ABOUT JORDAN KELLY
I’m Jordan Kelly – a multi-industry bid strategist and writer since 2002, with an extensive prior career in journalism, public relations and marcoms – and more than 25 published books (most on marketing and bid-related topics) under my belt.
Strategic, Bid-Specific Curricula Vitae . . .
Personifying
Your Unique Competitive Edge
The multi-faceted skill set I have drawn on in my work with a vast array of (often multi-national) B2G and B2B enterprises to help them win big-ticket, mission-critical pursuits, has also enriched my formulation and delivery of many bespoke training, coaching and mentoring programs.
One of my specialisations in the bidding arena has involved helping household-name civil infrastructure contractors win non-price-based, consortium-bid, “project alliancing” or “collaborative contracting” projects. In this form of civil infrastructure contracting, client procurement agencies often team with multiple other consortia members to deliver projects against well-publicised Governmental imperatives.
Winning these (often nationally significant megaprojects) requires not only a detailed understanding of (Government) client-side strategies and priorities, but also the best achievable insights into the corporate strategies at play within the various competing consortia. It further requires a level of differentiation unlike any other industry, to stand out amidst a competitive field in which almost every player can “do the job” – at least to an acceptable standard of project delivery.
An especially important component of these weighty submissions is the Curricula Vitae of the specific operational and managerial members of the project team. As a collective, these documents can account for up to 40 percent of the scoring value of this type of bid. They are far from the average “CV” – although they’re often seen only as that by “average” bid and “tender writers”.
These CVs are – both individually and collectively – fundamental to the supplementary and interwoven communication of a bidder’s core strategy.
For any genuinely savvy proponent, the inseparable role these specifically project-relevant mini-biographies (even within their challengingly tight prescribed word counts) play within the broader submission, deems them worthy of priority focus and time investment. These bidders know that – with the almost-always formidable competition they’re up against – well-formulated, genuinely strategic, “the whole is greater than the sum of its parts” Curricula Vitae represent their most powerful weaponry.
“. . . We have included your books for distribution to our teams around the world . . .”
(Think & Win Bids)
Don Braid
Group Managing Director
Mainfreight Limited
New Zealand
“Kelly, through her unique ability to share both experience and deep insight, articulates the paramount importance of asking, listening and deep thinking in understanding the client’s mind . . . "
(Think & Win Bids)
Rod Naylor
General Manager
Veolia Water North America
(New York)
“Ms. Kelly, your book ‘Think & Win Bids’ is a ‘must read’ for anyone who is responding to what we (Americans) refer to as ‘Partnering’, ‘Integrated Project Delivery’ or ‘Requests for Proposal’ (RFP) type contracting.”
(Think & Win Bids)
Dr. Paul D. Giammalvo
(CDT, CCE, MscPM, MRICS)
Sr. Technical Advisor
PT Mitratata Citragraha
Jakarta
“This may well become required reading for all bid managers and others involved in bidding major projects.”
(Think & Win Bids)
David Holden
Partner
Russell McVeagh Lawyers
Auckland
“You have outlined clear and correct processes for conducting relevant research, asking the right questions, and usefully using what has been obtained. You rightly state that ‘templating’ is the opposite of thinking.”
(Think & Win Bids)
Dr TING, Seng Kiong
Council Member, Singapore
International Society of Project Managers
“Jordan Kelly's 'Think and Win Bids' is a book with a strong message and a wealth of commanding insights into the fundamentals of winning bids."
(Think & Win Bids)
Glenn Baker
Editor
New Zealand Business
“An excellent, easy-to-read collection of thoughts and insights by industry leaders. Jordan takes the whole Value for Money concept and debate, and makes sense of it. After reading her book, VfM will no longer seem some specialised ‘black box’ procedure.”
(Cracking the VfM Code)
Wade Arthur
Executive Manager
CGI Consulting
Melbourne, Australia
“Jordan Kelly illuminates – in a way that no-one before her has – the subject of VfM. (The Code duo) is as timely as it is timeless, both in its perspectives and in its content.”
(Cracking the VfM Code)
Steve Abson
Former President
Queensland Major Contractors Association
“Your book has seen Main Roads WA take an elevated, improved approach to the whole Value for Money (VfM) question. You’ve inspired an additional focus on getting VfM clear – up front. This has worked its way right through the project development phases of our projects; all my project directors now think at this elevated level. You have provided clarity about where we are taking relationship contracting per se.”
(Cracking the VfM Code)
Menno Henneveld
Managing Director
Main Roads Western Australia
“Kelly’s ‘Cracking the VfM Code in Collaborative Contract Bidding’ strikes to the core of how to go about winning bids in a highly competitive and often confused market, and additionally, a market laced with cynicism regarding contractor performance. Her insightful and candid explanations provide fundamental wisdom applicable to both Project Owners and Project Contractors."
(Cracking the VfM Code)
Dr Bill Young, President
Asia Pacific Federation of Project Management
(Former President of the Australian Institute of Project Management)
“I found ‘Cracking the VfM Code in Collaborative Contract Bidding’ an extremely insightful guide to developing winning bid strategies. It provides clear, concise and relevant techniques, and even though it is targeted at large collaborative infrastructure projects I found it equally applicable to all types of bids, large or small."
(Cracking the VfM Code)
Bob Deretic, Bid Manager
Visionstream
Sydney, Australia
My Most Relevant Books Include . . .
In 2015, I was sponsored by the Australian civil infrastructure contracting sector to produce what is considered a seminal work in this area: the ‘Cracking the VfM Code’ duo, ‘How to Identify & Deliver Genuine Value for Money in Collaborative Contracting’, and ‘Cracking the VfM Code in Collaborative Contract Bidding: Value for Money … Understanding It & Articulating Your Ability to Deliver It’.
I’ve also written – among my other specifically bid-related books – a full portfolio of how-to paperbacks on high-value bidding, including my flagship, ‘Think & Win Bids: Winning High-Value, High-Stakes Bids through Superior Questioning, Listening and Thinking Skills’ – a work that some client organisations have made “required reading” for their bid, sales and marketing teams, internationally.
