a best-practice methodology to use as a template?
What steps should be taken and in what order?
While there’s a pretty long and detailed response to each of these questions, one thing overlooked by many SMEs is having a system in place to ensure their Government strategy is kept on track and within budget. I can summarise this using just two words: Project. Management.
Evolving your SME to make it ‘Government Ready’ is a project.
Finding and submitting for Government business is a project.
Winning and executing a Government contract is a project.
For SMEs looking to improve their chances of partnering with Government, an understanding of Project Management and how to apply it, is a very handy skill to have. While people argue the pro’s and cons of different project management methodologies, basic project management is:
Planned – What’s the final outcome? Time required? Anticipated costs?
Systematic – Is made of tasks which are prioritised.
Reviewed – Pulse checks throughout to ensure the project is on track.
Has a reviewed ending – How did we do? How can we do better next time?
SMEs with a basic understanding of PM principles can apply them alongside their strategy to help them win and fulfil Government contracts. There’s no need to spend months or even weeks building your project management IQ through over-priced institutions; being an A-grade-black-belt-10th dan-Project Manager Master Champion isn’t going to have Government knocking on your door and begging you to invoice them. No. Instead, the basic essentials of Project Management, and knowing how to apply them, can help you by:
Sticking to the timetable – Meet set objectives at particular times. Staying on schedule is key when you consider the limited resources most SMEs have available.
Scrutinising expenses – Like time, pools of available cash are something most SMEs don’t have lying around. Ensuring costs are kept in check is essential.
Project Checks – Maintaining control of the project and ensuring milestones are met when required. If anything is missed or not completed as planned, project checks identify these before it's too late and enable the SME to address and rectify as required.
Candid Assessments – Both internal and external. What went right? Any failures? How can you improve? If you had your time over again, you would (insert most relevant facts), you get the idea.
Having a defined strategy in place to secure Government business is essential for SMEs. For some, the strategy itself is enough to guide them to their Government goal. However, for other small businesses, applying basic project management principles can act as an enabler that provides a fundamental framework to guide you from initiation to execution, through to completion and finally evaluation.
-Tom