Leveraging Our Productivity (May 2009)

Pure and simple…contracts drive our business. Seeking, obtaining, servicing and achieving contracts provide our organization with not only financial success, but also professional rewards as well.

The life-blood of our business are the key components of the contract process; finding requirements, providing written and oral proposals, selecting qualified personnel to implement the contracts and finally ensuring that the contracts are successfully completed.

There are a number of elements that impact the quality of contract accomplishment. Some of them are; cost, time, personnel and customer satisfaction.

In most circumstances; cost, time and personnel are set and not negotiable. These are requirements built into the contract that demand satisfaction when achieving the deliverables mandated by the customer. However, one element can fluctuate widely…that of customer satisfaction! Are we doing as well as we can to achieve customer satisfaction?

With the increased competition for contracts and the demand for rapid and effective success, the “what” is not a discriminator for contract success as that is an anticipated effect of retaining the contract, the “how” becomes the unique discriminator when dealing with contract accomplishment.

Given two different organizations, each will accomplish the terms of the contract by completing the deliverables in a timely manner, ensuring that the contract is fulfilled by contractor performance. Yet, as similar as these two organizations may be in their approach to the contract, the one aspect that will spell the difference between the two is the added value that is provided to the customer by the intrinsic value of how the contractor performs the contract requirements.

MPRI’s training philosophy is based on ensuring that the client not only receives the benefits derived from accomplishing specific deliverables, but also ensuring that the client/customer will be able to continue to perform those actions after the departure of the contractor. That is why we focus so much on teaching legacy skills that can be adapted to the needs and demands of the client’s cultural and organizational traditions.

All the good work that is accomplished by the contractor will come to naught if the client has not accepted and adapted universally accepted principles and concepts into their plans, policies and procedures. This requires a close working relationship between the contractor and the client being developed that promotes an exchange of ideas and a positive plan of progress. In essence, client satisfaction with contractor performance ensures that we meet the client’s needs.

“How” we service the contract is immensely important to the success of the contract. Mentoring is a proven method of interaction with our clients that is based on solid measures of performance which enhances our individual and corporate capabilities. It is a major element in how productive we are.

We have a tremendous reputation for “how” we do things, as well as “what” we do. But each day we have to re-charge our personal batteries to remember that what we do today will not be around tomorrow unless we have created a positive relationship, based on trust and credibility, with our client/customer. A relationship of trust, credibility and expertise often makes us different from our competition. It is not only our professional capabilities, but also our personal capabilities of promoting daily success with our clients, so that it becomes, ultimately, their success!

How we do business is an essential element of leveraging our productivity in contract accomplishment.