Comments on: A Modest Proposal: Kill the RFP, Part II http://www.jeffthomascobb.com/2007/06/a-modest-proposal-kill-the-rfp-part-ii/ Digital Strategy Blog Thu, 29 Jul 2010 20:17:29 +0000 http://wordpress.org/?v=2.9.2 hourly 1 By: Jeff Cobb http://www.jeffthomascobb.com/2007/06/a-modest-proposal-kill-the-rfp-part-ii/comment-page-1/#comment-4 Jeff Cobb Tue, 28 Aug 2007 20:34:56 +0000 http://tagoras.com/missiontolearn/?p=14#comment-4 Celisa--Thanks for the reference to Liz Ryan and sharing the term "logical gate." This is exactly what I have in mind. JTC Celisa–Thanks for the reference to Liz Ryan and sharing the term “logical gate.” This is exactly what I have in mind. JTC

]]> By: Celisa Steele http://www.jeffthomascobb.com/2007/06/a-modest-proposal-kill-the-rfp-part-ii/comment-page-1/#comment-3 Celisa Steele Thu, 23 Aug 2007 15:36:28 +0000 http://tagoras.com/missiontolearn/?p=14#comment-3 The RFP plus canned demo are to the technology project what the cover letter plus resume are to staffing. They're both so firmly ensconsed in their respective domains that second-guessing them seems scandalous--much like Swift's original modest proposal. ;) Yesterday I saw a piece by Liz Ryan in Business Week (<a href="http://www.businessweek.com/careers/content/aug2007/ca20070819_142594.htm)" rel="nofollow">http://www.businessweek.com/careers/content/aug2007/ca20070819_142594.htm)</a> on adding logical gates to the hiring process: "I was hiring an editor, and so I included this instruction in the job ad: 'If you are interested in this job, please write to me at this e-mail address with your comments on the most recent edition of our newsletter.' (I included the URL for the newsletter, of course.) That is a simple enough gate. Curious to know what percentage of candidates followed the instruction? Ten percent." I think what you're suggesting, Jeff, is a kind of logical gate for technology projects. If finding a long-term partner capable of adult conversation (to play off Thull's parent-child description) is as important as organizations often profess, they need to think about the best way to find that partner. Using a logical gate, like asking a technology company to review and comment on the organization's e-learning strategy (as you suggest, Jeff), might just help the organization find the perfect partner. The RFP plus canned demo are to the technology project what the cover letter plus resume are to staffing. They’re both so firmly ensconsed in their respective domains that second-guessing them seems scandalous–much like Swift’s original modest proposal. ;)

Yesterday I saw a piece by Liz Ryan in Business Week (http://www.businessweek.com/careers/content/aug2007/ca20070819_142594.htm) on adding logical gates to the hiring process:

“I was hiring an editor, and so I included this instruction in the job ad: ‘If you are interested in this job, please write to me at this e-mail address with your comments on the most recent edition of our newsletter.’ (I included the URL for the newsletter, of course.) That is a simple enough gate. Curious to know what percentage of candidates followed the instruction? Ten percent.”

I think what you’re suggesting, Jeff, is a kind of logical gate for technology projects. If finding a long-term partner capable of adult conversation (to play off Thull’s parent-child description) is as important as organizations often profess, they need to think about the best way to find that partner. Using a logical gate, like asking a technology company to review and comment on the organization’s e-learning strategy (as you suggest, Jeff), might just help the organization find the perfect partner.

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