Adopting an "anti-template" policy is just as important in the development of bid strategy, as it is in the production of the end submission. 

Here are three primary reasons to avoid what I call “templated thinking” when formulating strategy:

1)  Genericism vs Uniqueness:  A Process that Doesn’t Match the Required Mindset

Once the nature of a procurement or project is understood, a bid team should endeavour to identify and place focus on the characteristics of that procurement or project that are unique to that specific project.

The use of pre-formulated, generic outlines is potentially counterproductive.

2)  Strategy Development Should be Led By A Strategic Thinker

Running a group through a pre-determined list of questions does not allow conversations to evolve naturally.

Instead, thinking and discussion should be channelled along in a lateral – albeit controlled – fashion, developing all threads of input. This is something a template can’t achieve.

3)  A Template-Directed Discussion Will Hit An Early Wall

A template stops the discussion at a generically pre-determined point – possibly (well) short of the best possible strategic decision.