If you’ve ever worked on a proposal team, you know the drill: someone says “We’ll get started once we have the RFP.” Then it drops, and suddenly your team is scrambling to write 30 or 50 pages, wondering why it always feels like you’re behind. Welcome to the trap of waiting to be ready.
In The Spirit of Kaizen, Robert Maurer makes the case for taking small steps—especially when things feel overwhelming. This isn’t about pretending to be prepared. It’s about building motion into your operating rhythm. In GovCon, this can mean outlining a compliance matrix before the full RFP drops, or assigning writers before the kickoff. It’s momentum, not mastery, that wins the day.
To borrow from Jurassic Park: “Life finds a way.” So should your team. When the landscape is unclear, your job isn’t to wait for the map—it’s to start walking. Forward motion creates clarity. That’s how you make progress while others are still refreshing SAM.gov.
Why I liked it…
- Breaks inertia: Helps you start proposals with small, low-risk actions that build momentum.
- Behavioral insight: Shows how tiny, repeatable steps lead to big improvements in performance and mindset.
- Quietly powerful: Ideal for fast-moving teams needing progress without perfection.