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VIDEO: Making a Proposal Easy to Read, Skim and Evaluate 3
Video 3 shifts the focus from writing to layout. After drafting a complete Project Understanding section in earlier videos, this instalment shows how finished proposal copy is brought into InDesign and shaped into a clear, professional document. We explain why full layout control matters, when the effort to integrate InDesign is worth it, and how this approach fits proposals without strict page limits. It also clarifies when this method applies—and when text-only or client-controlled formats require a different strategy.
VIDEO: Making a Proposal Easy to Read, Skim and Evaluate 2
In this video, I walk through how to rewrite a Project Understanding section so it truly responds to the RFP’s evaluation criteria. Starting with a draft that was misaligned and task-heavy, I show how to refocus the content on understanding the client’s issues, constraints, and priorities. Using only the material we were given—plus a few extracted bullet points—I rebuild the section with the evaluation criteria as the guiding framework. By the end of the video, you’ll see a complete, evaluator-ready draft that makes the reviewer’s job easier.
VIDEO: Choosing What to Pursue: The Real Go / No-Go Decision
Go/no-go decisions are not administrative steps; they are strategic acts of leadership. What a firm chooses to pursue—and decline—shapes its backlog, margins, culture, and long-term direction. Effective decisions go beyond scoring forms to honestly assess strategic alignment, client relationships, competitive positioning, delivery fit, financial health, and risk. Every pursuit consumes finite resources, and pursuing misaligned work erodes trust and judgment across teams.
TEMPLATE: Twennie's IPD Workbook; A Guide for Testing IPD Principles
This IPD workbook turns theory into practice. Paired with a seven-video series, it guides leaders through low-risk IPD experiments—co-location, early feedback, constructability, decision clarity, incentives, shared models, and project close. Each section provides space to record observations, language cues, lessons learned, and adjustments, helping teams recognize IPD while it’s happening and convert real project experience into repeatable capability for future work.
VIDEO: The BD Excuses Jar; An Exercise in BD Culture
The BD Excuses Jar is a simple, low-tech tool that does something most CRM systems never will: it makes invisible resistance visible. In this video, you’ll learn how to turn common, reasonable-sounding excuses into shared data your team can recognize without defensiveness. The goal isn’t to punish or embarrass anyone—it’s to surface patterns, normalize awareness, and create permission to talk honestly about what’s getting in the way of good business development. Humor lowers the temperature. Insight does the real work.
PROMPT SET: Leading Integrated Project Delivery (IPD) in Micro
This leader-focused prompt set supports Integrated Project Delivery in practice by addressing the hidden leadership work IPD requires. Through clear intent-setting, authority clarification, upward risk absorption, time protection, and visible accountability, leaders create conditions where early collaboration is safe and productive. These prompts help leaders prevent exposure from turning into punishment, ensure collaboration doesn’t become unpaid labor, and recognize when to pause or adjust experiments.
to help leaders create the safety, clarity, and protection teams need to practice IPD-style collaboration without being penalized for early visibility, shared risk, or honest uncertainty
VIDEO: Integrated Project Delivery (IPD); An Introduction
Integrated Project Delivery (IPD) is a collaborative approach to delivering complex projects that changes when decisions are made and who makes them together. Instead of passing work downstream and transferring risk, IPD brings owners, designers, engineers, contractors, and key trades into early collaboration under shared incentives. This shift allows constructability issues, risks, and tradeoffs to surface sooner—when they are cheaper and easier to resolve.
PROMPT SET: Micro-IPD Habits; Testing the Principles of IPD in Small Steps
This prompt set helps engineers and project managers experience Integrated Project Delivery behaviors in small, low-risk steps. Through shared workspaces, live problem-solving, early risk discussions, shortened feedback loops, and intentional discomfort, participants build collaboration muscle without changing contracts or delivery models. These micro-experiments reveal how early visibility, shared understanding, and aligned incentives improve outcomes — preparing professionals to lead effectively as IPD-style delivery becomes more common on complex projects.
To help engineers and project managers practice Integrated Project Delivery behaviors in small, low-risk ways — building collaboration, shared ownership, and faster decision-making before formal IPD is required
TEMPLATE: Project Coordination Personnel Sample Job Descriptions
The Senior Project Coordinator oversees project coordination across a business unit or region, establishing standards that improve clarity, predictability, and delivery performance. This role partners with project managers and leadership to identify risks early, reduce rework, and protect schedules and margins without undermining technical authority. Through coaching, system design, and governance, the Senior Project Coordinator strengthens how projects are planned, communicated, and executed. The result is fewer surprises, healthier teams, and more consistent project outcomes across the portf
VIDEO: Cross Discipline Conflict; Business Development vs Technical 1
Proposal and marketing professionals work in ambiguity, supporting technical teams with widely varying levels of business development maturity. Without clear empowerment, they’re forced into reactive roles — proofreading, formatting, and following instructions that may miss the mark. This video examines the tension that arises when non-technical professionals challenge assumptions, deadlines, or strategy, and how easily those moments are misread as overstepping.
VIDEO: A Leader's Tool: Opening a Safe Conversation About Anger at Work
Rage at work doesn’t appear out of thin air, and it’s rarely caused by “difficult people.” For leaders, rage is almost always feedback about how power, accountability, safety, and fairness are functioning fora team. This video helps leaders recognize the workplace conditions that quietly generate rage, even in high-performing, well-intentioned environments. We’ll examine how leadership behaviors, structural decisions, and unexamined norms contribute to anger that eventually surfaces as disengagement, conflict, or burnout.
TEMPLATE: Twennie's Workplace Rage Reference
The Workplace Rage Reference is a practical tool for employees who feel stuck, angry, or emotionally overloaded at work but need clarity instead of escalation. It helps you name the specific condition driving your rage, separate what you’re responsible for from what you control, and document patterns without venting. The steps guide you toward constructive action—whether that’s initiating a productive conversation, setting boundaries, reducing emotional exposure, or recognizing when rage is signaling that the environment itself may not be fixable.
VIDEO: Rage at Work; A Look at How Anger Compounds and How to Manage It
Rage at work rarely comes out of nowhere. It’s usually the result of chronic powerlessness, unclear expectations, disrespect, or psychological unsafety that builds over time. This video is for employees who feel that simmering anger—whether they express it outwardly or swallow it quietly. We’ll unpack what workplace rage actually is, why it’s so common in high-pressure professional environments, and how it can quietly derail your reputation and health if left unaddressed.
PROMPT SET: Turning a Project Into a Business Development Powerhouse
Not every project should become a business development story — but some should. This prompt set walks you through identifying the right projects, clarifying what makes them noteworthy, capturing their human impact, and thoughtfully sharing that story with the audiences who care. Rather than treating projects as endpoints, you’ll learn how to document, educate, and engage in ways that build trust and visibility over time. The result isn’t promotion for its own sake, but a repeatable approach that turns meaningful work into sustained business development momentum.
to practice tasks and exercises around exploiting further promotional opportunities from ongoing projects
VIDEO: Turning a Project Into a Business Development Powerhouse
Some projects are more than successful deliveries — they’re platforms for sustained business development. This video shows how to recognize those projects early and intentionally build momentum around them. You’ll learn how to identify work with broader relevance, define the audiences that will care, capture the human story, engage media thoughtfully, and invest in documentation that lasts. Rather than treating projects as endpoints, this approach turns them into living case studies that educate, build trust, and generate visibility for years.
VIDEO: How to Write a Winning Award Submission
Writing a winning engineering award submission isn’t about documenting a project — it’s about strategy, alignment, and storytelling. This video breaks down how to choose the right project, understand the purpose behind an award, follow judging criteria precisely, and translate technical excellence into a compelling, evidence-based narrative. Using a real award program as an example, you’ll see how the same project can be framed very differently depending on what judges value.
VIDEO: Recruiting and Hiring a Project Coordinator
Hiring a project coordinator isn’t about finding someone who already knows everything — it’s about identifying potential and creating the conditions for that person to grow. This unit helps leaders clarify what the role actually requires, what skills can be taught, and where early support matters most. It explores how to recruit with intention, evaluate candidates beyond resumes, and set realistic expectations during onboarding. Done well, hiring a project coordinator becomes an investment in future project managers, improved team capacity, and smoother delivery.
VIDEO: Project Fast-Tracking; What You're Really Agreeing To
Fast-tracking means overlapping project phases to compress schedules, but it’s often misunderstood as simple speed. Research shows it increases uncertainty, reduces predictability, and relocates risk downstream, where corrections cost more. While the term signals urgency and responsiveness in proposals, it frequently outpaces operational clarity. Used intentionally, with experienced teams and explicit risk management, fast-tracking can work. Used reactively, it creates project debt—rework, burnout, and loss of trust.
VIDEO: Mentoring and Succession Planning; A Long Game
Mentoring and succession planning aren’t tasks to complete—they’re long-game leadership habits woven into daily work. The most effective learning happens through real-time involvement, spontaneous exposure, and explaining the “why” behind decisions. Leaders must tolerate discomfort, adapt to different learning styles, and gradually let go as others grow. Mentoring expands when responsibility is shared, motivations are understood, and honest conversations guide development paths.
upcoming units
VIDEO: Why Culture Isn't Just Free Snacks - Designing a More Human Workplace
Culture can’t be reduced to free snacks or ping-pong tables. In this video, we explore what truly builds a strong workplace culture: connection, purpose, inclusion, and meaningful recognition. You’ll see why surface perks may get attention but don’t drive engagement or retention. Instead, employees stay where they feel human needs are met—where their work matters, relationships are strong, and leaders care. This video offers a practical, people-first lens on culture-building, helping you rethink what makes workplaces truly attractive and sustainable for the long term.
VIDEO: Leading a Team Through a Crisis
Every leader will face moments when plans unravel and pressure mounts. Leading a Team Through a Crisis prepares you for those moments. This video explores proven strategies for maintaining stability, protecting morale, and guiding teams through uncertainty. You’ll learn how to prioritize communication, make fast but thoughtful decisions, and sustain trust when the stakes are high.
VIDEO: The Pareto Principle in Practice
If 20% of your actions drive 80% of your outcomes, why does your calendar still look like 100%? This practical session shows you how to operationalize the Pareto Principle in real work—proposals, marketing, BD, and team ops. You’ll learn to define the outcome that matters, map your workflow, run a quick “Pareto scan” to find high-leverage tasks, and build a simple scoreboard that keeps the vital few front and center. We’ll create a not-to-do list, set up a weekly “Pareto sprint,” and use lightweight metrics to prove what’s working.
VIDEO: 30-Day Systems Approach - Planning
This series is designed for technical services business units. Over 30 days, leaders and their teams first investigate performance issues by answering daily diagnostic questions, benchmarking results, and categorizing metrics into red, yellow, and green. Leaders then prioritize “easy-to-fix” items to create quick wins and establish a culture of improvement. At the planning stage, you will plan corrective measures for the coming quarter.
VIDEO: Making a Proposal Easy to Read, Skim, and Evaluate 4 - Strategies for AI-Assisted Evaluations
In this important and timely video, you’ll learn how to mirror the buyer’s rubric in your headings, write two-sentence section summaries, build a one-page compliance matrix, place evidence beside claims, design machine-readable tables, and avoid layout traps that confuse algorithms. We’ll finish with an in-house AI pre-flight checklist you can run before submission. Make it easier to find, verify, and score what matters. For teams competing in technical services today.
VIDEO: Using Lean in Project Management
Lean project management applies principles of efficiency and value creation to every stage of a project. Instead of layering on complexity, lean practices simplify workflows, eliminate waste, and improve communication between disciplines. This upcoming video explores how lean thinking empowers teams to deliver faster while maintaining quality and adaptability. You’ll see how tools like value stream mapping and incremental improvements create projects that are both efficient and resilient. Whether you’re tackling client deadlines or internal initiatives, lean project management helps you focus on what truly matters.
VIDEO: 9 Soft Skills to Accelerate Your Career
Soft skills are the hidden accelerators of success in technical environments. In this video, you’ll explore nine essential skills—from communication and emotional intelligence to adaptability and leadership—that elevate your professional impact. Whether you’re managing projects, mentoring others, or preparing for advancement, these skills determine how far your technical expertise can take you.
VIDEO: Twennie's 20 Rules of Storytelling
Storytelling isn’t just for novels or movies—it’s a critical skill in technical services. In Twennie’s 20 Rules of Storytelling, we explore the essentials of building powerful narratives: creating clear structure, keeping the stakes high, surprising your audience with unpredictability, and weaving in emotional resonance. These rules aren’t abstract; they’re practical tools to strengthen proposals, presentations, and workplace communication.
EXERCISE: Turning a Project into a Business Development Powerhouse
Big projects carry hidden business development potential—if you know how to uncover it. This exercise pushes you beyond routine project delivery, guiding you step by step to identify promotional angles, client-relationship touch points, and reputational wins embedded in your work. You’ll practice re-framing day-to-day tasks as opportunities to enhance visibility, strengthen client confidence, and build a stronger market profile. By completing this activity, you’ll see firsthand how your projects can be more than deliverables—they can become engines for positioning your team and firm for future success.
VIDEO: 3 Models for Annual Strategic Planning
Strategic planning includes analyzing past performance, reviewing market intelligence, and charting a course of growth for the coming year or years. It is essential to brand-building, evolution, and expanding a firm's reach with the client community. It goes beyond a SWOT analysis - real strategic planning covers your full inward and outward operational paradigm. These templates and exercises give you three possible methods of conducting this essential exercise.
TEMPLATE: Turning a Project into a Business Development Powerhouse
Don’t let your project files gather dust once delivery is complete. This template provides a structured way to record the stories, achievements, and key differentiators in your projects while they’re still unfolding. Use it to gather data, testimonials, visuals, and lessons that can be transformed into proposals, presentations, and client conversations. By using this tool regularly, you’ll build a library of business development assets tied directly to your project work, making each assignment a springboard for reputation, relationship-building, and new opportunities.
VIDEO: Acts of Kindness in the Workplace
Kindness isn’t just nice—it’s powerful. In Acts of Kindness in the Workplace, you’ll learn how empathy and generosity create stronger teams, reduce tension, and elevate overall performance. Through real examples and reflection prompts, Twennie explores how micro-moments of care—like gratitude, encouragement, and active listening—can build trust and shape positive work cultures.
PROMPT SET: How is Work Really Going - An Employee Self-Check
Day-to-day work can blur together, leaving little space to stop and ask yourself: how is this really going? This self-check prompt set guides you through honest reflection on your workload, priorities, energy, and satisfaction. By carving out just a few minutes, you’ll uncover whether you’re moving in the right direction, notice early signs of burnout or misalignment, and rediscover motivation. These prompts aren’t about blame—they’re about clarity. Use them to check your bearings, celebrate wins, and identify what needs adjusting before challenges build up.
VIDEO: Creating and Leading a High Performance Team
Great teams don’t just happen—they’re built with purpose. In Creating and Leading a High Performance Team, you’ll uncover what separates good teams from great ones. Twennie walks you through practical leadership tools that enhance communication, accountability, and shared vision. You’ll learn to set clear expectations, manage energy instead of time, and foster a culture of excellence without burnout.
PROMPT SET: Belonging at Work - A Team Pulse Check
Belonging is the sense that you’re truly valued, seen, and connected at work. This pulse check prompt set helps teams explore where belonging thrives and where it’s missing. Through short, practical exercises, you’ll identify hidden dynamics and spark conversations that reveal how connected people feel to the team. Use these prompts to uncover strengths worth celebrating and opportunities for improvement. Belonging isn’t a “soft” measure—it’s a foundation for engagement, performance, and retention. This set gives you a starting point for real, actionable dialogue.
VIDEO: Productivity Tonic
In a world of constant demands, productivity isn’t about doing more—it’s about doing what matters. Productivity Tonic reveals how to focus your energy where it counts most. You’ll explore practical ways to eliminate distractions, prioritize high-value tasks, and build rhythms that sustain long-term performance. With Twennie’s signature 20-minute learning approach, this video helps you reset habits, improve efficiency, and rediscover joy in getting things done.
PROMPT SET: Work is Life - But Does it Feel that Way?
Forget “work-life balance”—this prompt set asks a better question: does your work fit with your life? Through guided reflection, you’ll examine energy levels, personal priorities, and how well your role supports your bigger goals. It’s not about compromise; it’s about alignment. Small adjustments in perspective, time use, or communication can make your job work better for your life, not against it. These prompts help you recognize disconnects, reclaim energy, and find more meaning in your daily responsibilities—before misalignment leads to frustration or burnout.
PROMPT SET: Culture in Motion - What Does Fun Look Like in Your Workplace
What does fun really look like in your workplace? It’s not about forced events or “mandatory fun”—it’s about everyday interactions that energize people and keep culture alive. This prompt set invites teams to reflect on where fun naturally happens, what it feels like, and how to create more of it. Fun builds trust, lowers stress, and keeps teams connected. With lighthearted but revealing questions, these prompts make it safe to explore how to keep culture human and vibrant—even during busy times.
VIDEO: How to Conduct a Peer Stay Interview
Stay interviews are often treated as a management responsibility, but peers are frequently the first to notice disengagement, frustration, or quiet burnout. This unit explores how to conduct a peer stay interview — a structured, respectful conversation focused on what keeps someone engaged and what might push them away. You’ll learn how to ask the right questions without overstepping, listen without trying to fix everything, and respond in ways that build trust rather than obligation. It’s a practical tool for supporting colleagues before problems become resignations.
PROMPT SET: Experience Matters - Your Voice on What Makes Work...Work
What makes work…work for you? This prompt set gives employees a voice to reflect on the moments that inspire loyalty—and the ones that quietly erode it. By surfacing authentic experiences, teams and leaders can learn what’s really shaping morale and retention. It’s not just about perks or policies—it’s about how people feel, every day. These prompts uncover what matters most, from recognition to growth to meaningful work, helping organizations focus on improvements that strengthen employee experience and keep talent engaged for the long haul.