- Acceptance and hope! You just received the RFP. You are excited at the opportunity. You accept the challenge ahead and are hopeful that the process will go smoothly and that your firm will win the work!
- Depression. The late nights and the missing of functions with friends, family or co-workers gets you down.
- Anger. Seems to be necessary in order to face the reality of proposals. We must all deal with them in our own ways. Anger is a natural stage through which we must pass. Your anger at your proposal may even make you feel guilty.
- Guilt is painful and hard to deal with. This is when one says over and over, "If only I had..." or "If only I had not..." This is a normal feeling and ultimately it may be solved by stating, "I'm a human being and I gave the best and worst of me to the proposal effort and what they do with it is their responsibility
- Bargaining is your promise that "I'll be so very good that maybe I can wake up and find that it isn't so. I'll do all the right things if only...."
- Denial follows quickly, crying "I don't believe it," or "It can't be."
- Shock is the last stage. It is accompanied by disbelief and numbness at how far off the rails the proposal has gotten.
This was written as a joke a few months back. After finishing a huge RFP yesterday, I realize how close to reality these seven stages are. Check for yourself.
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