[INSIGHT] 2010’s Lesson: Slow Down and Keep Grinding Away

(Ed. note: Jeff Micallef is a Managing Partner of MIPRO Consulting.)

Perseverance is the hard work you do after you get tired of doing the hard work you already did.  ~ Newt Gingrich

Perseverance eventually pays off.

As we look back at this past year I am reminded of the childhood story of the race between the tortoise and the hare, particularly its theme:  Slow and steady wins the race.  In a business world that often looks at how fast something is achieved, it’s easy to lose sight of the fact that perseverance wins more than pure acceleration.

Over the past year, we had two races where our determination paid dividends.

Five years ago we entered into a relationship with Bart & Associates, a firm who has tremendous expertise in the government sector.  We brought our extensive PeopleSoft experience to the relationship.  Together we were going to rule the world.  Quickly.

Things didn’t work out that way.  Right away.

Three years later, not one battle had been won.  Alas, another crusade presented itself.  The United States Senate needed to implement PeopleSoft HR and Payroll.  So we began our quest.

Many months later, after dozens of meetings, midnight phone calls and fending off almost twenty other competitors – including Deloitte and Oracle Consulting – our resolve and experience paid off with the U.S. Senate selecting our team, MIPRO/Bart/ IBM, over all others for their PeopleSoft project.

This accomplishment is one we worked very hard to earn and are extremely proud of looking back at 2010.  And for a while there, it looked like we were getting nowhere, not unlike the race against the hare must have seemed to the tortoise.

In a similar tale, two years ago we joined forces with Jetco Solutions, a firm in western Michigan, in order to uncover opportunities at the state level.  We jointly responded to many Request for Proposals (RFPs) – which most readers of this blog know is a time-consuming effort – with not one win to show for our efforts.  Again, after thinking we would move quickly and bag some quick wins, we found ourselves running without covering the expected ground.

Fast forward several long months.

As the numbers game continued, we finally found an opportunity that was perfect for our expertise.  The State of Michigan was looking to improve their reporting and analytic capabilities.  This will be of tremendous value to the state, helping them uncover areas to eliminate waste and at the same time providing additional insight enabling improved decision making.

The RFP was substantial but we put a team together to respond.  We shared our past successes as well as the unique advantages we bring to our customers.  We responded during follow-up rounds with additional information.

And then the wait.

Silence.  And more silence.

Before long we concluded that we must have lost.  Just about to throw in the towel, we received notice that we were one of the vendors selected for the project.  Triumph! And here we were, perfectly cognizant that perseverance pays off, and we were about to chalk this endeavor up as lost.

Lesson reinforced.  It happens again and again.

So in 2010, we added the U.S. Senate and State of Michigan to our family of customers.  Long hours, email blizzards and a dedicated team diligently working toward the finish line eventually outpaced the subconscious expectations for quick accomplishment (the metaphorical hare).

Me?  I hope the hare gets his rest this holiday season, because it looks like 2011 will provide even more race opportunities and we’re up the challenge.

Do you have similar stories of perseverance and determination paying off for you this year?  We’d love to hear them in the comments.

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MIPRO Consulting is a nationally-recognized consulting firm specializing in PeopleSoft Enterprise (particularly Enterprise Asset Management) and Business Intelligence. You’re reading MIPRO Unfiltered, its blog. If you’d like to contact MIPRO, email is a great place to start, or you can easily jump over to its main website. If you’d like to see what MIPRO offers via Twitter or Facebook, we’d love to have you.

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